12.08.2019
NEWS
Golfers hole out for the Children's Village Bottrop in Gambia
At the tournament of the GC Schwarze Heide the good cause is in the foreground.
Dorsten, 12 August 2019. At the award ceremony for the Gambia Cup, Hartwig Keidel, President of the Schwarze Heide Golf Club, welcomes club members and guests, including Klaus Strehl, Mayor of Bottrop, and Wolfgang and Waltraud Gerrits, board members of the "Partner für Africa" association. The result of the day: 4750 Euros have been generated. "And I'm sure we will reach a round sum again today at the end of the day," Keidel promises and surprises the members with the auction of two tickets for the Green Eagle Golf Tournament in Hamburg. The goal of 5000 euros is already approaching. The Gambia Cup has been held annually since the GC Schwarze Heide was founded. And the response is still convincing today. More than 75 golfers have accepted the invitation this time. "Already at 8:30 this morning, the first ones were at the start," explains Jörn Großblotekamp, Vice President and responsible for the tournament as captain. "At one o'clock, the last players were on their rounds.
Before the prizes go to the best players of the day, Wolfgang Gerrits, who started the project "Children's Village Bottrop in Gambia" in 1985, steps to the microphone. He thanks all participants of the tournament and emphasizes the importance of the Gambia Cup for the work of the association "Partner in Africa". With the entry fees and the money donations, which many club members use on the day of the tournament, it was possible in the past to buy a solar system, for example, Sounds like luxury? Not at all! "The public energy supply in Gambia is unstable. Several times a day the electricity fails. Then the PCs in the administration crash and the kitchen stays cold," Gerrits describes the situation. "With your support we were able to remedy this situation." Sandra Naumann, managing partner of NIPM GmbH also contributed a donation of 1,500 euros to the social project to support the children's village in Gambia.
And what will this year's proceeds be used for? A first aid station is to be built. "When 350 children romp around on the premises, it's not without injuries, and sometimes just a plaster won't do," says Gerrits. And because "after the game is before the game", he then quickly shows the plans for the near future: A school bus is to be purchased so that children from more distant areas can also reach the children's village. "So far, everyone has been walking the distance. This can be up to eight kilometers."
The basis of the association's work has always been the sponsorships that support the project. At the moment there are 285 of them. Godparents, members of the association and the board of directors are all volunteers. So every cent goes where it is needed! For example, to finance the warm meal that the little guests receive daily in the children's village. Once a year the association offers a sponsor trip so that the committed members can inform themselves about the progress of the project on site.
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