Mission Statement
The Scheytt-Foundation was founded by Mr & Mrs Scheytt in order to support the Rumanian association ASM.
Vision
Children and adolescents who are abandoned by their parents as well as persons who are in need should experience God’s love through practical help and advisory support.
They will be educated to a lifestyle which is value- oriented, dignified, based on relationship building and self-determination.
This includes for example, honesty, truthfulness, loyalty, respect for others reliability,
helpfulness and readiness to forgive.
Help is given independent of religion affiliation; the important factor is the Need.
Values
The values specified are valid for the unity of members in the foundation and the Association as well as when dealing with the needy:
- Christian - Our work is based on the foundation of the belief in Jesus Christ. It is interdenominational. We convey this belief through practical help and relationship.
- Long-term - As a rule our help is not given just once but long-term and need-orientated.
- Relationship-orientated- We are in contact with children and adolescents, when possible also with the underprivileged in other projects.
- Compassionateness – Help is given to people in special emergency situations and is generally understood as (material, domestic, psychological etc.).
- The following additional values are of importance to us for our employees:
- Expertise and professional behaviour- We are mindful that employees are
- adequately qualified and support, as the circumstances require, the vocational retraining of the employees.
- Communication and readiness to forgive - Management personnel and employers exchange information openly with each other, develop the work further and clear conflicts constructively.
Foundation Members
The Board of Directors
Maja Scheytt, born in 1937, founded the Charity and the Association in Rumania as well as the local children’s home together with her husband Gotthold. Her biography can be read under ’Story’
Julia Scheytt, born in 1968, daughter of Maja and Gotthold is a founder member of the Charity and apart from that she is on the Board of Directors of the ASM in Rumania. She is the Director of a comprehensive school in Niederrhein.
Prof. Dr. Christoph Scheytt, born in 1967, son of Maja and Gotthold, has actively supported the work of the organisation from the start and has been on the Board of Directors since 2015. He is a professor of Electrical Engineering in Paderborn.
The Board of Trustees
Michael Braasch, born in 1939, a graduate engineer was a long- standing colleague of Gotthold Scheytt at the chemical plant in Marl (known today as Evonik). He supported Gotthold and Maja right from the beginning in their commitment to Rumania and is a founder- member of the Charity and the ASM in Rumania.
Helga Erberich, born in 1943 also got to know the Scheytts at the chemical plant Hüls and was a neighbour of the Scheytts in Marl. She is a member of the Charity as well as the ASM. She studied Business Administration and deals with the finances.
Roland Hetzer, born in 1960, a banker from Mössingen has supported the children’s home in Ghimbav for many years with his association “Hoffnung für Kinder in Rumänien”.
David Warzecha, born in 1990, is the grandson of Maja Scheytt and studies Psychology in Magdeburg.
The Secretary’s Office
Ingrid Donjes, born in 1949 is also a long-standing friend and companion of Maja and Gotthold Scheytt. She lives in Reken and reliably does all the secretarial work including the book-keeping for the Charity.
About the Good Samaritan
The name: ”Asociatia Samariteanul Milos“ (ASM) means in German ,,Verein Barmherziger Samariter“ (the Association of the Good Samaritan) and is based on the story of the same name which Jesus told his disciples (can be read in the Bible, Luke10,25-37): A man lay robbed and wounded at the roadside. Religious persons went passed him and ignored him. However, as a man from Samaria- a foreigner- saw him he loaded him in full pity onto his donkey and brought him to an inn, where he gave the innkeeper enough money for the further care of the man whom he left there.
This is an essential aspect of the message which Jesus repeatedly gave time and again to his followers: His heart went out to the ones who were broken in body and soul, his life and actions reflect this.
In doing so he challenged the rich and religious people of his time.
This story is so old, but its message is up-to-date for the world we live in today. When we look at Rumania 2000 years later, we see a country, whose people because of their history, need help in many ways. In 1989 the Rumanian Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was overthrown by his own landsmen, after leading the country for many years into poverty. Up to the present day one sees the effect of Rumania’s terrible past through a large number of abandoned and neglected children and many needy people.
The Scheytts became aware of the situation in Rumania through acquaintances and because the story of the good Samaritan was often a guiding principle for their actions, they became active in this country.
You can read more about this under “Our Story”.
Our Story
Gotthold and Maja Scheytt were born in the South of Germany in the thirties and both respectively experienced the war in their childhood, that is in their adolescent years. They grew up as Protestants. In their lives the belief in God became increasingly important and led to a deep conviction. They were especially inspired by the story of the Good Samaritan. They decided to help people in need – and when necessary to allow them to live at their home. Some stayed for a few days, weeks or months, some of them were taken fully into their family. Alongside their six biological children many other persons were welcomed at their home.
After Gotthold became a pensioner in 1991 he worked in collaboration with several projects in Rumania and finally in 1992 he visited a refugee and reception centre for street children in Brasov(Kronstadt). What he saw there broke his heart. The children were kept in a room with several bunk beds, their hair was shorn. Sometimes there were several children in one bed. They didn’t even receive basic care and were waiting to be collected by parents or relatives. This could sometimes take a very long time. In the mean time they did not attend school and did not receive any kind of motivation or encouragement. Their origin and identity were unknown therefore there was no one who could be informed about their stay in the reception centre. The fate of most of them was to remain there or in an orphanage until they reached their estimated age of majority.
Gotthold felt very sorry for one of the children in particular. The girl was about five years old, mentally and physically handicapped and spoke nearly no word.
Gotthold decided to give her an identity and a home and so began the story of the ASM:
The Schyetts bought an old farm in Ghimbav/Weidenbach near Brasov with their own money and with financial support from private donors and the Diakonische Werk, in Memmingen. The farm was rebuilt and refurbished up until June 1995 and in November 1995 the association eventually received the permission to take children in. The five-year old girl was one of the first to be taken in. Meanwhile she is called Luminita Samariteanul- named after the Association.
In 1998 Gotthold and Maja moved to Rumania order to be able to support better and co-ordinate the increasing work locally. In 2006 the Scheytts founded the Scheytt-Foundation in Germany, in order to make the financing of the ASM more transparent. The work is mostly sustained by private donors from Germany.
In 2006 they received the Federal Cross of Merit from the German Embassy for their work in Rumania. In the same year they became honorary citizens of the city, Ghimbav
In 2007 Gotthold died of cancer. Maja took over the management on-site.
In 2015 Christoph Scheytt joined the Board of Directors of the Foundation.
At the moment Maja leads the work on-site as a director together with Liga Luca.
In the meantime, with over 20 years of work history, new children are again and again being taken into the children’s home. Others have moved out after many years in order to begin a life on their own.
At the moment there are three areas of work being done in Rumania. The main task is the children’s home, then there is the work among the gypsies in a neighbouring town and help for the needy individuals.
What others say about us
Several Quotes
Jens Vogel, Community Church Leader of the Free Christian congregation in Dorsten
Lambert Lütkenhorst, former Major of Dorsten
Edith Kirchmann, Author of “Rumanian Passion””, p.309:
“This visit was somewhat special for me! I do not know any other establishment which is s so well run as in the one in Weidenbach!”
Ulrike Sander, Protestant Church in Rheinland:
“A personally led project has the great additional advantage that a dedicated person with a vision is behind it and never will get the idea of giving the responsibility up or of passing it over to another person. Therefore, a project like the Samariteanul Milos is very authentic, trustworthy and transparent. It is a pleasure to send a new volunteer every year….and we rejoice when we begin to see the first indications that the “Sama-Syndrome “has once again been caught: that the volunteer identifies himself with the house so completely that he feels closely attached to the concept and the children well beyond the one- year service.”