Gala dinner for chimpanzees
New secondary school Harmannsdorf
Impressive “Chimpanzee Dinner” at the NMS Harmannsdorf
Pupils from the Neue Mittelschule Harmannsdorf delighted the audience with their “Chimpanzee Dinner” on 7 May. Around 90 guests, including numerous guests of honour, experienced a special dinner with theatre, singing, culinary delights and information – all in the spirit of animal welfare. It was an evening full of commitment, creativity and touching stories.
Under the direction of teacher Barbara Doppler, 40 pupils aged 10 to 14 worked intensively on the project for six weeks – a total of around 18 hours as part of the school’s focus on “taking responsibility”. In three groups – kitchen, choir and theatre and design – they cooked, made, rehearsed and organised.
The programme included an emotional performance about the life of chimpanzees in captivity, from their birth to years of suffering in research laboratories to their rescue by Gut Aiderbichl. Particularly impressive: the pupils themselves slipped into the roles of the animals and vividly portrayed their lives on stage. Videos, pictures, posters and lovingly themed table decorations with chimpanzee motifs created a special atmosphere that got under the skin.
A menu designed and prepared by the students catered for the physical well-being of the guests: Caprese salad with grissini as a starter, vegetarian cheeseburger with vegetable sticks, dip and crisps as a main course and a chocolate cake with sauce and whipped cream for dessert.
The event raised 513 euros in donations, plus a portion of the proceeds from the sale of drinks and chocolate in chimpanzee designs.
In his speech, headmaster Stefan Gamper recalled the words of Albert Schweitzer: “You can achieve great things with the least, if you do it with your heart.
It was an evening that impressively demonstrated how young people take on responsibility – with heart, commitment and a strong appeal for compassion and sustainability.
Towards the end of the event, the winners of the raffle were announced: Three family admission tickets to the Gut Aiderbichl Gänserndorf monkey sanctuary.
Petra Janßen, Head of Marketing at Gut Aiderbichl, was visibly moved and grateful: “The presentation was not only creative, but also technically sound and very emotional. The pupils did a great job and raised awareness of animal suffering.”
Many guests of honour showed their enthusiasm, including school quality manager Verena Maschek, Mayor of Harmannsdorf Alexander Raicher and Deputy Mayor Anneliese Nebenführ as well as the Mayor of the municipality of Leobendorf, Magdalena Batoha and Andrea Hohenecker, executive municipal councillor.
