Pascal Wepner, a German cruise blogger, is raising 31,000 Euros to set up a preschool in Sri Lanka along with a non-profit organization, ‘Fly & Help’.
“We have children of our own and are doing very well. Many are far worse off than we are and, therefore, we want to give something back to them and especially to the children,” Wepner, who runs two cruise-related German-language blogs Kreuzfluenzer and Schiffe & Kreuzfahrt, told Cruise Industry News.
The products available for sale are T-shirts, hoodies, jackets, gym bags, mugs, phone cases, teddy bears and other products with the logo Kreuzfluenzer (a merge of the words “cruise” and “influencer” in German) or Schiffe & Kreuzfahrt (ships and cruise). The online store delivers worldwide, and 100 per cent of the profits made through the sales will go towards the setting up of the preschool.
The preschool will provide education for 50 kids, between 3 and 5, living in a poor, rural region of Sri Lanka. It will consist of a veranda, two classrooms, toilets and a playground.
The children are being taught either at a community centre or in dilapidated barracks or huts that do not offer a safe learning environment for them. Because of the lack of proper school facilities, many children have to travel far to get education or refrain from attending school altogether.
“Education is very important for everyone; unfortunately, not all people have easy access to education; that’s why we want to support this area with our work and our reach,” Wepner said. “My goal is for the school to be up and running by summer or autumn 2022. That means we should have the money together in January/February 2022,” he said.
The Government has supported the project and will hire the teachers for the school. Wepner said that he donates the money through his Youtube channel to the cause. - Cruise Industry News
