Désiré Kope was born in a provincial town called Gagnoa, many hours away from the Ivorian capital Abidjan. That was at the end of the 1950s and the people in Gagnoa were very poor. There was only electricity in a few huts, which often consisted of just four mud walls and a roof made of reed grass. Désiré grew up among these huts and fortunately there was also a school there. There were often five children on a school bench, although it was only meant for two. But Désiré enjoyed learning a lot and eventually became a teacher himself.

He initially worked as a primary school teacher in the capital Abidjan and then decided to seek his fortune in Europe. A distant relative had told him that Germany was a good place to live, and so Désiré Kope boarded a plane for Germany in 1996. He landed in Ludwigsburg. Désiré Kope spoke fluent French, the official language of the Ivory Coast, but hardly a word of German. At least it was enough for a polite "Excuse me, madame", which he used to apologize when he bumped into the woman who is now his wife on the way to the train station.

Following an advertisement in the Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung newspaper, Désiré Kope applied for a job as a warehouse worker at Lapp. He was invited to an interview, obtained his forklift driver's license and soon had a job that gave him a good life in the land of his dreams.

Andreas Lapp (right) at the opening of the "Collège Andreas Lapp". © Lapp

For his wife Renate Kope, the wedding celebration in Abidjan was pretty much the most impressive celebration of her life. The music, the dancing, the food. Fascinated by the hospitality of the people, but also shocked by the poverty, she and her husband talked for a long time at home about what would become of the children who grew up here. Many, they knew, would leave their country because it offered them no prospects, just as Désiré Kope herself had done. "When I see young people going away, leaving their homeland, taking risks - that destroys me, I have to do something," says Kope. So the idea grew of using the savings from his wages as a warehouse worker in Germany to found a school in Africa. In 2016, the time had come. Désiré Kope had traveled to his home country several times beforehand, discussed his plans with local politicians and the school authorities and finally he had even found a suitable plot of land: 4,000 square meters, a former cocoa plantation on the outskirts of Galebre, the neighboring town of his hometown. The new school was to be built here - a "collège" as it is called in French, comparable to a secondary school in Germany.

But even in the Ivory Coast, land is not cheap, not to mention the construction of the buildings. Désiré Kope and his wife had to take out a loan, but the idea was worth it. Perhaps, Désiré Kope hoped, the man to whom he ultimately owed his job as a warehouse worker would contribute something: Andreas Lapp, CEO of Lapp Holding AG.

Désiré Kope asked for an appointment with Andreas Lapp and when the time came, his wife took the dark blue suit out of the wardrobe and ironed it again. In addition to the good suit, he had also thought up a little trick for the interview. He wanted to call the new school "Collège Andreas Lapp" because, after all, he owed the company the money with which he laid the foundation stone for it. When Andreas Lapp heard about Kope's plans, he smiled to himself because he saw through the trick. Nevertheless, it didn't make the idea any worse. "The fact that the school was to be named after me was not the reason why I supported this project financially," says Lapp. "It's just a great idea and I think Mr. Kope's commitment is fantastic, you simply have to support it."

The inauguration of the school took place at the beginning of October 2019. Désiré Kope had already taken two weeks' leave beforehand and traveled to Galebre to help with the preparations. Andreas Lapp accepted the invitation to the inauguration and drove from Abidjan to Galebre. The journey from the capital to the remote province takes at least four hours on sometimes poor roads. When Lapp finally reaches the first huts in Galebre, young people jump up from the roadside, jump on their mopeds and circle the arriving vehicle, honking, rattling and shouting. They all wear T-shirts with Lapp's photo and the words "Bienvenue Mr. Andreas Lapp à Galebre". Kore Zadi Bernard is waiting at the entrance to the school grounds, dressed in a festive robe that identifies him as the chief, village elder or simply as the "Chef du Village" - the head of the village. He holds a cocoa fruit in one hand and a live chicken in the other as a symbol of hospitality.

What follows are speeches, music, dances and rituals. Several hundred people have come. Sitting on one side of the schoolyard are the people who were actually involved: the children and young people of Galebre. Andreas Lapp, who is appointed honorary chief by the "Chef du Village" in a symbolic coronation, climbs onto a platform that was provisionally built the day before, takes the microphone and speaks to the young people sitting behind him: "Because this is about you. The future belongs to you and you will one day decide what happens in this country, on this continent, in this world." That is why he was very happy to support the school project and will continue to do so in the coming years, "because one of you came up with the idea."

The first 35 pupils have already been accepted at the "Collège Andreas Lapp", with more to follow. The team of teachers around principal Kouassi Brou Rodrigue has also been chosen. One of the students is Florence, 18 years old and a little intimidated by the hustle and bustle of her new school. She says quietly: "I want to be a doctor one day, or at least a nurse. To do that, I need a good degree and I'm looking forward to starting lessons properly soon."

Désiré Kope is already making plans for the future: "I'll be working at Lapp in Ludwigsburg for a few more years, but one day, when I retire, I'll return to Galebre and take care of the school full-time." as