What you send in is just a drop in the ocean. I don’t have much and sometimes you wonder, does it help? I got my own child to sponsor.
Ms. Hilde Back was born on 3rd Oct 1922 in Germany. At the age of 16 years, she was forced to flee Germany following Adolf Hitler’s persecution and determination to exterminate the Jews in Germany and the fact that Jewish children were not allowed in public schools after 1938.This also marked her being separated from her family after she was accepted in Sweden unlike her parents who were not following the Swedish Government Policy of not accepting older people. Afterwards, both of her parents were sent to a concentration camp, and she received a letter from her mother telling her that her father had died. Her mother was transferred to another concentration camp, and she never heard from her again.
In Sweden, she studied to become a kindergarten teacher. Later on, she taught drama at a college for preschool teachers. While serving as a teacher, she learned about a program that supported needy children across the world. Remembering her days as a Jewish girl in Germany when she was denied the opportunity to attend school under the Nazi Nuremburg Laws, she signed up to pay for the education of a child who would otherwise not have a chance to go to school. The child she sponsored was Chris Mburu.
Chris excelled in school and went on to earn degrees from the University of Nairobi and Harvard Law School. He is currently an attorney and human rights advocate for the United Nations. In order to help other talented children from poor families continue their studies at secondary school, Chris created a foundation in 2001 and named it in honor of his childhood benefactor who he was yet to meet; The Hilde Back Education Fund.
With the support of the Swedish Ambassador in Kenya, he was able to track down Ms. Hilde. Their first meeting was when Ms. Hilde travelled to Kenya in 2003 to attend the Inauguration ceremony of the fund. Ms. Hilde’s small act of kindness grew in ways that she never could have imagined. As of January 2024, the Fund has helped 973 children in Kenya continue their studies through secondary school sponsorship. In 2012, Ms. Hilde had a second opportunity to travel to Kenya to celebrate her 90th birthday and meet some of the children whose lives had been changed by the foundation that bears her name. Ms. Hilde was a fun of theatre and championed the literary genre. She had many close friends she cared for and found a family in Chris, his wife and children.
Ms. Hilde passed on on 13th January 2021 in Vasteras Sweden, where she lived 98 years. Her legacy lives on through the many children whose lives have been transformed through the gift of education and through the many people who got to know her story and were inspired to emulate her by giving a chance to a needy child.
Hilde Back Education Fund (HBEF) is a Kenyan charitable organization that helps provide children from low-income families complete secondary school education in Kenya.
