Ossara e.V.

We at Ossara e.V. have the wish to contribute through our activities in Germany and in other countries towards a lasting improvement in people‘s living conditions and in their participation in community life. The means of reaching these objectives, activities which are conceived in close communication with the beneficiaries, are based on supportive concepts and projects.

We are principally engaged in rural areas where educational infrastructures and future perspectives are often very precarious. This situation triggers off other problems such as premature pregnancies, breaking off school and the draining of rural communities. At this point in time, although our activities outside of Germany take place mostly in Togo, an extension of these activities to other African countries is not ruled out.

Togo is one of the world’s poorest countries, occupying rank 165 out of 189 countries according to the Human Development Index ranking, 2018. There are no pension or social security schemes, except for civil servants. A doctor on average can take care of more than 12,000 patients. Extreme poverty exists above all in rural areas. In these areas families secure their living through agriculture. Children attend school on an average for 4.8 years (Human Development Indices and Indicators: 2018 Statistical Update). We want to change and improve the situation, thanks to your contribution and participation.

Founded on 28.10.2017 and based in Hamburg, Germany (VR 23447), Ossara e.V. is made up of a multicultural team whose objective is the promotion of education, health and cultural diversity in Germany and abroad. Our main area of activity is currently Togo (Gléi, Kara, Bassar, Kanté, Defalé and surrounding regions). According to the statutes of the organisation, Ossara’s work comprises the following areas of activity:

• General and vocational education and training
• Art and culture
• Cooperation for a lasting development
• Help for refugees and victims of persecution and war
• International cooperation, tolerance in all areas of culture and universal understanding
• Sanitary and health services
• Support for the needy

Our work is based on the principles of mutual respect, tolerance and taking democratic decisions. Our offers of help are generally autonomous, global and have the goal of contributing to a lasting improvement in the general living conditions of people at a local level. When launching our projects, we involve as a matter of course the recipients in the planning phase when evaluating needs on the ground, in discussions with the main decision-makers and in visits to local communities. In this way, concepts and financial projects arise out of mutual exchange. When realising our projects, we work in close collaboration with communities and generally employ craftsmen and businesses from the respective regions to promote the local economy.

• Ossara saves costs for translation and interpretation, thanks to the linguistics skills of our team and executive committee
• If more expertise in the realisation of certain projects is needed, we are willing and ready to work with other organisations and associations.
• In Togo we set up courses and apprenticeships for those interested, giving them the opportunity to improve their career perspectives and to acquire experience on the ground.
• No money is transferred to people or businesses unknown to us.
• The abrogation of neo-colonial perspectives and structures is one of our major preoccupations.
• From our point of view, a dialogue between equals is the basis of good working relationships.
• A long-term involvement in other African countries (Ghana, Cameroon, Bénin, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso etc) is planned.

We want to support the efforts of local people and governments in rural areas deprived of infrastructure. Our offers of help must be global and open so that projects may be completed and benefit the greatest number of people possible. Ossara’s work is based on the experience over many years of its members from West Africa who regularly visit their home countries. The latter are already supporting their families in different ways at local level and are characterised by their own particular educational projects.

As a consequence, for example, parents and local educational authorities must be seen as partners in the promotion of education. Parents should benefit from support in their own educational work from the indirect approach of educational campaigns, neighbourhood work and information sessions (Ossara does not offer this programme yet).

By reason of the precarious local sanitary situation, the aspect of health services plays a central role in our financing concept. Within the framework of our local activities, professional people from the fields of education and health maintain a close and sustained collaboration, concentrating their efforts in the long term on benefits for children. If necessary, we can supply certain medical equipment and establish contact with medical specialists.

From our point of view, the first step towards intellectual independence leads on the one hand to the necessity of being taken seriously, but at the same time to an awareness of one’s own responsibilities – a well-organised diaspora can also make a contribution to the development of their countries of origin.

We would be delighted at any financial, material and intellectual support. As we are all unpaid volunteers, we are particularly grateful for increased personal resources. Anyone who accepts our principles can become a member and support our work.
For reasons of confidentiality, we treat official documents with care. These can be made available on demand to interested parties (foundations, associations and other organisations).

Ossara e.V. has no political or religious affiliations.

Education should be made available to all children. Every child, regardless of his or her family‘s social-economic situation, should be able to go to school or receive a quality education. The promotion of excellence in learning for highly-gifted children plays a secondary role in our approach. Our engagement is characterised by the global promotion of children through the renovation or construcion of school buildings, the provision of school material (manuals, uniforms and classroom furniture), enrolment in training courses, apprenticeships, tutoring or micro-credit schemes for those working in education. The supervisory board and the advisory team are made up of people with diverse academic backgrounds, who come from the regions where we work and who are regularly in these regions. As a result, they are at the same time authentic models for the children in care. From our point of view, education is the key to an independent life and the way out of poverty, so that rural exodus or life-endangering, involuntary immigration to Europe are not the only perspectives.

Education without health is unthinkable. That’s the reason we devote special attention to the sanitary situation in our operational areas. By various means, we want to improve the medical care provided to local people. Whether it is a question of medical installations, boreholes, health checks, provision of medical material, prevention campaigns (dental treatment), the construction or renovation of health centres, we are motivated by one objective: health for everyone!

The performance and development of a society are only possible in a healthy state. This is  especially true of schoolchildren because of the high mortality rate and the rapid spread of certain illnesses due to lack of hygiene. We accompany and undertake precautionary and preventive measures, always in consultation with the local health authorities. Learning from one another is an added value in our approach.