Hello Ladies of Hive !

Hello ladies, I would like to introduce myself briefly.
My name is Elke, but almost everyone calls me Elli.
I am 53 years old and live in Duisburg, which is in Germany.
I like art and photography, nature and above all traveling.

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The best thing for me is to get to know foreign countries and cultures. It is important that the body rest on vacation, but it is also important for me to get mental input. Stories, things that you don't know, new experiences, being close to the population, sometimes pushing your limits and breaking out of your comfort zone - and above all FREEDOM! That's why my husband and I only book one flight at a time and then travel across the country on our own. So we are backpackers.

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We flew to Uganda for the first time in 2016 and because we spent a few days at a school, we lost our hearts there. When we got home, we raised money so that beds could be bought for the school's new dormitory.

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In 2017 we started our own project.
We collect money and use it to buy small solar systems for the poorest on Lake Bunyonyi. They have neither water nor electricity in their huts.
A friend told me about Steemit and said it would be a good idea to report on our project there.
Actually, I've always been against putting private things online, but without the public there is no donation ...
So I'm on Facebook and always post everything that's happening in Uganda with the money.

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And then a year ago I started here and was amazed at how many high-quality articles and great photography / art can be found here.
And what I found most beautiful was the respectful interaction with one another.
If you decide on such a blockchain, you have to give up a piece of privacy, otherwise it is difficult to get into conversation with the others.

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Last year my photos from the series "Uganda War Puppets" were in an art exhibition for the first time.
At the end of 2018, I decided to get involved in the art scene a little.
Until then, I never went public with my things.
Then everything happened very quickly. Photo exhibition in October, art market in December / January and exhibitions in winter in various shop windows in Duisburg city center.

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This year there should actually be an exhibition together with a Syrian artist on the subject of "War and Peace".
The anticipation was great, but unfortunately everything was down because of the corona pandemic.

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In April I received emails from Uganda almost every day.
The only market held on Lake Bunyonyi every Friday fell victim to the lockdown.

"We're all going to starve!"
"... prices have doubled ..."
"How should this continue?"

...... no market, no jobs and the fear of the virus ....

Solar systems are important, but food is more important.
So we restructured and have been collecting money for groceries since April. We have collected over € 7,000 in the last few months. We used it to buy medicines and pay medical bills, but mostly cornmeal and soap were bought.
Here, too, some people supported us regularly.
There's the Chary token here on Hive. This supports social projects. (@achimmertens launched it).
That's a good thing in charity. Look at this!
For three months I worked several hours for Uganda almost every day. In the long run, of course, it doesn't work with this intensity, because I still have a life of my own ...
But of course we will continue.

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I love old stuff and started the " Antiques & Vintage" community. Unfortunately, I just didn't have enough time to really take care of it. I think a lot of you collect something or have some old stuff that you love. Show it to us!

Ladies, I wish you all a lot of fun here and don't forget:

We are strong, we are many and yes, we can!

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https://www.leetchi.com/c/soziales-von-elke-zaksek

https://steemit.com/nobel/@elkezaksek/wir-bringen-licht-die-geschichte-unseres-uganda-projekts-we-bring-light-the-story-of-our-uganda-project-teil-13-part-13

https://hive.blog/hive-174578/@elkezaksek/news-about-our-fundraiser-for-uganda-neuigkeiten-unserer-spendenaktion-fuer-uganda-75