I - Sibylle Buchholz, spouse of the German Ambassador to Guinea, West Africa (2001 ? 2003), founded A.I.M.E! along with seven founding members at the end of my residence in the capital Conakry in July 2003.

The reason why I decided to found the association, which is mostly committed to women and children, is based on a pivotal experience: In an orphanage I saw a small, lonely girl in a shack. She was ragged and dirty, with a vacant and despairing look in her eyes. Excluded from all the games of other children, because of this disease that we are all so afraid of. Shunned, marginalised and 'untouchable'. Angéline had HIV/AIDS. The little girl was abandoned by her mother, who, herself also having the disease, brought her to the orphanage in the false hope that her child would have a future there. As I saw the infinitely sad gaze exuding from Angéline?s eyes, I knew at that moment that I had to give children like her a chance.

A chance for a decent life in a family environment,  an opportunity for education and independent living, a chance to laugh and love and feel a sense of belonging. Unfortunately, however, it was already too late for Angéline. She died shortly after our meeting as a result of the usual effects of the disease.

And so I founded A.I.M.E!, even though I was just about to leave the country. During our stay in Africa (Central African Republic, Congo and Uganda), I always had my heart set on supporting the children of Africa. My shocking experiences awakened my desire to help:

A.I.M.E! is my answer, our answer.

Once the association was up and running in Guinea in October 2003, we developed the project: "Integration of AIDS orphans into foster families". Since then, our ongoing trustworthy work has gradually been gaining the support of other organisations, such as UNICEF, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME and GTZ, who are providing us with financial support or material donations in the areas of food, education, health and psychosocial care.

However, this assistance does not cover areas in full.

In 2007, we were able to sign additional agreements with CHILDREN FOR A BETTER WORLD E.V., Munich, and Prosolidar EU, Rome, thus improving our services in the areas of education and basic foodstuffs.

The lawyer and practising Christian, Marie Reine Houemou (now Marie Reine Perez) has put her heart and soul into running the association from its inception. Long before the association was founded, she had worked with children in need and for other aid organisations.