"A Carinthian-Kenyan couple helps children in Africa."
Kronen Zeitung, October 30, 2022
KLAGENFURT Anja Prieler and the Kenyan Edwin Kemboi met as marathon runners. Now they are fighting for children in Africa.
At the half marathon “Kärnten läuft” from
Velden to Klagenfurt, Anja Prieler and Edwin Kemboi met in 2010. They have since given up top-level sport: The couple now has four children between the ages of one and six, and together they are committed to helping children in Edwin’s home village of Kiptingo.
The Prieler-Kemboi family lives half of the year in Carinthia and the other half in Kenya. In Klagenfurt, she runs a farm store and sells African handicrafts at markets. In Kenya, the couple founded the Malaika project, which means angel, a year ago. “We help with sponsorships through which we can develop a program: So for the first time, these children can have a daily lunch and clean drinking water, be provided with vitamins and fruit, and go to school,” explains Anja.
So far, 97 such sponsorships for children and 59 for families have already been concluded. Until next year, Anja and Edwin hope to be able to build a children’s center, the “house of hope”, through donations and further sponsorships. It will offer preschool, after-school activities, sports, art and music. Children who are very unwell at home should be able to live there with the consent of their parents.