The German Charity Organization Positiv Leben e.V. (Living Positive) was founded in October 2003 by Vulamasango project founder Florian Kraemer and is registered as a Non-Profit Organization in Mannheim/Germany.

The charity envisions the founding, maintaining and funding of children's projects in South Africa, which have as their principal aim the basic care, education and vocational training of vulnerable, impoverished, abused, orphaned and HIV-positive children in the townships of South Africa. The core mission is to establish a Children's Home in Cape Town/South Africa.

The founding idea behind the charity Positiv Leben e.V. was to set up a fundraising entity in Germany, through which the necessary financial resources could be raised for Mr. Kraemer's goal of setting up a Children's Home in Cape Town. Since its inception in 2003 the charity has increased its membership base steadily and close to 5 million € have been raised to date (2020). This money was used in accordance with the mission statement: The setting up and maintenance of the Children's Home Vulamasango – Open Gates for vulnerable, impoverished, abused, orphaned and HIV-positive children in the townships of Cape Town (and its predecessor project Indawo Yentsikelelo, from 2004 - 2009).

Besides the continued fundraising for once-off donations from individuals and companies, the charity specifically aims to sign up a growing number of members who feel connected to the organization's goals and who provide a fixed monthly income to the organization through small monthly membership fees, which cover the bulk of the operating costs. Without this committed and loyal base of members, the work of Vulamasango would simply not be possible!

Support VULAMASANGO through a monthly membership!

In order to show our gratitude to our members and funders in Europe and to "give back", we have been organising a bi-annual concert tour to Europe since 2007, mostly performing in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with children and youth from the Vulamasango children's project in Cape Town. The concerts of our youth choir, known as Vulingoma, serve a threefold purpose:

• We raise donations for the project in South Africa.
• The funders and members of Positiv Leben e.V. are "receiving back" something very valuable and in this way can take part in the success of the project and the lives of the children in South Africa. This direct contact with the children and youth at these concerts helps to build a personal relationship and bond of trust between the children and the supporters of the project.
• The children and youth taking part in this youth choir, most of whom stem from the most adverse conditions in South Africa and have often never before left the terrible conditions prevailing in their townships at home, get a unique chance to "see the world" and to come back to South Africa heaped with praise over their artistic ability and talent, which always leads to a vastly increased sense of worth and a new-found self-confidence, which in turn gives them the strength and positive outlook they need to face their challenging circumstances at home.

The charity organization Positiv Leben e.V. is represented by Mr. Florian Kraemer, the founder and CEO of the children's project Vulamasango, through regular information events, public talks and presentations. Should you be interested in such a presentation, please contact Mr. Kraemer through the organization's administration:

More information on the charity Positiv Leben  e.V.  (newspaper articles, project reports and newsletters) you can find here:

BACKGROUND:

• Founder and Chairperson since 2003
• Social Scientist / Social Worker
• Lives in Cape Town / South Africa since 1997
• Founder and CEO of Vulamasango since 2008
• Founder and CEO of the project Indawo Yentsikelelo in Cape Town from 2004 to 2008
• Board Member of Förderverein Vulamasango Südafrika since 2019
• Married with 2 children

BACKGROUND:

• Secretary of Positiv Leben e.V. since 2008
• Board Member of Positiv Leben e.V. since 2011
• Foreign Language Secretary
• Assistant of the Senior Management of Caterpillar Energy Solutions GmbH, Mannheim, since 2010
• Married with 2 children

BACKGROUND:

• Board Member of Positiv Leben e.V. since 2011
• Tour Assistant on Vulingoma concert tours from 2007 to 2014
• Engineer in the Automotive- and Medical Technology fields
• Key Account Manager, BorgWarner
• Married with 2 children (2016/2018)

HINTERGRUND:

Vielen Dank, Herr Penzkofer für Ihren Dienst in Vulamasango der unsere Kinder mit ganzheitlichen Gesundheitssitzungen beweist, und an unsere Mitarbeiter. Wir wünschen Ihnen alles Gute für Ihr neues Abenteuer. Ihre Arbeit als Finanzvorstand in Vulamasango wird nicht unbemerkt bleiben.

The Swiss Charity Organisation Förderverein Vulamasango Südafrika (Friends of Vulamasango South Africa), was envisioned end of 2018 by Mrs. Susanne von der Becke and Mr. Reto von der Becke and officially founded in its inception meeting on the 25th of March 2019 in Steinhausen/Zug, Switzerland. The registered charity is exempt from taxes under Swiss law.

"The Charity envisions the long-term support of the children's project "Vulamasango- Open Gates" in South Africa, a Non-Profit Organisation for disadvantaged, namely impoverished, neglected, abused and/or orphaned children in Cape Town. Through donations and membership fees the charity aims to support both the After School Care (ASC) as well as the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) segments of the project." 

The charity pursues no commercial activities and has no profit motive. All organs of the charity work as volunteers.

Through a connection to the South African Embassy in Berlin/Germany, where the youth choir Vulingoma of the children's project Vulamasango was performing on Freedom Day on the 27th of April 2016, Mr. and Mrs. von der Becke first became aware of the project Vulamasango in South Africa. At another concert of the choir at a school in Küsnacht/Switzerland in May 2018, they then met for the first time with the founder of the project, Mr. Florian Kraemer. After a personal visit to the project in Cape Town in November 2018 the couple then decided to support Vulamasango through setting up the Swiss charity organisation.

The charity uses the following avenues of fundraising:

• Donations from Individuals/companies
• Donations from active members
• Yearly Membership contributions
• Proceeds from its own charity events
• Subsidies
• Proceeds from service agreements
• Donations of any kind

Part of the funds raised will be used to issue the yearly VDB Grant to a selected group of extraordinarily gifted students from the Children’s Home in order for them to attend qualitatively better schools. In future the VDB Grant will also specifically finance tertiary education and Masters Degrees for worthy recipients from the Children’s Home.

Support VULAMASANGO through a monthly membership!

In order to show our gratitude to our members and funders in Europe and to "give back", we have been organising a bi-annual concert tour to Europe since 2007, mostly performing in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with children and youth from the Vulamasango children's project in Cape Town. The concerts of our youth choir, known as Vulingoma, serve a threefold purpose:

• We raise donations for the project in South Africa.
• The funders and members of Positiv Leben e.V. are "receiving back" something very valuable and in this way can take part in the success of the project and the lives of the children in South Africa. This direct contact with the children and youth at these concerts helps to build a personal relationship and bond of trust between the children and the supporters of the project.
• The children and youth taking part in this youth choir, most of whom stem from the most adverse conditions in South Africa and have often never before left the terrible conditions prevailing in their townships at home, get a unique chance to "see the world" and to come back to South Africa heaped with praise over their artistic ability and talent, which always leads to a vastly increased sense of worth and a new-found self-confidence, which in turn gives them the strength and positive outlook they need to face their challenging circumstances at home.

The charity Förderverein Vulamasango Südafrika is represented publicly by Mr. and Mrs. von der Becke:

More information on the charity Förderverein Vulamasango Südafrika (newspaper articles, project reports and newsletters) you can find here:

Förderverein Vulamasango Südafrika
IBAN (CHF): CH940023023070169901Z
SWIFT/BIC: UBSWCHZH80A

Alle Spenden an den Verein werden mit einer Spendenbescheinigung nach Schweizer Steuerrecht quittiert. Alle Spenden gehen zu 100% an das Kinderprojekt Vulamasango in Kapstadt! Verwaltungskosten entstehen keine.

VIELEN DANK FÜR IHRE UNTERSTÜTZUNG!!

Spenden aus Deutschland können direkt über den deutschen Förderverein laufen: Positiv Leben e.V.

BACKGROUND:

• Founder and President of FVS since 2019
• PhD in Finance (ETH Zürich)
• Entrepreneur and Founder of VDB Insights
• Facilitates Mindfulness-Courses and Retreats
• Lives in Zurich / Switzerland

BACKGROUND:

• Founder and Vice-President of FVS since 2019
• Entrepreneur and Investor
• Founder, CEO and Owner of the VDB Group
• Chairman / Executive Board Member of several mid-sized Businesses in Switzerland
• Member of the Young President’s Organisation
• Lives in Zurich / Switzerland

BACKGROUND:

• Vice-President Corporate Finance, Hypo Bank New York, 1988 - 1996
• Siemens AG, Senior Management, 1996 - 2011
• NRB, Brussels/Liège, Chairman and CEO, 2012 – 2016
• UJP Management Consulting, 2017 - Current
• Adjunct Professor for Business and Economy, Free University of Brussels, 2017 – Current
• Adjunct Professor for Business and Economy, Webster University, USA, 2017 – Current
• Board Member of Positiv Leben e.V. since 2006
• Board Member of Förderverein Vulamasango Südafrika since 2019
• Lives in Brussels / Belgium since 2012

BACKGROUND:

• Social Scientist / Social Worker
• Lives in Cape Town / South Africa since 1997
• Founder and CEO of Vulamasango since 2008
• Founder and CEO of the project Indawo Yentsikelelo in Cape Town from 2004 to 2008
• Founder and Chairperson of Positiv Leben e.V. since 2003
• Board Member of Förderverein Vulamasango Südafrika since 2019
• Married with 2 children

While filming the documentary „Michael Mittermeier in Cape Town” the German celebrity Comedian Michael Mittermeier visited the project Vulamasango for the first time in September 2009. We  had just moved the project from the Township Nyanga to the newly purchased farm plot, and the project was thus very much in its infancy at the time of Mr. Mittermeier’s first visit. Nevertheless, Mr. Mittermeier was so moved and impressed by the work being done in the organisation, that the initial visit very quickly turned into a personal friendship between Mr. Mittermeier and the project Vulamasango, represented by Mr. Florian Kraemer. The fact that afterwards Mr. Mittermeier included almost 40 minutes of footage of his visit to the project in his DVD was of course an invaluable reference for our work.

When Vulamasango then received an offer in 2010 to be part of the annual “RTL-Donation-Marathon” – a large annual fundraising effort by one of Germany’s biggest TV stations – with the only condition being, that we would have to find our own celebrity spokesperson to represent our project at the marathon, Mr. Kraemer immediately asked Mr. Mittermeier, who instantly agreed. Thus Mr. Mittermeier visited the project the second time in February 2011 in order to film his bit for the marathon together with the RTL film-team.

In November 2011 Mr. Mittermeier then represented us at the RTL-Donation-Marathon and in a special celebrity edition of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” as our project patron, and a total sum of 750.000 € was raised for Vulamasango by RTL at the time. Of that we were able to build the first three houses of the children’s home, the admin building and the tar road into the project, as well as buy two new cars for the organisation.

On the 10th of May 2014 Mr. Mittermeier attended one of our Vulingoma concerts in Munich, Germany, and of course he was asked to come on stage by Mr. Kraemer in order to receive a very personal and special gift as a thank you for his willingness to represent Vulamasango at the RTL-Donation-Marathon.

In December 2014 Mr. Mittermeier was then again in Cape Town, this time privately with his family, and of course another visit to the project was scheduled. At the time the new houses were being built, and Mr. Mittermeier was happy to witness that his collaboration with Vulamasango and RTL had become such a great success.

And of course Mr. Mittermeier was our VIP guest at the big Opening Ceremony of the houses on the 24^th of September 2015, his fourth visit to the project. The RTL film-team was once again present, and the construction project for the new houses was thus brought to a successful conclusion.

And if Mr. Mittermeier has not managed to find the time to visit Vulamasango in the last few years, his friendship to Vulamasango certainly lives on. And once or twice a year we still get a call from a German TV station, informing us that a “prominent celebrity guest” on one of their shows wants to donate his entire winnings to our project…

We thank Mr. Mittermeier from the bottom of our hearts for his faith in our work and his many years of support! For all his efforts, his visits, his frequent mentions of our organisation in various TV Talk-Shows and Game-Shows, and for his warm and friendly character and his genuine empathy for the plight of our children in South Africa!

Thank you, Michael!!