Making history with people
This is the story of Arnold Geiger, his family, and many friends and helpers. It is a success story of many donors, volunteers, institutions and co-workers. A story that shows what can be achieved when clear targets are laid down and approached with commitment and enthusiasm while at the same time setting the priorities right.
It began in the late 80's...
with Arnold Geiger’s first trip to Russia, Romania, Turkey, Iran and to the Iraqi refugees of the first Gulf war as well as Albania. Following that there were many trips to different African states.
He was confronted with hardship and misery throughout all the trips and relief operations in the various countries and areas. There were hardly any structures in place so the people in the various locations were not in a position to build a humane and dignified future for themselves
At the beginning of the '90s…
Albania was suddenly an “open” country. The immediate needs such as food and clothes needed to be met quickly – but the people needed much more. Help and support were required to become capable of helping themselves.
At first, Arnold Geiger organized relief transports to the former communist country. Soon, however, he developed a passion to help the people in a sustainable way.
Thus, in 1991, together with his family...
and encouraged by the help of friends and the support of the “mother organization“ Nehemia in Germany, he decided to leave behind a secure environment in Germany and to follow a simple principle: Based on their own Christian beliefs and the gratefulness of their own situation, they wanted to help and support the people there to build up their own lives in dignity, with sustainability and be able to take personal responsibility for their future.
Up to 1997…
many needed projects were implemented throughout several parts of Albania, such as soup kitchens, repair shops, first-aid clinics, etc. The development made very good progress. But then, anarchy took over Albania’s society after the uprisings caused by the breakdown of several financial pyramid schemes.
Violence, unrests, and riots…
marked the year of 1997 when nearly all projects of NEHEMIA were destroyed. But Arnold Geiger and his team remained in the country encouraged by the people who lived out the NEHEMIA values even during the uprisings, and very soon, they played a decisive role when the Kosovo refugee crisis emerged in 1999: in cooperation with the government, the UNHCR and other international organizations, NG took care of almost 4,000 refugees.
Since then, the work has grown…
There are therapeutical care for children with special needs, soup kitchens, social services, daycare centers for poor children and educational institutions from kindergarten to university. One key success factor lies in the qualified local staff which is motivated to live the NG values, to be an example and to positively impact their country in the long-run. Competent international advisors from all areas of society, such as politics, economy, medicine, culture, and science accompany us.
A new name: Nehemiah Gateway
To expand internationally and to make better use of our resources and experience, the German Nehemiah Gateway gGmbH (non-profit limited liability) was founded in 2010 to coordinate our operative projects worldwide. Additionally, assets from an endowment were managed by NGS gGmbH. In 2019, the two organizations merged into one legal entity: Nehemiah Gateway Services gGmbH (NGS).
Our ambition is to provide even more people with perspectives for their lives. We do not want people to be dependent on the alms of the Western World, but we want them to recognize and foster their own strengths, and to then use them to create sustainable structures. Helping others to help themselves is the goal. Our next step is helping people in Latin America and Africa, whether as refugees or in their individual home countries …