The University of Lukanga (UNILUK) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

A new clinic is urgently needed!

The administration building of the University of Lukanga located nearby the town of Butembo. 

B. Pfeiffer and D. Grebe, chairman and vice-chairman of SUPPORT AFRICA, visited North-Kivu in the Congo for the first time. The region was lately heavily disturbed by a civil war. The University had invited SUPPORT AFRICA in order to get first hand information on the situation. As a result of the visit, UNILUK and SUPPORT AFRICA have signed a co-operation agreement which will eventually lead to the support of development projects.  

January 4, 2010
Prof. Baldur Pfeiffer and Dorothee Grebe will travel to Africa from 12. to 20. January. Planned are visits to the Lukanga University in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as to the Makerere University and the Bugema University in Uganda.

December 18, 2009 
SUPPORT AFRICA has been sending a container with medical equipment and hospital beds to the newly erected clinic of the Valley View University in Ghana. The equipment will promote the development of basic medicine at the clinic. At first the clinic will have 30 beds until it expands later on. The project has been sponsored by the BMZ (Ministry of Development and Cooperation of the German Federal Republic).

 
Container being loaded in Nassau

December 10, 2009  
A container has been loaded with two tractors and water pumps and sent to Uganda. It will take approximately four weeks until it will arrive at the orchard of the Bugema University (BU). The earnings from this fruit plantation are an important source of income for this young university. This project has been sponsored by the GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit, German society for technical cooperation). It was the company FENSTER KLEIN (Nastaetten) who made the loading of the container smoothly possible

SUPPORT AFRICA is preparing two new medical projects for 2010/11: The furnishing and instrumentation at University of Cosendai (Kamerun) and University of Lukanga (Democratic Republic of the Congo). However, for this task we are still searching for sponsors to help us finance these activities.

SUPPORT AFRICA has employed Mrs. Astrid Sturm to be in charge of the department of public relations as of November 2009. Among her responsibilities is the maintenance of our homepage. With this new start, we will be able to inform our members and university partners in Europe and Africa about our activities. 

By the end of the year 2009 SUPPORT AFRICA will ship the 26th container to Africa. It is meant for the Valley View University in Ghana, containing clinic-beds, medical instruments for surgery as well as for gynecology, dental medicine and otorhinolaryngology and equipment for laboratories. This equipment has a total value of 108,000 Euros.

Bugema University (BU) in Uganda will receive a container with two tractors and water-pumps for its horticultural program in January 2010, supplying fruits for the local market.

The president of our association, Prof. Dr. B. Pfeiffer, visited the University of Eastern Africa Baraton (UEAB) and Moi University in Kenya October 15. – 19. At the latter the development of cotton farming within an ecological setting in the Rift Valley was of interest. SUPPORT AFRICA will send for this project two tractors and agricultural equipment in 2010. Also the possibility of using hydroelectric energy for the campus was at discussion.

SUPPORT AFRICA INTERNATIONAL held an award ceremony in honour of Dr. Violet K. Mugalavi of the Faculty of Agriculture of Moi University in the VIP-Lounge of Eldoret Airport (Kenya) Oct. 19. 2009, when Prof. Dr. B. Pfeiffer handed over the “Award for Sustainable Agriculture 2008”. Dr. Mugalavi shared this price which is annually awarded by SUPPORT AFRICA INTERNATIONAL and the Schweisfurth Foundation (Munich) with a colleague of Makerere University in Uganda. She has been distinguished for her work on Amaranth-Highland-Cereals.

In October SUPPORT AFRICA examined the quality and the yield of the water wells near the water reservoir of  the University of Eastern Africa Baraton (UEAB) in Kenya. In what concerns the supply of water for the population and the opening of a new source of income by installing a bottling plant, the result was (18 - 25 ppt) positive.

The Vice-Chancellor of the Kenyan University of Eastern Africa Baraton (UEAB), Prof. Dr. Nathanel Walemba, visited SUPPORT AFRICA in Nassau from September 14. - 20. Further collaborations were at discussion which date back to 1996. So far SUPPORT AFRICA was able to assist in equipping the university clinic which opened in 2004. A Medical School will now be inaugurated Sept. 1. 2010. SUPPORT AFRICA will also give help equipping a bakery and wood and metal work shops.

Early this year SUPPORT AFRICA moved to the new offices of SUPPORT AFRICA FOUNDATION in Nassau, Elisenhütte 5. Also the ware houses which had been located at five different locations have now been concentrated at Nassau (except for the one in Berg, which is used for agricultural machinery). This measure has eased our work considerably. Already now we cordially invite all members and friends to our inauguration ceremony on March 10. 2010. 

Moi University (Kenya) honored Prof. Dr. B. Pfeiffer, President of SUPPORT AFRICA INTERNATIONAL, with the honorary Doctor of Literature (D. Litt h.c.) during its 23d graduation service.