“The bright eyes of a child in an orphanage, encouraged by a smile or surprised with a small gift from someone to show they cared, opened a new world to me.  I started to see not only with my eyes but with my heart."

It doesn’t take a lot to improve the life of an orphaned child. Although basic needs such shelter and food are obviously important,  we also need to try to give each child the chance of a life filled with love, respect and a sense of security and responsibility for others. Without these values, children easily feel lost and abandoned.
Providing for disadvantaged children is not just about giving one’s money or time to ease one’s own conscience. First and foremost there should be compassion and the desire to give these innocent children a better chance in life than their surroundings would seem to dictate.  To give to a needy child is to offer to this little heart opportunity and hope in a hopeless situation.

Show a big heart and support little hearts.

Pascale Vayer, Jeannet-Susann Kiessling,  Stephan Kerstof

 

About us:

kleine herzen is an Austrian charity fund which was founded in 2006 and is listed in the official register for associations and charities, number 286027694.  kleine herzen (which means “little hearts”) is dedicated to supporting orphans and poverty- stricken children who live in economically disadvantaged countries. The charity is run by a team of volunteers, most of whom have an economic or industrial background and is supported by celebrities such as Dominique Meyer, general director of the Vienna State Opera.
kleine herzen first worked on projects based on private initiative; private sponsors and sponsoring families were engaged to help the children who live in the orphanages in Ukraine and Russia.

kleine herzen care for the youngest and most vulnerable members of society who are in need and cannot speak for themselves. kleine herzen wants to improve the quality of life for orphaned and abandoned children, to enable them to continue to live in their native country in healthy and socially stable conditions and to be able to experience everything that is so important for a “little heart”: a solid base formed by affection and caring, love and education – a sound foundation on which to build the future.

Our aid projects

kleine herzen  relies on backing from sponsors for its charitable work. The organisation offers support in various fields, for example in health care and education - for both the children and their careers. There is also a volunteer programme and of course, financial aid which is invested in the state-run orphanages in the Russian Federation or in the so-called “family homes” in Ukraine. The money is used to fund any building work, refurbishing etc. and to cover the cost of maintenance and day-to-day operations making it possible to take care of children in need.

Today, kleine herzen supports 10 family homes in Ukraine where a total of 80 orphans are cared for, as well as 3 boarding-schools type orphanages – home to more than 240 youngsters between the ages of 8 and 18, and an orphanage for 50 babies in the Russian Federation. The charity has worked on several different projects since it was founded, including financial donations put towards building a new family home in Kiev, refurbishing a camp for orphans and handicapped children in the Carpathians, organising vocational training classes for street children as well as donating money to be used in education and health care services for sick children. The charity kleine herzen co-operates exclusively with local charities that are accredited in that particular country.

In January 2010 kleine herzen was awarded the Austrian seal of approval for charities.

„The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent  to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity.“
(George Bernhard Shaw)

Account for donations:
Raiffeisen Landesbank NÖ-Vienna
Swift (BIC):  RLNWATWW    IBAN: AT133200000008700361