Teamwork at the Christmas party: Fundraising for 20 orphans in Burkina Faso

The CEUR team donated 25,000 euros to the Hummaid orphanage

In February 2023, the Hummaid orphanage in Burkina Faso was officially opened with a Zscaler team of volunteers on site. Since then a director was found to take care of the day-to-day operations and the development of the orphanage’s network of authorities, hospitals and social institutions. And finally, the first 40 young residents – including 25 boys and 15 girls aged between three and eight, and some widowed mothers – moved in this fall. 

True to the motto “Sometimes the path only becomes apparent when you start walking it,” there is still a lot to organise, and the internal structures and processes must be tested to determine whether they are fit for everyday life to grow the orphanage to its full capacity. The director has now hired a deputy to help with the running of the orphanage, as well as teaching staff to look after the children in preschool and school. And five of the women who have moved into the orphanage with their children also help with the daily routine of the younger children. 

Further expansion will now depend on the experiences of these first few residents. But ultimately, the hope is for the children to have a safe haven in the orphanage for about ten years until they are able to lead an independent life.

Sponsorships for the children

In order to cover ongoing operating costs, Hummaid e.V. has set up a sponsorship platform for the orphanage. It serves to connect children (or “godchildren”) with sponsors (“godparents”) who, through their financial support, contribute to the annual costs (childcare, education and healthcare) of that child. It also aims to facilitate regular information sharing between the godparents and their godchildren. 

The first annual sponsorships have already been agreed and arranged by the Hummaid team. However, since there was still a shortfall in the budget needed to financially support all 40 residents, the Zscaler community from the Central and Eastern Europe (CEUR) region once again stepped in to run a creative fundraising campaign during Advent.

As part of the Christmas party for the more than 150 employees of the region, the organisational team hosted an auction, and invited the leadership team to contribute prizes in advance. Ten creative ideas were found, which were then auctioned off to the highest bidders over the course of the evening. The task for the leaders was not only to come up with a creative idea or unusual item, but also to present it through a “3 Whys” pitch to drive up the bids.

The creativity was impressive and the entertainment factor, as well as the commitment of the assembled CEUR team, exceeded all expectations. As soon as the first item went up for auction – a cuddly toy to represent the Munich team mascot Scooby-Doo – it quickly became clear that no one was interested in increasing the bids in ten-euro steps alone. Instead, the stuffed dog finally changed hands to move to the Frankfurt Office for the full annual budget needed to support a single orphan. One bidding war followed the next and the donated ideas and objects couldn't have been more different.

Auction campaign for a good cause

From an online yoga course for a whole team (including walking a real office dog), to a wellness weekend, a team bonding event in the mountains, or the solving of a magic trick, everything went under the hammer. But the leadership team also parted with and pitched their own personal items – from a bread tray, to an autographed book, glittery jacket, and wellness & merchandising package. The highest bid of the evening was ultimately placed for a gold Vreneli from 1929, bringing the auction total to a staggering 25,000 euros. 

The Hummaid team was overjoyed by this amount as it will cover the costs of twenty orphans in 2024. At this point, the charity club would like to thank the Christmas party organizing committee for coming up with this brilliant fundraising idea and all the participants who not only submitted generous bids and donations, but came together as one team.

The support for Hummaid shows that a lot can be achieved through the personal commitment of our team members – and it isn’t the only activity that we’ve been involved in this year. In addition to the completion and occupation of the orphanage in Burkina Faso, Hummaid threw themselves into many other humanitarian appeals; from sending a food truck to the earthquake zone in southeastern Turkey in February, to taking part in a Christmas package campaign for children in Ukraine.

The Hummaid team's next trip to Burkina Faso will take place in February 2024 to find out how operations are running. Closely supporting the project will continue to be important for all of us as part of our broader volunteering program: helping others makes each of us a different person. You can find out more about the projects, the orphanage and sponsorship opportunities at hummaid.org.