Ulm, 21 July 2020
- The Roggenburg-based association is collecting donations for a hospital, a school, a kindergarten and a children’s village on the south coast of Kenya.
- Noerpel organises container transport
- Schwarz-Weiß e.V. has been providing direct support to people in need in Msambweni since 1999.
On 20 July, medical supplies, technical equipment and solar panels set off from Ulm as part of an aid shipment organised by Schwarz-Weiß e.V. for the Nice View Trust Foundation in Kenya. Every year, the charitable association based in Roggenburg collects donations and coordinates transport to East Africa. The current shipment is largely destined for the Nice View Medical Centre, a hospital established by the organisation. For over ten years, the Noerpel Group has supported Schwarz-Weiß e.V., once again providing the transport of relief goods to Kenya free of charge.
This year, Schwarz-Weiß e.V. has once again gathered a wide range of donations for Kenya. Donated by medical institutions, organisations, and private individuals from across Germany, the goods will support projects run by the Nice View Trust Foundation in Msambweni. Located around 60 kilometres south of Mombasa, the foundation runs a hospital, a school, a kindergarten and a children’s village, as well as other facilities.
Over recent months, Noerpel has collected the donated goods and transported them to an interim warehouse in Roggenburg. 'We have now reached the volume needed to fill another container and send it on its way,' says Marcel Dürr of Schwarz-Weiß e.V. 'For everyone involved, it is always a special moment when a new shipment can finally begin its journey. It is also encouraging to see how many urgently needed products have been donated in recent months.”
‘Asante Sana’ – thank you in Swahili!
Over the past few weeks, volunteer helpers have been loading the sea freight container and securing the goods for transport. Noerpel first moves the container from the interim warehouse in Roggenburg to its headquarters in Ulm, before transporting it by truck to Hamburg. Employees at Noerpel’s Hamburg branch will then coordinate the shipment to Kenya.
'The vessel takes between five and eight weeks to cover the approximately 3,800 nautical miles from Hamburg to the port of Mombasa,' explains Christopher Markthaler, Key Account Manager at Noerpel. From there, the organisation’s Kenyan transport partner takes over, delivering the goods directly to Msambweni. ‘Our colleagues at Nice View are already eagerly awaiting the shipment,’ says Marcel Dürr. ‘We would like to thank all donors and sponsors for their outstanding support.’
The Noerpel Group has been transporting relief supplies for the organisation since 2010, in support of its work in Kenya. ‘Supporting this remarkable project was already close to the heart of my grandfather, Hartmut Noerpel-Schneider,’ says Judith Noerpel-Schneider, Member of the Management Board of the Noerpel Group. 'We are delighted to make a small contribution to this important work. It is inspiring to see how much can be achieved when everyone works together.”
Schwarz-Weiß e.V.
The charitable association Projekt Schwarz-Weiß e.V. was founded in 1997. What started as a small, private initiative by Gudrun Dürr and her family has grown into a recognised aid organisation with a wide range of activities. The project began with the purchase of land and construction of the first children’s village, Nice View I, which welcomed its first eight children in 2000. To date, more than 70 orphaned children have been cared for there.
The organisation has also established a school and kindergarten, providing over 200 disadvantaged children with access to education. Other initiatives include a farming project aimed at achieving partial self-sufficiency, a vocational training and employment centre specialising in carpentry, and a tailoring workshop.
In 2014, the Nice View Medical Centre opened its doors. Since early 2017, it has been operating around the clock. It treated approximately 4,500 patients in 2017, over 6,100 in 2018, and almost 7,530 in 2019.
In recognition of her 20 years of commitment to children and young people in Kenya, Gudrun Dürr was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in October 2019.
Further information: www.kenia-hilfe.com
About the Noerpel Group
Founded in 1881, the Noerpel Group has become one of the leading logistics service providers in southern Germany. The family-owned company, headquartered in Ulm, has 16 locations across Germany and Switzerland, including ten sites in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. It ranks among the fastest-growing businesses in the logistics sector.
The Noerpel Group offers transport and logistics services alongside extensive co-packing solutions and its own personnel services division. In the 2019 financial year, the company generated revenue of around EUR 500 million.