STATUTES

I Name, registered office and purpose

Art. 1
An association exists under the name Gentiana Schools Nairobi in accordance with Art. 60 ff
ZGB with its registered office in 9100 Herisau. It is politically and denominationally neutral.

Art.2
The purpose of the association is to promote the education and training of pupils from the poorest families with learning difficulties through the following projects of the non-governmental organization Gentiana Development Network,
Nairobi, Kenya (GDN):

  • Gentiana Primary School Nairobi (GPS)
  • Gentiana Technical College (GTC)
  • Education and training opportunities through individual scholarship and
    support programs
  • Social services in the interest of students
New GDN projects must be submitted to the Association for approval.
The association does not pursue any commercial purposes.
Persons elected to the bodies of the association work on an honorary basis.

II Membership

Art. 3
The association consists of individual members and collective members.

III Means

Art. 4
The Association’s funds consist of membership fees, donations, contributions from sponsors and donations of any kind.
The amount of the annual membership fee is determined by the individual members themselves.

IV Liability

Art. 5
The Association’s liabilities are covered exclusively by its assets.

V Organization

Art. 6
The bodies of the Association are

  • The General Assembly
  • The Board
  • The auditors

Art. 7
The supreme body is the General Assembly.
It takes place once a year.
The invitation is issued in writing, stating the agenda items, at least 20
days in advance.
Motions may be submitted to the Board of Directors up to 14 days before the General Meeting.
An Extraordinary General Meeting can be requested in writing at any time by at least
30 members or by the Board of Directors.
It must be held within three months.
Every properly convened and conducted General Meeting
is quorate.
It passes resolutions by a simple majority of the
members present.

Art. 8
The General Meeting has the following powers:

  • 1
    Approval of the minutes of the last general meeting
  • 2
    Approval of the annual report of the Board of Directors
  • 3
    Acceptance of the annual financial statements and audit report
  • 4
    Approval of the budget
  • 5
    Election of the members of the Board of Directors, the President and the Auditors
  • 6
    Dealing with motions of the board of directors and/or the members
  • 7
    Amendments to the Articles of Association
  • 8
    Dissolution of the association

Art. 9
Each member has one vote.

Art. 10
The auditors consist of one auditor; he/she audits the
annual financial statements. The auditors shall report annually to the General Meeting.

Art. 11
The Board of Directors consists of at least three members and constitutes itself
; it has the following powers:

  • 1
    It regulates the authority to sign.
  • 2
    He represents the association externally and conducts the current business.
  • 3
    It prepares the annual report and the budget.
  • 4
    He is responsible for the bookkeeping and cash management.
  • 5
    It controls the use of the funds made available to the GDN for its projects. For this purpose, he is given insight into the accounting of the GDN.
  • 6
    He/she may designate a representative to verify on-site the GDN’s account and the operation of the GPS and GTC, as well as the operation of all ancillary services.
  • 7
    It regulates the modalities of the relationship with the GDN in a Memorandum of Understanding.
  • 8
    In the event of changes in the purpose and/or ownership of GDN projects, the Board of Directors shall safeguard the interests of the Association.

VI Final provisions

Art. 12
The ‘Constitution of the GENTIANA DEVELOPMENT NETWORK’ and the
‘GPS SCHOOL POLICY’ are available for inspection by members at any time.

Art. 13
In the event of the dissolution of the Association, the General Assembly
shall designate a non-profit organization with similar objectives to which any assets shall be transferred after deduction of all obligations.

Art. 14
These amendments to the Articles of Association of
July 21, 2005 were adopted by the General Meeting of Shareholders on February 20, 2018 in Winterthur and entered into force on
this date.

TASKS / PURPOSE

The purpose of the association is to promote the education and training of students with learning difficulties from the poorest families by means of the following
Projects of the non-governmental organization Gentiana Development Network,
Nairobi, Kenya (GDN):

  • Gentiana Kindergarten Nairobi
  • Gentiana Primary School Nairobi (GPS)
  • Gentiana Junior Secondary School Nairobi (GJSS)
  • Gentiana Technical College (GTC)
  • Education and training opportunities through individual scholarship and grant programs
  • Social services in the interest of students

The association does not pursue commercial purposes.
Persons elected to the bodies of the association work on an honorary basis.

GENTIANA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bruno Bollhalder
Bruno BollhalderPresident
“The injustice and one-sided distribution of goods in this world with the resulting serious consequences for the poor is depressing. The Gentiana schools are a small but important approach to change this. With comparatively little money, but with all the more will, many children can be given a solid education. These young people are thus given a livelihood with more opportunities.”
Stefan Hartmann
Stefan HartmannActuary
“I am committed to GPS because it provides poor Kenyan children with a solid education. I am aware that we are taking on a task that is otherwise the responsibility of the state. But it does little good for Kenyan children today. They need schooling now.”
Thomas Baumgartner
Thomas BaumgartnerTreasurer
“I would like to contribute to enabling education in Kenya”.
Claudia Friedl
Claudia FriedlPolitical contacts, foundations
“Gentiana Primary School is committed to a better future for children on the ground. All donations benefit the school 1 to 1.”
Christoph Lüthi
Christoph LüthiContact person for foundations
“I want to get involved with a school project that gives disadvantaged children a better future in one of the countries in Africa with the greatest inequality in income distribution.”
Beat Allenbach
Beat AllenbachCo-founder of the association
“Founded the association at the request of Peter Baumgartner”.
Marco Röllin
Marco RöllinActuary
“In 2007, I was able to work with the teachers at GPS on the lessons.
Since then, it has been clear to me that this school is something special and deserves my continued support.”
Milena Kuster
Milena KusterSocial media support and projects
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned quite intensely at Gentiana, it’s to stay curious, open and interested. Never stop asking, keep at it and fight when you really want something.

I have seen that it is worthwhile to stand up for the children, youth and parents of Gentiana and I want to do the same. So that they too can receive the education that is so important and have the opportunity to one day fulfill their wishes and dreams, support their families, and who knows, maybe someday have the chance to learn about and discover another country like I did.”

Anina Vontobel
Anina VontobelMaintenance of the homepage
“The commitment of the teachers at the GPS as well as the joy of the children in learning, which I was able to experience during my stay in 2008, was inspiring! The GPS is the only place where these children are really allowed to be children. At the same time, they are maturing into engaged and critically thinking young people.”

ANNUAL REPORT

Here you can find the current annual report:

Annual_Report_2022

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Here you can find the current annual financial statement:

Annual_account_2022

General Assembly 2025

10. February 2025

20th General Assembly of the Gentiana Schools Association, Nairobi

Thank you for providing quality education to over 500 pupils .

Thank you for your donation