Sustainable Schoolbag Donation Brings Joy to Children in Romania

More than 50 well-preserved school backpacks were sent to our Romanian sister city, Sibiu, as part of an aid shipment. For years now, Steinmühle School, under the direction of Principal Bernd Holly, has supported the school backpack drive organized by the Marburg Children’s and Youth Parliament (KiJuPa) and has been collaborating with the association “Hilfe für Sibiu/Hermannstadt.” Every year, Bernd Holly asks the new fifth-graders for their old backpacks—which are almost always still in very good condition—so they can be put to good use. “For quite a few children in Romania, school backpacks are placed under the Christmas tree, as families often cannot afford new ones,” he reported. “Nearly 600 backpacks have already made their way from Steinmühle to Romania in this way,” Holly noted. During “Transport 2022,” discarded school furniture—more than 30 tables, about 50 chairs, and several boxes of school supplies from Steinmühle—was once again delivered to the sister city via a relief transport.