Together, we help children grow.
Imagine a world in which every child has the opportunity to receive an excellent education and develop their full potential. A world without poverty, shaped by dignity and respect. This is our vision – and thanks to the support of all Diyi friends, we are turning it into reality step by step.
2025 was a very special year for the Diyi for Kids Foundation. In our projects, in foundation work, and through our charity sales, we rolled up our sleeves and gave it our all. One thing upfront: it was the most successful year in donations since our founding nine years ago.
Financial Donations
Why think only locally or internationally? We do both. Our projects create impact where support is most urgently needed – right on our doorstep in Berlin and on the other side of the world. Each year, we support three selected projects.
€2,000 for our new Berlin project: Tomato Parade
We have enjoyed a long-standing partnership with the Berlin Community Foundation (Bürgerstiftung Berlin). Under the motto “in Berlin – for Berlin,” numerous projects are implemented for the city’s residents.
The Tomato Parade project inspires children in schools, daycare centers, and educational institutions to learn about sustainable gardening and biodiversity. The initiative was founded by Hartmut Buchwald, who cultivated more than 110 varieties of tomatoes in his garden and distributed seeds and young plants to schools and daycare centers.
After more than 1,000 seed packets and tomato plants were delivered in the spring, we received very sad news: Hartmut passed away unexpectedly. He was a person who dedicated himself with great passion to the common good and especially to supporting children.
Our donations help cover his work on tomato cultivation and the distribution of plants in 2025 and ensure that it can be continued into the coming year. Together with the Berlin Community Foundation, we are planning a commemorative event in spring 2026, during which sponsorships for his more than 110 tomato varieties will be awarded. In this way, we aim to carry forward his passion for tomatoes and honor his lasting commitment.
€2,000 for our new Germany project: Christophorus School Hoppenrade
Our project partner is CJD – Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschland e.V., which is committed to equal opportunities and individual support across more than 150 facilities. One of them is the Christophorus School in Hoppenrade, a special education school for children and young people with a focus on intellectual development. 2025 was a year of getting to know each other. In addition to meeting the dedicated headmistress, Ms. Gurkasch, and several teachers, I also spent a day observing classes. One particular highlight was playing table tennis together with a class – “round the table,” just like back in summer camp days.
In line with our approach “Movement builds strength,” I am delighted that the school chose to invest in a new outdoor table tennis table. This allows students and teachers to enjoy this group sport together all year round.
€4,200 for our international project: Vocational Futures in Nepal
In Nepal, early marriage – affecting more than one third of girls under the age of 18 – and the early assumption of domestic responsibilities significantly reduce young women’s chances of completing education or vocational training.
Thanks to Diyi for Kids donations, the project was fully funded. In 2025 alone, four trainees received direct support. Overall, more than 500 young people gained access to vocational training, internships, or self-employment through entrepreneurial training and further education programs. Young mothers benefited in particular from additional support, such as childcare during training periods. This created sustainable opportunities and significantly improved future prospects.
Time Donations
To ensure a diverse range of charity gifts at markets in Domäne Dahlem and at the Rixdorf Christmas Market, our volunteers spent the entire year crafting with dedication and creativity. They knitted, crocheted, sewed, and crafted with great care. Our market days were filled with joy, spontaneous rain cover actions, hundreds of children crafting at our stand, and plenty of shared laughter. Nearly half of our donation income was generated during the market season.
A heartfelt thank-you goes out to all Diyi friends who contribute their time, talents, and passion to support the Diyi for Kids Foundation.
Donate Interest
One very special highlight this year was the fundraising initiative by Sanam Moayedi-Stummer on the occasion of a milestone birthday. She not only gave us a wonderful public platform to talk about our foundation’s work and inspire her guests, but also helped raise more than €5,000 through donations and the sale of our beloved fortune cookies. This generous gesture deeply touched us and powerfully supported our mission: “Every child has a right to education.”
We are always happy to join your celebrations with our charity gifts or information about our foundation work.
General Foundation Work
All regular foundation expenses – such as website hosting and maintenance, fundraising, administration, and financial reporting – were once again fully covered by our own funds in 2025. This ensures that every donated euro goes directly into our projects.
There were also unexpected challenges. This year, our website had to be completely rebuilt after the previous web template was no longer supported. Thanks to the outstanding support of Adrienne Matu and Matthias Bohnau, as well as crowdfunding donations and our own resources, we successfully launched our new website in September – bilingual (German/English), with expanded impact reporting and many stories about the people behind the foundation.
Outlook for 2026
With the completion of the Tomato Parade and Vocational Futures in Nepal projects, we will launch two new initiatives while continuing our partnerships with the Berlin Community Foundation and Plan International. We will introduce these projects in the coming weeks via our website and on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
If you have ideas for markets in Berlin or the surrounding area where our handmade charity products would be a good fit, we would love to hear from you.
And please save the date: on December 8, we will celebrate our 10th anniversary with a virtual party!
We Help Kids Grow.
Together, we help children and young people develop and thrive. We are deeply grateful for the support of our many volunteers and look forward to another inspiring foundation year with you.
Dina Teuchner & Ergin Iyilikci
Founders of Diyi for Kids Stiftung
