Success of the "EUR 1 per PoolLab 1.0 photometer sold for Steps for Children" campaign 

Good news has become rare these days. But they do exist! The "EUR 1 per PoolLab 1.0 photometer sold for Steps for Children" campaign was a complete success, says Andreas Hock, Managing Director of Water-i.d. GmbH.

Every euro raised feeds a child for a day

In January 2020, exactly one year ago, Water-i.d. GmbH, manufacturer of water analysis devices and reagents from Karlsruhe, decided to support the "Steps for Children" project in Namibia.

Why that, one might ask? 15 years ago, Stephan Hock, brother of Andreas Hock, managing director of Water-i.d. GmbH, sold his house and a well-established newspaper group and moved, together with his wife and children, to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. There he bought a lodge with a restaurant and started a new life in Africa. His passion was and is cooking and so it is not surprising that he calls the "Immanuel Wilderness Lodge Restaurant" his playground. His talent was soon recognized and in 2012 Stephan was officially named Namibia's best chef. German television reported on him several times, local newspapers wrote, and local and international celebrities regularly visit.

Stephan felt and feels blessed, but at the same time felt the desire to let his immediate environment, which welcomed him so benevolently, share his happiness. His passion for cooking and the apparent lack of food for many school children in Namibia resulted in the idea of starting an online cookbook (www.cookwithstephan.com) in which Stephan and his guests can share recipes as part of a paid subscription. The goal was and is to use 100% of the money raised to enable children in Rehboth / Namibia to have at least one warm meal a day.

Stephan visited Rehboth and was deeply touched to see children in such bad conditions. Since then he has been organizing help with a charity called "Steps for Children", knowing that every euro raised will feed a child for a day. It broke his heart again and again to see that children who come to the "soup kitchen" had to be turned away because the money collected and the food financed with it was still not enough for all the children who stood in line in the soup kitchen every day. This experience of having to send children home hungry again and again motivated Stephan to look for ways to collect more donations in order to finally feed every child.

For Water-i.d. it was therefore a heartly matter to support this project and to ensure that no child had to be turned away. A real challenge, as the number of children asking for food rose sharply at the latest after the consequences of the corona pandemic, which were also felt in Namibia.

Perhaps it was a "hint from above", says Andreas Hock, that the PoolLab had such a great success this past year and that a total of 36,811 EUR could be collected for the same number of PoolLab sold and transferred to "Steps for Children".The joy in Namibia was great, because not only could all the children who came to the soup kitchen be fed, but other projects such as a "chicken farm" for self-help and a solar project could also be funded.

Water-i.d. will continue to support Stephan's soup kitchen and "Steps for Children" this year, with even more targeted measures.

You too can support "Steps for Children" directly. Just visit www.stepsforchildren.de or www.poollab.org.