Father Benno Baumeister, a long-time partner of the Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ), has withdrawn from active project work in Burundi.
Baumeister, one of the SEZ partners from the very beginning, lived in Africa for over 50 years, mainly in the Republic of Congo and in the Baden-Württemberg partner country Burundi. He set up the Center Nouvelle Espérance in the Burundian capital Bujumbura, an institution for the predominantly needy population in the Buyenzi district. Originally a meeting place for people suffering from HIV/AIDS, the Center Nouvelle Espérance has now grown into a social and educational center. Here, the sick learn to take their lives into their own hands despite the infection and to support themselves through preventative health measures and activities as well as through vocational training.
Philipp Keil, Managing Director of the SEZ, and his deputy Klaus Weingärtner spoke to Benno Baumeister about handing over the projects to his successor Volker Schwill. The conversation took place in the Marienheim in Hechingen, the retirement home for retired African missionaries of the White Fathers.
Father Benno Baumeister received the One World Prize from the SEZ in 2013 for his life's work. In doing so, the SEZ honored his outstanding and exemplary commitment to peace, reconciliation, justice and the fight against poverty in Burundi.