About

How it all started

In 2016 Maren Reisner, founder of A Bleistift FOR EVERYONE gGmbH, set off with her husband and their three children on a one-year trip around the world. They wanted to show their children what the world is really like, and to experience the different cultures, countries and religions. Through friends and people they met on their journey, they came across a wide variety of exciting and unusual projects, for example in Tanzania, Nepal and Cambodia.
They were no ordinary visitors or tourists, they lived there to get to know the people, to get involved, and increasingly saw the world through different eyes. The work ethic and experience of the local population, their hospitality and friendliness, despite the prevailing poverty, was an incredibly impressive and new experience that made them grow and change, especially the children.

Maren was surprised that the children in many of the countries visited were actually able to attend school. The problems were often not related to a child having access to a school, but to poor infrastructure and execution within the school.
Ailing buildings, lack of basic water supply, lack of space, old and worn down furniture, lack of money for simple teaching materials such as pens, writing pads, books, etc. were many of the challenges the schools faced. In addition, the teachers, who were very committed, often had a rudimentary education and were only able to bring the children up to an inadequate level of education despite their great efforts. There just had to be something you could do – and thus the idea of A Bleistift FOR EVERYONE was born.

Maren’s thoughts matured over the course of their journey. She developed the final idea when her children went to a school in Canada for a few weeks. With astonishment she saw the great commitment of many students there. She discovered that schools encouraged children in all years to be involved in service projects and charitable organizations.
Nearly all of the students were aware of the challenges facing developing countries and of current environmental issues and they got involved in various ways.

Back in Germany Maren Reisner founded A Bleistift FOR EVERYONE, inspired by her experiences. She is committed to improving educational conditions in developing countries, but also wants to show students in Germany how good and important it is to be involved in helping those in need. With her project, she wants to prove that with a little commitment, it is possible for everyone to make a real long lasting difference.

After the foundation of A Bleistift FOR EVERYONE, she decided to support 2 projects, which were very close to her heart. She travelled to Tanzania and Pakistan to get a picture of the conditions on site and to get to know the respective partners. Since its foundation positive impacts are already visible in her Tanzania project, and planning is in full swing in Pakistan. Parallel to her involvement in local projects, Maren gives lectures at schools, universities and companies throughout Germany to draw attention to the poor educational situation in developing countries. She points out ways to improve this situation and thus give the many children a chance. Educating the children of these countries gives them a greater chance for long-term economic and social development.