It all began in 2012, when Michèle Tafferner was asked by a friend to help organise a charity concert in her home town of Lahnau. Then one thing led to another: The 49-year-old learnt about the association "Menschen für Kinder" (MfK), which supports children and young people suffering from cancer with various projects. Impressed by the ideas, Michèle Tafferner became involved in their realisation and her contact with the association intensified. When the REWE employee saw how great the shortcomings were in individual facilities, she realised: "This is where I want to give my all!
Today, the single mum is a member of the association's board and recently accompanied a sailing trip with sick children and young people, taking her 14-year-old daughter with her.
Michèle Tafferner spoke to one about her experiences on board, her commitment to the organisation and the conclusions she has drawn for her own life.

one: How did you feel when you got on board?
Michèle Tafferner: We were delighted, but we also had mixed feelings: What will the children and young people be like? Do they want to talk about their fate? Will they be able to deal with the stories? Over the course of the trip, everything just happened by itself. Many of them wanted to talk, all of them had been in hospital for a long time. Some of them waited until the last minute to see if their blood values would play along. Most of them had had an operation where something was amputated or removed. Sometimes the chemo has left big marks on the bones. Many have lost friends because they couldn't cope with the illness, and their first love affairs have ended. You have to swallow what these young people have already been through. But it was nice to see that such a positive vibe was created in society and outside the clinic - you can only marvel and be carried away! At some point I felt like I was on my own school trip.

one: How did the group spend the trip? What were the daily routines like?
Michèle Tafferner: We went on excursions, for example to the seal sanctuary, and we also celebrated a pirate party. The most important thing was the good camaraderie. Although the group didn't know each other beforehand, after the first evening the young people were actually just one big bunch - regardless of whether they were sick or healthy. And there was something else that amazed me: I hardly saw any mobile phones. During the sailing time, everyone was on board and helped out, and from the afternoon onwards they played games. Singstar was practically running on a continuous loop, there were crafts, there was even an accordion session where we sang sea shanties. Everyone sang along. Nothing was uncool.

one: What effect does a project like this have on the children and young people?
Michèle Tafferner: At the follow-up meeting in Solms, an astonishing number of people travelled from all over Germany, and there was great joy. The reports from patients and parents that in many cases their blood values and general state of health had improved considerably as a result of the trip were particularly great. It was the fourth trip organised by the Menschen für Kinder association. We are now busy collecting donations again so that we can weigh anchor again in April 2025.

one: What do you personally take away from this experience?
Michèle Tafferner: What my daughter and I are taking away from this trip is simply to take a more relaxed view of things and not always give in to everyday stress. We don't want to spend so much time thinking and worrying about things that aren't really important. There are more important things in life.