Twenty years ago, a few friends in Zurich (Switzerland) founded Lifeline as a non-profit organization to provide the most basic necessities to the then desperately poor people of various Eastern European countries, especially in the Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus. During many visits we got to know the hardship and suffering of the population.
The future of ouractivities belongs to the pursuit of sustainable development projects, which initiate a development process that permanently improves the living conditions of the local population. This means that in the future - in contrast to spontaneous, short-term aid activities - we want to develop and introduce sustainable, i.e. long-term effective and lasting processes with a broad impact.
We attach great importance to direct contact with the population and to exerting direct influence in our projects. Several times a year, we travel to the respective countries at our own expense to monitor the development of our ongoing projects and discuss them with our long-standing local confidants.
Lifeline has also always been committed to promoting Jewish culture in countries where Jewish awareness and customs have been almost completely forgotten. Nevertheless, non-Jewish individuals and projects are also supported.
We would like to thank all institutions and private donors who have supported us financially for many years. Without this loyalty to our activities, we would not be able to realize our many important projects. We would also like to thank the many local employees in Eastern Europe who, often, under difficult conditions and through their great, tireless and voluntary commitment, ultimately make it possible for us to carry out our humanitarian ideas, activities and projects.
Contact information for our projects in German / English:
Raymond M. Guggenheim +41 79 448 20 86 ray.guggenheim@lifeline.help
Martin Zietlow +49 170 387 49 02 m.zietlow@schaeuble.eu
Contact information for our projects in Ukranian:
Romana Wiederhold romana.wiederhold@hotmail.com
Daria Zietlow daria_zietlow@mail.ua
General information about Lifeline:
info@lifeline.help
Tel.: +41 79 448 20 86 (Mobile): +41 44 980 22 20 (Landline)
Address: lifeline.help, Tägernstrasse 28, CH-8127 Forch, Switzerland
Postal account Switzerland: 60-214341-7
Bank account UBS Zurich (Switzerland): CH78 0022 5225 8340 8541 F
Bank account Volksbank Konstanz (Germany): DE34 6929 1000 0227 9022 05
We Lifeliners are a group of friends who work on a volunteer basis. Our commitment is based on Jewish tradition and its values of helping fellow human beings.
Member of our Team Czernowitz
Media and Print Design
Project Manager Belarus
Webdesign, visual Communication, IT
Founder of Lifeline, Project Manager Ukraine and Moldova, Finances
Secretary & Bookkeeping
Project Manager Czernowitz
Project Manager
Member of our Team Odessa
Project Manager
Project Manager
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Project Manager Sumy / Project Manager Belarus
Lifeline initiates, participates and finances humanitarian projects, such as running soup kitchens for the "poorest of the poor", setting up day care centers for people with disabilities, organizing shipments of medical equipment, computers,clothes and other materials. We help to establish self-help groups of mothers with disabled children, train caregivers in kinesthetic courses and build an indoor riding arena for therapeutic riding. We also facilitate the distribution of food and hygiene packages and support gifted young people (scholarships).
Our most important Projects:
- our "soup Kitchen" in Czernowitz, located at the Mensa of the city's Hotel Management School, up to 190 of the "poorest of the poor" (mostly Holocost survivors) receive a Lifeline-funded hot meal five times a day;
- twice a year we finance food and hygene packages that are distributed to needy people in Czernowitz and Drohobytsch;
- we have been funding the summer camp for the Jewish Community of Kishinew (Moldova) already for 11 years. Last year, despite Corona, more than 90 young people between the ages of 7 an 14, including 11 children with disabilities and some orphans, participated;
- one of our most important (and difficult) project, was the foundation of a day care center for severely disabled children and young adults in Bobrujsk (Belarus), which was opened on June 28, 2019, in the presence of Lifeline staff, the mayor and many senior officials, as well as Belarussian television (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o377FyYK1o). In addition, we help and advise parents and young people with a "Ludothek" (a toy library), therapeutic horseback riding and courses in kinesthetics.
Our latest projects:
- together with the Hotel Management School in Chernowitz, we are planning to introduce a baker's / pastry chef's course, which will be conducted by a Swiss baker / pastry chef in the form of "Master Classes" over a period of two years starting in 2022;
- our newest project is to help graduates from orphanages and other institutions to start a career after their basic education. Without financial or family support, young people leave their homes without the possibility to provide for housing and income or to take a professional chance; they are therefore at high risk of addiction, become criminals and often end up in prison! With the support of the Swiss Embassy in the Ukraine, we are approaching Swiss companies in the country, among which some well-known companies have already shown great interest in our newest project.
For more information, please see under Projekte (in German).