About Us
The Great Hope Children Center was founded in 2012 by Pastor Evans Oluoch. Since 2016, Andreas Pirker has been working with passion and personal commitment providing opportunities, fundraising and mentoring African children and their families. .
Great Hope is dedicated to help directly where it is needed! 100 percent of your donations are guaranteed to reach the Great Hope Children Center!
Board of directors
Andrew Pirker
CHAIRMAN
He has always wanted to support children in Africa. His spiritual teacher, a Buddhist monk, gave him the impuls to take action in 2016. Andreas started with € 50, today around 150 children are fully cared for.
Education:
As a coach and mental trainer, he loves to
accompany and support people in achieving their dreams and goals.
Hobbies: He has been traveling since his youth and discovered his love for Africa and the Indian Ocean early on. Every year he spends time in these regions.
Personal motto:
“There is still a lot to do!” His goal is not “to retire”, but to make a difference and inspire “to the end”.
Eva Jeindl-Gombocz
CASHIER
Since completing her studies, she has held various positions in the food industry. As a fruit buyer, she also had the opportunity to get to know many countries in a special way. Over the past 12 years, together with her husband, she built a company for food sorting equipment. She is responsible for finances, human resources and marketing.
Education:
University degree in business administration
Hobbies:
Her biggest and most exciting hobbies are her three children, three grandchildren and the whole family.
She also enjoys reading, traveling and swimming.
Personal motto:
Satisfaction and gratitude are the essential building blocks for happiness. There are moments every day in life that provide satisfaction and gratefulness , you just have to be able to recognize them.
Erika Lienhart
CHAIRMAN DEPUTY
It all began in 2023 with a trip to Zanzibar and in 2024 to Kenya. Visiting villages, schools and the children’s home in Nairobi made her think about our prosperity, which many of us often don’t appreciate. It quickly became clear to her that she wanted to play an active role in the organisation and that supporting it was a matter close to her heart.
Education:
As a project manager, she is used to planning and implementing projects and establishing new ideas. As a mental coach, she helps people to define their goals and achieve them step by step.
Hobbies:
She loves travelling, getting to know new countries, cultures and people. In her free time she loves dancing (Zumba), she is constantly educating herself and is a bookworm.
Personal motto:
Her great-grandmother often said to her “everything you learn, nobody can take away from you” and therefore she is open to new things and very eager to learn.
Focus on the solution, not the problem. (Mahatma Gandhi)
The future depends on what you do today. (Mahatma Gandhi)
Our team
Christina Cresnik-Pölzl
Christina is lucky, because she can dedicate her time every day dealing with subjects close to her heart, such as personal developmentl environmental protection and communication. She works full-time as a trainer and consultant in a socio-political organization, part-time she is on the road in schools and companies as a speaker
Hobbies:
Exercising in nature, spending time with friends and family, reading, writing, learning, meditating, travelling.
Personal motto:
“Be the change you wish into see in this world.” (Gandhi)
Jennifer Hirschenberger
On her many trips around the world she really realized what a privilege it is to be able to live in Austria. Jennifer lived in Peru for almost a year and supported two children’s clubs there. In 2022 she visited the Great Hope Center in Kenya and knew immediately that she wanted to be part of Andreas’ heart project. Her education in the social feld.
Hobbies:
Travelling, languages, sports, nature, family & friends
Personal motto:
“One day you will wake up and no longer have time for the things you always wanted to do. Do it now.” (Paulo Coelho)
Theresia Janisch
Her main job is in the public sector, but she also works part-time as a mental coach, helping people who want to change their lives for the better. Many trips to different countries around the world, as well as a longer stay abroad, have shown her how much people’s quality of life depends on where they are born. With the conviction that everyone has a right to a good life, she is happy to support the Great Hope organisation.
Education:
Commercial academy, childminder and qualified mental trainer
Hobbies:
Spending time with her husband and 3 children, reading, hiking, travelling, dancing, archery …
Mottos:
“Life is a beach.
Life comes to us in waves. We can neither predict nor control them, but we can learn to surf them. So learn to surf!” (Dan Millman)
“Ubuntu – I am because we are.”