It might even be a cow
17.04.2009 – CARE: An aid organization, 60 years after the care packages
Text: Michaela Mehls
Photos: Kay Herschelmann
The package is already 60 years old and it looks a little used. During the past months, it has accompanied Christoph Ernesti to many jubilee events in honor of the Berlin air bridge. The aid organization CARE Deutschland-Luxemburg e.V. (CARE), whose Berlin office is managed by Ernesti, flew 200,000 care packages for the needy population into Berlin during the blockade from 1948 to 1949 alongside the Rosinenbomber of the Americans and the British.
Care packages are still sent today. Together with development aid, emergency aid remains one of the organization’s most important activities and it is one of the largest organizations in the world. »The emphasis has changed. We only deliver food aid in emergencies. The care packages of today deliver self-help – seeds, for example. It might even be a cow,« says Ernesti describing how emergency aid is organized in crisis areas. When a state appeals for international help, an initial assessment is made together with local representatives, such as mayors or religious leaders, to identify who needs what, where. Goods are always purchased on the local market if they are available there. International aid campaigns are often coordinated by UN organizations.
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CARE’s financial supporters include, for example, the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. A third of CARE’s income comes from private donors. »In 2008, donations increased by ten percent. We’re satisfied,« says Christoph Ernesti. Since February 2008, his work in Berlin has been typical for an representative office there: lobbying activities, establishment of contact to political bodies and committees, networking and PR. His fully equipped office is rented from Dussmann Office in Dussmann House on Friedrichstraße. The German parliament is only 5 minutes away on foot. »The central location is a huge advantage for the board when they have appointments in parliament and for other visitors too.
You can describe the location of the office in three words. I have facilities at my disposal when I need them, such as a meeting room. I don’t have a huge infrastructure; the cost-benefit factor plays a major role.« At the beginning of the year, all of the CARE Aid Managers worldwide, met for an international conference in Dussmann House. Ernesti’s opinion of the office team: »Good staff, pleasant to work with, open.« Reception is responsible for receiving his mail and telephone calls when he is at head office in Bonn, for example.
In 2009, Ernesti plans to build bridges to the younger generation. Together with student groups, he will attend Christopher Street Day and the Carnival of Cultures and provide information concerning AIDS: »This is part of the fight against the diseases of poverty: AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis,« says Ernesti. So a condom would be a logical part of a care package for the younger generation.
Further information on the services of Dussmann Office at
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