The military occupation in Lalibela leads to the closure of the PBF sports and meeting center
The PBF Bat Sports Training Center was founded in 2013 by Tesfahun Baye with a small group of 12 young people. The number of participants soon rose to 50 and the interest of many children and young people grew steadily. In addition to the Far Eastern martial arts discipline of taekwondo, new fields of activity were added, such as weightlifting for young adults. The aim is and remains to improve physical and mental fitness and, above all, to promote a sense of community through regular sporting activity. The proactive founder and sports teacher Tes is keen to offer young people a holistic approach to their sporting activities.
However, the available premises were soon far too small to accommodate the growing number of participants. The cramped space made successful training difficult. It therefore became necessary to relocate the training center. An application was submitted to the authorities for a larger plot of land. A new sports and meeting center was to be built there. Once the land had been allocated by the authorities, the next step was to finance the building. This is where our PBF Foundation came in.
The construction of the hall of the hall was completed in 2015 and officially inaugurated by Peter Bachmann in 2016. 370 participants were able to regularly take part in various sporting activities in the new center.
https://bachmann-foundation.org/2016/11/17/november-2016-ethiopie-lalibela-bat-taekwondo-club/
Unfortunately, due to the military occupation in Lalibela and other places in the Amhara region, this very successful offer for children and young adults cannot be continued today. The center had to be closed in July 2023. What remains is the colorful painting of the hall and the large-format portrait of Dr. Peter on the outside wall. The pale colors seem like a symbol of the sad situation of the people in this city of Lalibela.
We sincerely hope that the sports center will soon be able to resume operations with Tesfahun. Every day we pray for peace in this region, indeed worldwide.
Sisay Amare