‘Taking developmental steps together’ was founded in March 2021 by Wolfgang Leirer, Nina and Heinz Simonovits, and Birgit Labenbacher. We’ll tell you why we took this step. here, and our Articles of association Of course, you can also watch and read about it.
Wolfgang
My name is Wolfgang Leirer, I am originally a lawyer, after my studies I worked for seven years as a product manager at WIFI Lower Austria, where I planned, organized and conducted events, courses, seminars and workshops. At the same time I started teaching.
After a break of several months and my first real trip – to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji – I took a job as a teacher at a vocational school. At the same time, I continued working in adult education and completed a master’s degree at the University College of Teacher Education Vienna/Krems: ‘Sociocultural Animation – Leading Groups Through Play.’ And as fate would have it, a few years after graduating, I took over this course as its director.
Since March 2015, I have spent three to four months each year in Tanzania working on the project. I love the country and its people and want to inspire as many people as possible to support our amazing project.
Nina, Heinz & Felix
We are Nina and Heinz Simonovits and have a son. Our first trip to Africa was in 2002. We chose South Africa because we wanted to explore the country independently, without a travel agency. The spontaneity of our trip led to wonderful encounters and allowed us to discover unique places far from the tourist centers. We were completely captivated by Africa. Over the past twenty years, we have made many more trips to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa..
In 2013, we had our son. We met Wolfgang while Heinz was studying at the University College of Teacher Education in Vienna. He told us about the project in Tanzania he was working on at the time. This country had fascinated Nina since early childhood. When Heinz got the opportunity to travel to Tanzania with Wolfgang to actively support the project, we were immediately thrilled and packed our bags. Our son came along too.
We were inspired and motivated by the warm-hearted people we had the pleasure of meeting.
When Wolfgang told us about his project idea, we didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately pledged our support. Of course, it also helped in our decision-making that we already knew some of the people who were to be supported through ‘taking development steps together.’ We really appreciated this transparency regarding where our money would be going. The opportunity to actively help on the ground in Tanzania on an ongoing basis is also important to us.
We are excited to see how we too will develop through the project and through the various people who participate and are supported.
Here’s to a great journey together!
Dieter
My name is Dieter König, and I’ve been fascinated by Africa since childhood. Back in the 1970s, television series like ‘Daktari’ and ‘Paradise of Animals’ sparked my passion for the African continent, a passion that continues to this day. In January 2018, I fulfilled a long-held dream and traveled to Africa with my wife, Anita, to explore the fascinating wildlife on safari in the large national parks of northern Tanzania, including the world-famous Serengeti. This experience instilled in me the desire to get involved and support the local people, but how?
As fate would have it, I met Wolfgang during the pandemic at an online pub quiz he organized. I was immediately captivated when he told me about EGG and its projects, including the school construction. In 2022, I traveled to Njiwa for the first time to get to know the country and its people. Since then, I have been an active member of the EGG team and am passionately committed to the further development of the projects in Africa.