About us

Sigrid Tschöpe-Scheffler was a professor at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences for Family Education and head of the Institute for Childhood, Youth and Family until 2015.  Today she is working as a freelance family and educational consultant. Author and speaker at home and abroad. Sheis living in Sauerland and Cologne (Germany) with her husband and cats. Her two grown-up daughters, her son and their families also live in Germany and take a lively interest in her activities. She is travelling to Majaoni several times a year to work with the villagers on new ideas and their further development. In Germany, she publicizes the project, gives talks about it and is looking for sponsors. Many exciting projects have already been realized and can be seen in the film. She is in close contact with her project partner, Pastor Jonathan Maendeleo Kithi, via Zoom and WhatsApp. Together they rejoice in small and large successes and encourage each other to keep going when the challenges are becoming too great.

Jonathan Maendeleo Kithi lives with his wife Mariam and their four children in the Kenyan village of Majaoni. Since the church was built, he has been officially appointed pastor by his local congregation (Gospel Revival Centre). Not only does he preach moving sermons, he also organises gospel and healing services with the band and parishioners. He is passionately committed to the children and families in the village.  Recently, the pastor and his family have provided shelter in their own home to homeless women and children from the village and sometimes to stray cats and dogs.  In consultation with Dr. Sigrid, Pastor Jonathan also leads the new building projects (e.g. the construction of small flats for women, the kindergarten, the renovation of the church), cares for neglected and abused children and is one of the few pastors in Kenya whose church attaches great importance to social work in addition to pastoral care and church services. Thanks to the dedicated and good cooperation with Sigrid, many projects could be realised that resulted from the "calls of life" and the current life situation.  This work is also only possible thanks to Pastors family and many people from the community who volunteer their time and a lot people support this project.

At the beginning of the first meeting in a hotel in Mombasa, nobody would have expected it to come this far.