Home from Home Germany
Home from Home Germany is an international partner supporting Home from Home’s foster care homes in South Africa. Through fundraising and advocacy, this initiative helps extend care, stability, and opportunity to vulnerable children.
The History
Together with his wife, Marlies, and former colleagues, Clem Spaubeek founded Home from Home Germany in 2006. A celebration in Cape Town for Clem’s 60th birthday was the first fundraiser to support the children.
Home from Home Germany has thirteen active members. The chairpersons are Tomas Weber and Clem Spaubeek. Marlies Spaubeek is the treasurer. Marlies and Clem spend a lot of time in South Africa and are involved in a wide variety of projects. They understand the local conditions well and are able to assess what is required and how donations can best be utilised.
The Spaubeek couple lived and worked in South Africa from 1970 to 1974. When they came back to Cape Town for a visit in 1996, they learned about the numerous orphans who had lost their parents through infection with the HIV virus and the resulting disease AIDS.
In addition to the fact that these children were orphaned or abandoned, some of them had suffered severe trauma through mistreatment and abuse.
As part of her work in the medical field of diagnostics, Marlies had already sold the first AIDS test in Germany in 1985.
She was horrified to see what this disease can do. This disease had serious consequences not only for the adults, some of whom were drug addicts – but also for their children. When Marlies and Clem saw the situation in Cape Town, they looked for a suitable way to help affected children there.
