"When you see how so much is being done with so little it humbles you," Gerhard Schröder remarked, visibly moved during his visit to the German Church School on January 19.

The school offers education to the poorest of the poor. It has an enrollment of more than 1000.The children are given meals, clothing, and medical care by the school. The Church School takes an integrative approach. Thirty-three of the children at the school are blind. They are not taught separately but rather integrated into classes with seeing children. A further feature of the school is that numerous parents come here to learn how to read and write along with their children.

During his visit Chancellor Schröder noted the value of the education being provided to these children, saying: "The children who go to this school are given a good foundation for their further lives."

The school offers eight years of education. After students have finished the eighth grade they are given an opportunity to continue their education in special classes taught on Saturdays.

Chancellor Schröder pledged a donation of 15,000 euros to be used to help finance a new gym. Schröder added that if this amount of money is not sufficient and something is missing after the gym has been built he will request that additional funding be provided.

The school project has been in existence since 1972 and is supported by the members of the German-speaking Protestant church in Addis Ababa. The small congregation is dependent on outside help and donations. A major source of support for the work done in the project comes from sponsorships assumed by private citizens for individual children.