At this year's closed conference, the team from HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions' Transport Infrastructure Europe business unit raised an impressive sum for a good cause in a conference-related themed quiz. The donation has now been handed over to the Levana School in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. The Levana School - named after Levana, the goddess of children - is a special school with a focus on holistic and motor development.
The joint social event planned by HTPPPS in the Ahr Valley on the basis of voluntary participation by HTPPPS team members recently had to be postponed until further building permits have been obtained. The TIE business unit has therefore decided to donate the money raised at its retreat to the Ahr valley this year. The flood in summer 2021 completely destroyed the Levana school building. On behalf of the TIE branch, Mariola Thometzki, who is involved in the organization of the planned joint social event in the Ahr valley, handed over the symbolic cheque for 1,000 euros to the principal Kathrin Römermann on 4 October 2022.
The Levana School was completely flooded. The water level reached up to the upper window frame, corresponding to a water height of around two meters. The masses of water with oil, mud and branches, and in some cases even entire trees and other flotsam, swept away the entire inventory. Two days later, the broken furniture was found piled up at another end of the school.
Initially, the teachers, parents and neighbors tried to save the school with the help of stacked sandbags. However, when it became clear that the water would rise faster and more strongly than expected, all the helpers had to leave the building towards the evening and get to safety immediately.
During the donation handover, Mariola was able to get an idea of the extent of the destruction that is still clearly visible: "We were able to look at the Levana School through the construction fence and see classrooms, a swimming pool, the schoolyard... There is still a lot to do before the building can be used again," she reports.
The pupils and teachers are currently housed at the State School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and at the Christiane Herzog School in Neuwied. And so that the school community can return to Ahrweiler in winter if possible, a container school is currently being built near the Levana School.
