Between 2005 and 2008 several medical aid packages and toys for children were sent to Nicaragua. From other donations a new air-conditioning system was able to be installed as well as a glass door in the hospital corridor in order to keep the cool air in the hospital rooms for a longer period of time.

Report of Anna-Katharina Koch (2006)

"It was a very important task for us and we feel a responsibility to help. We also wanted to provide our own contribution to the fund-raising campaign.
We were confronted with the brutal reality. It became clear to us very quickly that we are lavished with material things in Europe whereas people in poor countries like Nicaragua have to fight for their daily survival. That’s why we definitely wanted to help.
In order to achieve this we divided ourselves into several groups which were going to raise funds in different ways. Planning ran very slowly at the start, however the first signs of success became evident very quickly: we received the first €70 donation from a group of boys who had fundraised within their circle of friends and relatives. We were really astounded at the support and helpfulness of our friends and relatives and we were really happy about that.
The head of a women’s refuge in which a student from our class lived donated an additional €20.
Some students attend a Japanese class at another school and raised money there with cakes and biscuits (€9).
We were also surprised at the readiness to donate in the class, it was just a real shame that not all of the students had money with them and for this reason were not able to donate more, although the readiness was there.
An additional private donation of €10 was received from a friend of one of the students.
We were shocked that despite a 3-hour fundraising campaign in the department store “Weserpark” that only a meagre €3 was collected. It was unbelievable that people didn’t, and didn’t even want to, take notice of us… as if we were just air!
After this failed attempt we received €60 from a group of girls who had fundraised in the city centre of Bremen. Wow! We never would have anticipated that. The people were extremely generous!
There was another group who were very successful with baking cakes and got hold of €30 with this method. … they were literally snatching the cakes straight out of our hands!
In addition we received an unexpected donation from a boy who had recently left our class. He had sold mobile phones and with the sale earned €50.
Through the contact with the hospital “Links der Weser”, which would also prove important for the future, we succeeded in receiving a generous donation of €100 from one of the doctors.

In total we raised a sum of €352.

Because the price of the door amounted to €300, Marianne Papke transferred the money immediately to the hospital.

Towards the end of the project we learned that the hospital had already paid for the door in advance from the rest of a previous donation. So we were extremely happy that in addition we were able to finance a damaged roof, through which it had rained in the room, as well as a child’s bath.
At the same time a package containing medicine was able to be sent from our account as a result of donations by two colleagues of Mrs. Papke to the value of €633.
The achievement of these goals allows 2006 to be called a successful year for the fund-raising project “Nicaragua”.
We are really looking forward to, and hope, that in the coming years the campaign will run just as well.
Helping people makes you happy."

In 2007 many public and government offices and positions were changed following the political elections in Nicaragua which led to confusion. The head physician at the ‘Paiz-Minsa’ hospital was replaced as part of the election process and our endearing and ever reliable nurse Rosario left our children’s medical unit. Thanks to several site visits (in 2007 by Dr. Hubertus von Schwarzkopf from Bremen, Germany and in 2008 from Dr. Gisela Chrisman from Philadelphia, USA) new possibilities for improved cooperation between the hospital and the donors were able to be developed.

Monika Fredebrecht, our local German contact in Nicaragua, provided as always invaluable intermediary and organisational help, most recently with the purchase and installation of a water heating tank. In 2008 we sent a large number of compressors and special ointments via the ‘Action Medeor’ organisation and Brito Clovis from the American aid organisation ‘Operation Smile’ brought medical instruments and surgical supplies to Managua in Nicaragua.

Now one of the local Nicaragua doctors’ biggest wishes is for an additional set of dermatome blades. A dermatome is a surgical instrument used to produce thin slices of skin from a donor area. In the long-term their aim is for a new dermatome because the current one will soon be inoperable.

In 2008 one of Mrs. Papke’s advanced courses in sociology will again undertake this project. According to two students, Dina and Ricarda: "We have collated information about the economic, political and social conditions in Nicaragua and established contact with the Bremen Information Centre for Human Rights and Development (B.I.Z.) as well as with other experts. From this information we were able to gain an exact overview of Nicaragua. We discussed the idea of developing a radio play, wrote a script and made sound recordings in the music studio of the Bremen musician Emanuel Jahreis. With the help of this medium we want to raise awareness amongst other people, in particular teenagers, of the unacceptable conditions in the hospital in Nicaragua. The radio play is called "Caesare – una vida en Nicaragua". In addition we have constantly raised money though other small initiatives as well as during the production of the radio play. With the help of a self-made flyer we have approached people in our area and asked for donations. Some of us have even earned money by selling cakes and personal belongings at flea markets."

A so-called ‘hospital group’ has established contact with the ‘Links der Weser’ Hospital in Bremen and thanks to their direct, competent and friendly support we were able to present information about our project there and receive a small donation in the form of a celebration for ‘Emergency Services Day’, if we help out there. More vitamin tablets and toys are currently on their way to the USA with Dr. Gisela Chrisman.’

Now our long-term goals are to finance a new dermatome (described above) and organise a solidarity concert in February 2009.