Thursday, 30 March 2006

Dortmund Citizens Honoured for their Dedication

High honours for four Dortmund citizens: The Federal German President Horst Koehler has awarded both Marianne Großpietsch and Karl Heinz Sander the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande (Federal Cross of Merit on a Ribbon) as well as the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany to Heinrich Bettenhausen and Herbert Stoverock.

The mayoress Birgit Joerder presented the honours in the city hall yesterday.

Marianne Großpietsch (62) has received honourable merits because of her dedication for decades in the social charitable field. Großpietsch has been intensely lobbying for leprosy diseased people in Nepal since the beginning of the 70s. She established the charity organisation "Shanti Leprahilfe Dortmund e. V" to intensify their aid in 1989, of which she is the chairwoman. All in all more than 800 people have found refuge in the stations established by the society. For at least five months a year Marianne Großpietsch is based in Nepal. During the seven months which she spends in Germany she campaigns for donations for the upkeep of the leprosy ward. For this a monthly amount of almost 30 000 EUR is needed.