News archive 2008
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Beginning of November 2008, the college of German language and literature at Heidelberg University organized a benefit soccer game. Among other teams, the students and professors of the German language and literature college played for Go Ahead! The profit of those games will be credited to the GoAhead!-project 2008, a learning centre in South Africa.The radio station of the university reported this event and made interviews with some players and the organizing team from GoAhead! You can download this report or listen to it here in the Flash-Player.
As the year is drawing to a close, GoAhead! is looking back on 12 very successful months. Our goal to finance a Learning Centre in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) with more than 50,000 € has been reached. The final donations for the running of the institution will be collected shortly. All over Germany and even in the US, college groups were founded by students. Our "Homes of Hope" team built a house in South Africa in March.
Another milestone has been reached: GoAhead! is now present in the USA. In November, a group of students at ivy league university Princeton decided to found a college group. The process of registration as an official Princeton society has already started.
The GoAhead team is very happy that the word has spread across the pond and welcomes our new international friends! Special thanks go to Lea Steinacker for initialising the group. We are convinced it will be successful and look forward to watching it develop!
GoAhead's campaigns were spread across several cities. The various local groups presented themselves with information kiosks and sold waffles and mulled wine.
The Heidelberg group strategically positioned themselves in the faculty for German language and sweetened the day for students and professors alike. Apart from raising 94€, their activities received lots of attention.
On October 10th 2008 the „Nacht der Jugend"(Night of the youth) exhibition was held at the Bremen City Hall and GoAhead! had the opportunity to participate. Different projects and organizations were present and covered a wide variety of topics and fields. First and foremost the aim of the night was to reward social-political engagement and commitment of young students and also to offer the chance for other young people to get involved. GoAhead! was represented by several members and handed not only general information about our work and projects out but informed people particularly about the possibilities to get involved within GoAhead!.
The new GoAhead! support group Bremen officially met for the first time on the 30th of October. The group consists of a mixture of pupils and students of the University of Bremen and Oldenburg. Although their young "age" the group already managed participate at several exhibitions and events in and around Bremen like the "Nacht der Jugend"(Night of the youth). For the future the group has already planned many activities and events to get more people engaged and promote GoAhead!'s vision and projects.
On 8th of November 2008 the German department of the University of Heidelberg organized a charity football tournament to fundraise money for GoAhead!.
On Saturday, 1st of November the recently founded GoAhead! support group in Dresden had the opportunity to meet catholic pastor, Founder of "Hope Capetown" and co-author of "Gott, Aids, Afrika" Stefan Hippler on a short visit back in Germany. He was back 'home' to receive the "Erich-Kästner Preis" (Price for humanity, tolerance and international understanding).
On the 8th of November, it was again time for GoAhead! to return to Jacobs University Bremen for the second time this year after having been there in March with the Young Zulu Warriors and their Musical Thula Sizwe. This time around the dance exhibition DANCESTONED 2008 was the occasion. Dancestoned is the brainchild of a group of students who have a strong passion for dance, and is organized annually mainly as a form of entertainment for other students and staff at the university; as well as for the opportunity to showcase their respective styles of dance.
This year the event was organized by the leaders of the breakdown dance club and successors to the creators of Dancestoned, Imiodella Emuze and Janetta Carlucci and also by Ankur Modi and Trevor Walker. Usually this event is free, but the organizers decided to charge a onetime entry fee of one euro for the event this year to help raise money to be used in the construction of a learning center (Project 2008) for orphans in KwaZulu , South Africa by the GoAhead! organization. All in all, 230 Euros was raised. Go Ahead! members Lys Kulamadayil and Tobias Maaßen were spectators to a breathtaking show full of dances which included Bollywood dance, rumba, ballet, Eastern European folklore/gypsy dance, Oriental dance, hip hop and Jazz. They used this opportunity to present Go Ahead! as a whole, as well the goals of the Learning Centre and the new Homes of Hope (hoh) project to the students.
After the recent introduction of four new, young team members, the job opportunities just keep coming! We are looking for two people interested in one of the following two fields of activity:
„Charity Chill“ is the label for a beneficiary concert organised by Trier University student Maximiliane Rossmöller in co-operation with GoAhead!. Once again, the evening was in support of our major project for 2008, the construction of the Learning Centre (see projects). 
The focus was on opportunities to get active with GoAhead!, especially within the recently founded college group at Trier University (trier@goahead-organisation.de). Many individual chats followed and confirmed the great interest there is to help.
Under the „Go Ahead!“ label, the German language faculty at Heidelberg University will hold a football game for students and lecturers on 08/11. Since the beginning of this year the faculty is supporting GoAhead! as a college group. Anyone is welcome to join their effort to support children in South Africa. If you are interested, email 
The 2009 edition of the "Go Ahead! - Homes of Hope" Project which gives young people a chance to experience the situation in Southern Africa first hand happen in Kampala, Uganda. A group of 10 volunteers will travel to Uganda from 07/03 till 05/04 to renovate a youth centre. During their four week stay the participants are also going to visit othe development projects and get to know the beautiful scenery of Africa. HoH is promising to be a great adventure once more!
This summer and autumn, the Mphe Thuto Primary School hosted no less than 7 interns, two of them working for the adjacent boarding school accommodation. With this kind of manpower, one can achieve a few things out of the ordinary: a biology project, an art project, a course in beginner's German and painting some buildings is on the ToDo list for the kids.
Last weekend a new sponsor joined the GoAhead! community. The TV Hude table tennis team, active in the regional league, is going to donate €30 for each victory and €15 for draws.
Captain Felix Lingenau handed a symbolic wallet to GoAhead! member Johannes Hillje who used to play in the team himself. He also got a chance to introduce our organisation to the 70 table tennis fans present. All donations will be used towards the Learning Centre project.
In April the HomesOfHope 2008 volunteers returned to Germany. They built a house for a 60 year old grand mum who is bringing up her eight grandchildren. Volunteer Frauke Bengsch is going to speak about her experiences during this building project. The speech is going to be held in Germany's northernmost city, Westerland on the Sylt island.
One of GoAhead!'s principals is close contact to our partner projects. The idea is for a project accepted into GoAhead!'s program to be visited by one of our members. Of course these visits have to be funded by the members themselves.
From now on there is a new way of supporting GoAhead!: Wear our T-Shirt! For only €12 you can purchase a man's or woman's shirt on our website. Half the price is a donation directly to GoAhead!.
Among young people, the drive to go to Africa and help themselves is steadily increasing and some local projects are simply dependent on volunteer support. Ever since we came into existence we arranged volunteers to go to our partner projects, a list we recently enlarged by two new projects.
Every person has skills which can help improve the lives of countless disadvantaged children in Africa. Our new program "Pro Active - Helping Together" we are trying to include eager citizens into our work.
Our first annual general meeting was held on 22/06/2008 in Erdmannsweiler (Black forest) and was well received. After another year of GoAhead!'s efforts, this assembly constitutes a public presentation of our achievements. As there were no board elections this year, the main focus was on a review of our activities.
The School of International Business (SiB) in Bremen organised their 6th economic congress this year. On June 3rd and 4th, numerous interesting presentations, discussions and workshops centred around the theme "Made in Germany" were held. On the first evening, live music and a raffle were part of a major evening event. GoAhead! chairman Jan Bildhauer was rather surprised to be chosen to draw the lucky winner's tickets, and was afterwards presented with a cheque over more than €500! This donation was raised from the proceeds of the raffle and cover fees. 
The GoAhead! team thanks the organisers of the SiB congress, Martin Wiesneth, Anne Riedel, Tanja Tütken, Katja Hiller, Irina Wollrath, Birte Christiansen, Christin Schwarze, Sven Tomschin, Renée Sachse, Franziska Schulz and Iwona Wysocka.
On June 5th GoAhead! members Jan Bildhauer and Tobias Maaßen met journalists Moya Irvine and Melanie Helmers of the Carl Ed. Schünemann Verlag publishing house. The topic of the conversation was what young people do when they go abroad, but was extended to the history of GoAhead! and our programmes today.
On Wednesday more than 170 partied for a good cause. GoAhead! had invited the bands „Burning Knees“ and „Just for Funk“ who made for a very entertaining evening.
| 02/06/2008: Arts & Crafts project at the Mphe Thuto Primary School |
Go Ahead! started sending volunteers to the Mphe Thuto Primary School in Namibia about a year ago. They assist teachers in lessons, organise afternoon programmes an dtake care of the school children. This summer more interns will be helping out at the school, planning to run biology, arts and other workshops. Interested? Please find more information about the volunteering program: Mphe Thuto. |
In May, an arts and crafts project was conducted at the Mphe Thuto Primary School in co-operation with donors and interns from Germany as well as local teachers. Experimenting with paint and materials was great fun for the children who made masks from paper-maché and used them in a theater play. GoAhead! intern Steffie Liebig ran the workshop supported by Anna Boschütz and Sarah Monzel. Donations from Horst Pauly and Norbert Kömen enabled them to purchase the necessary materials.
On 04/06/08 GoAhead! will join forces with the bands „Just for Funk“ and „Burning Knees“ to organise a concert in Dresden's "Bärenzwinger" venue, an event planned since February. Flyers are ready, posters out on the street, and the local newspapers will announce the concert in the next few days. It is the first major GoAhead! event in Dresden and our next step towards funding the "Learning Centre". We are hoping to attract a wide audience and meet people interested in our work.| 05/05/2008: GoAhead! gives speech at the Technical school (FTS) in VS-Schwenningen. |
One class was so excited about our work they spontaneously took on the sponsorship of a child for one year. Further plans include a christmas fundraiser and another Homes of Hope group from the school. We would like to thank Dr. Konrad Mach, Mrs. Huber and Mr. Lahmers, and look forward to future activities at FTS. |
Invited by the head of class Mrs. Huber, GoAhead! member Daniel Rambla who graduated from the school himself held a presentation about Africa and GoAhead!'s work. Mrs. Huber had heard of Daniel's voluntary service in South Africa at one of the Young Zulu Warriors shows. Today, Daniel builds on his SA experience in his work with Off Road Kids.| 27/04/2008: Jan Bildhauer speaks at the Rotary Club of Bremen-Bürgerpark |
 On 24/04, chairman Jan Bildhauer was invited to give a speech at the Rotary Club of Bremen-Bürgerpark. Jan had a good half hour to introduce GoAhead! to the club members and answer their questions regarding the situation in South Africa. Coincidently, he had met the club's president Olaf Gründahl before the presentation when he gave him a lift to the hotel where the speech was held. The present members of Rotary were visibly impressed by GoAhead!'s rapid development during the last year and pleged their support in the future. We are very appreciative of this opportunity and extend our gratitude to Dr. Elmar Schreiber and the Rotary Club Bremen-Bürgerpark (bremen-buergerpark.rotary1850.org). If you are interested in having GoAhead! present at your organisation (be it a school, university, community, company or club) please do not hesitate to contact us! |
| 12/04/2008: The „Homes of Hope“ Team has returned from South Africa |
 After four strenuous weeks, the first time house builders of the "Homes of Hope" team have safely returned to Germany. Unanimous verdict: missin accomplished! The group of young people constructed a house in a rural area in Kwa-Zulu Natal. It will serve as a domicile for a granny who lost her own children and is now taking care of her eight grandchildren. Weekend trips allowed for recovery from the hard work and gave team members a chance to discover Africa's beauty. The group was accompanied by GoAhead! board member Jan-Martin Frie. More information about the "Homes of Hope" project, as well as the team blog, are available here in German. |
| 06/04/2008: GoAhead! visits Stefan Hippler and his HOPE project in Capetown |
 Stefan Hippler's organisation "HOPE", based in Capetown, has recently welcomed high-profile guests like President Horst Köhler and Chancellor Angela Merkel. Hence, we were especially flattered to be granted a meeting with the head of the German Christian community in the cape area. Board member Johannes Hillje and Hippler exchanged reports about the background and activities of their respective organisations. Hippler, who recently published the book "God, AIDS, Africa" in Germany, founded HOPE in 2001. Seven years on, it has established itself as one of the most well-respected NGOs in the cape region. Besides building a hospice for HIV positive children, HOPE promotes the training of health staff and is present in many local township surgeries. Through close co-operation with the University of Stellenbosch, the NGO managed to expand its expertise to research. Since they are also connected to educational projects, the possibility of a liaison was discussed with project co-ordinator Yasmin Buettgen. [www.hopecapetown.com] |
| 05/04/2008: GoAhead! thanks the Proventus AG and Probis GmbH |
GoAhead! board members David Steinacker and chairman Jan Bildhauer met the nationwide chair of Proventus AG, Jürgen Roffmann (pictured left) to award his company a GoAhead! certificate for their outstanding support for the Young Zulu Warriors Tour. The organisation hinted at future co-operation, and we are happy to welcome a new industry partner for GoAhead!
Furthermore, after his return to Germany, David met representatives from GoAhead!s partner Probis GmbH, based in Walsrode (pictured right). After the sponsor has, for the second time, footed the bill for GoAhead!s printed promotion materials, members of staff Wolfgang Arndt and Daniel Friedrichsen were awarded a certificate, too. We thank Probis for their reliable support in print and media affairs, and are looking forward to continuing our liaison! |
African vitality, acrobatic dances and powerful voices filled the sold out venues of the tour so far. Audiences appreciated emotional and professional performances of the musical "Thula Sizwe" with standing ovations. GoAhead! administered the concerts in Bremen, Pinneberg and Walsrode and is more than happy with the results. More than 500 people came to the show in Bremen's cathedral while about 350 saw it at the Jacob's university cinema. Another 500 joined in Pinneberg, and even 700 in Walsrode.| 08/03/2008: GoAhead! meets Desmond Tutu in Capetown |
Last Friday, GoAhead! board member Johannes Hillje followed this invitation. He happens to be in Capetown on a university related internship. In the city's historic St. Georges Cathedral, Tutu personally welcomed his international guests and took them out for coffee after the mass. Thanks to the small circle of people present, Johannes managed to have a personal conversation with the Nobel laureate who praised GoAhead!'s "youth". His interest in our organisation was shared by other guests like the German ambassador in South Africa, Dr. Uwe Kaestner, Tutu biographer John Allen and a representative of the WHO. Shortly before this meeting, Tutu was taking part in the Kenya peace talks. The opportunity to meet him was a great honour, and an unforgettable morning. GoAhead! would like to thank Tutu's assistent Lavinia Browne for organising the meeting. |
Last December, GoAhead! members were honoured to meet South African Bishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu in Berlin. He spoke some wam-hearted words regarding our work into a camera, a clip available on our home page. We kept in contact and a few weeks ago GoAhead! received a 
On the 10th of February, about 2.000 visitors made their way to the Rübekamphalle in Pinneberg, Germany, to visit the Voluntary Engagement Fair. Beside 60 other North German societies, GoAhead! was represented by Daniel Meyerhoff and Jan-Martin Frie.
On thursday 10/01/2008, GoAhead! member David Steinacker followed an invitation to the station. The connection had been established through personal contacts, and the radio team were immediately impressed by David's work. Main purpose was to advertise the upcoming Young Zulu Warriors concert tour through Germany and the Netherlands which the main studio morning team promised to attend.
On the weekend of 05/012008 the GoAhead! board gathered in Walsrode and held an extensive summit. During the two days an evaluation of the past six months' activities, determining strenghts and weaknesses and the development of a strategy for 2008 were the paramount issues. | 09/01/2008: Christmas party a great success – 300 guests celebrate in Ettwein hall |
 In co-operation with the „Moppedgang“ (www.moppedgang.de) and the „KJG Neuhausen“ (www.kjg-neuhausen.de), GoAhead! invited to our first christmas party. 300 relatives and friends showed up. Celebration was not the only purpose of the event, as support was raised for GoAhead! while Maius and the band "We are Tom Jud“ (www.myspace.com/wearetomjud) as well as „DJ Hackepeter and friends“ ensured a packed dancefloor. Thanks to volunteers and the Ettwein company who let the event hall for free, we could raise 1500€ for GoAhead!. The party's non-profit character was a great incentive for people to come and celebrate into the morning hours. Hopefully we can turn this idea into an annual event. |
| 02/01/2008: Barbara Scharfbillig visits partner school "Mphe Thuto" in Namibia |
We thank all volunteers and donors! [www.mphethuto.de] |
GoAhead! supports the Mphe Thuto Primary School's internship programme; now the first applications and the first intern have arrived, 7 more are scheduled to go to Namibia in 2008.