About Us

Our Vision

SONNE FÜR DICH wants to establish itself as a non-profit, non-commercial organization in Germany. Our goal is to successfully run educational and development projects in the poor areas of Latin America. We want to work on a regional level, in small villages, according to the principle of integrated sustainable development (PIDS).

This concept also implies the creation of a project catalog, which places great importance on taking the characteristics and needs of the population into consideration, as well as their cultural and social condition.

Each project catalog should contain complementary measures that favor sustainable development, which are important for the scope of the project and how successful it is.

These measures could include educational initiatives for all age groups, sports and leisure activities, the expansion of the infrastructure, electricity from sustainable energy sources, a drinking water supply, hygiene, health policies, as well as small loans to promote individual initiatives. Each project catalog is created individually on location, together with the people who live there.

Our philosophy is “Helping people help themselves”. The residents are included in the development of the projects and trained to assume responsibility to continue them independently.

Our Team in Germany

Our team works on a voluntary basis. We believe that we can change the lives of the people we work with. We are a multicultural group…many of us grew up in Latin America or lived there for many years and now work or study in Germany.

We conduct our projects together with the people who live there, who, of course, are also part of our team. Our project in La Playa is the first step towards realizing our vision.

On-Site Team

Sister Maria Candelaria

She has been a member of the religious community, “Hijas de la Caridad de San Vicente de Paul” since 1969 (The Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul), which is also known as the “Hermanas Vicentinas” (Vincentian Sisters of Charity) in Latin America. They have two establishments in Colombia, one in Bogotá and another in Cali and their world headquarters are in Paris. Sister Maria Candelaria belongs to the establishment in Bogotá and has always dedicated herself to working in public schools in the poor communities of Colombia. She worked in the Boyacá, Tolima, Huila and Santander regions for several years and has been the director of San Vicente de Paul in La Playa for nine years.

Sister Maria Candelaria is our contact person at the school. She is responsible for the administration of donations that the school receives from us and makes sure the money is used as planned. We are in constant contact with her, by regular mail, e-mail, or telephone. Her reliability and commitment are an enormous help to us, since we are seldom able to be at the school ourselves.

Jorge Pereyra

Mr. Pereyra is a sociologist and has worked at San Vicente de Paul for 21 years. He teaches computer classes, helps us with e-mail communication, and is always available to help Sister Maria Candelaria with technical questions. Several other teachers also support us on-site. One of them is the math teacher, Nidia Fontalvo, and with whom we are also in regular contact. The parents and students in the higher classes provide support as well. On-site projects are coordinated by Sister Maria Candelaria.