Austrian Albert Schweitzer Society

Logo of the ÖASG

The Austrian Albert Schweitzer Society (ÖASG) is a Christian-humanitarian, non-profit and non-political aid organization based in the Reismannhof in Vienna .

History and organization

Office of the ÖASG in Vienna

The society was founded in October 1984 under the leadership of Helmut Bräundle-Falkensee as an aid organization to support the Albert Schweitzer Primeval Forest Hospital in Lambaréné ( Gabon ), registered as an association in February 1985 and entered in the central register of associations under number 839 299 728 .

Over time, this aid association for a single project has developed into a global organization that supports projects and individuals in over 35 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.

The ÖASG does not have full-time employees and is represented by a four-person executive board, two advisory boards and two auditors who exercise their functions exclusively on a voluntary basis. They are supported by so-called delegates who represent the company in the Austrian federal states and in those countries in which the ÖASG is active.

Rhena Schweitzer-Miller , Albert Schweitzer's daughter , found out personally about the activities of the ÖASG.

activity

The ÖASG and its partner organizations in other countries support the works of Albert Schweitzer and work in his favor for the people of this world.

Since 1984 aid operations have been carried out in over 35 countries including Albania , India , Iraq , Malaysia , Mexico and Romania . The help mostly consists of support with medical devices , medicines , drinking water treatment systems , bandages and the like.

In Austria, the association supports people who have excelled in caring for old and sick people. People who are retraining as nurses and nurses are also financially supported with scholarships. ÖASG employees supervise self-help discussion groups for people who have lost people who are particularly close to them. One focus is on donations in kind to the mother and child house of the St. Elisabeth Foundation of the Archdiocese of Vienna .

A special concern of the functionaries is the support of the youth, for example through donations in kind to kindergartens. “Integration kindergartens” in Vienna, which also try to improve the German language skills of the children entrusted to them with other mother tongues, are supported with books and the payment of language teachers. In cooperation with the association “Assistenz24”, which looks after deaf young people, the ÖASG has set up and operates a teaching kitchen. The aim is to show young people how they can eat cheaply and healthily despite having limited resources. Finally, the ÖSAG supports little-known artists by giving them the opportunity to design the cover of the annual ÖASG journal.

Abroad, the field of activity is broad and ranges from supporting the establishment of a voluntary fire brigade based on the Austrian model in Greece to the establishment and operation of a children's ward in the diocesan hospital in Sumbawanga ( Tanzania ) to helping lepers in the Philippines . Since 2007, a special focus has been on deliveries to an orphanage and an old people's home in Transylvania and looking after a contact point for street children in Cluj-Napoca .

The activities are made possible through membership fees as well as monetary and material donations.

Recognitions / awards / memberships

The ÖASG is recognized by the UN and UNESCO as an “ NGO ” (“Non-Governmental Organization”) and on July 1, 2010, it was accepted as a full member of the Global Compact .
November 2011: Honorary award from the internationally active "George Best Costacos Foundation for Cancer Research"
May 2014: Membership in the International Arcadian Society

Trivia

The ÖSAG donates various portable awards to thank its donors, sponsors and members, following the example of other aid organizations. Automatic wearing permits for the uniform of the Austrian Armed Forces , the Austrian Red Cross (Landesverband Niederösterreich ), the Austrian fire brigade and all uniforms of the Swedish armed forces have been applied for and approved. It is customary to compensate the costs and expenses incurred for the ÖASG by making a donation when an award is awarded. In justified cases, the board of directors can resolve the tax-free award at any time.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the ÖSAG, the silver "Jubilee Medal 2009" was awarded to numerous personalities from home and abroad. These include Barbara Prammer , Erwin Pröll , Hans Niessl , Otto Habsburg-Lothringen and Jacek Majchrowski .

The Albert Schweitzer Medal for Humanitarian Services was a. a. in 2011 to Arnold Schwarzenegger , in 2013 by the ÖASG delegate Yoshihiko Okabe in Kyōto to the 14th Dalai Lama , and in 2020 in Vienna to Sebastian Bohrn Mena .

Further awards of the ÖASG received (excerpt): Shinzō Abe , Hademar Bankhofer , Karlheinz Böhm , Heinrich Harrer , Otto Koenig and Sven-David Müller .