Board Of Directors

1st Chairwoman and Founder

Birte Timm

- has studied history, philosophy, and educational sciences in Hamburg, Germany. She has put a focus on Caribbean History, African American History and currently completes her PhD in Berlin about the Jamaican decolonization movement. Her passion for Jamaican music, and in fact the whole culture, has aroused her interest in the country, which has not loosened its grip on her since she first set foot on the island. While doing her research she was living in Kingston for several lengthy stays and was a visiting fellow at the Department of History at the University of the West Indies, Mona. She has lived in middle class neighborhoods, as well as in Cassava Piece and developed great friendships in all quarters of society. From the vantage point of a foreigner she was able to identify some of the missing factors in the lives of the people in the least developed communities. Her deep love for the children and youths and the talent and latent potential she saw especially in these citizens have motivated her to embark on the mission to develop projects which provide free access to educational opportunities, information technology, homework assistance, and facilitate creative and cultural expressions. From her unique position she has been able to pull the two Jamaica’s – uptown and downtown – together to Help Establish Library Projects. She has also been able to garner much support through her international connections in the reggae community and the Jamaican diaspora to form a strong and dependable web of supporters.
HELP Jamaica! is the consistent combination of her interests, her skills and qualities that she has pledged to use to the ‘increase in beauty’ of Jamaica.

2nd Chairman and Founder

Hilmar Keding

- has studied marketing and human resource management in Berlin, Germany. He sharpened his marketing expertise while employments at the Tempodrom, a famous Berlin Event Location in the Marketing & Sales department, a construction material franchise chain and later as associate partner at YARD Gear, a German fashion label with focus on Caribbean culture. Between 2001 and 2007 he was responsible for www.dancehall-tapes.de – a website offering mixes and live tapes and CD’s from Dancehall parties and soundsytem clashes from all over the world.
He is playing reggae music in clubs since 1995 and played on different sounds over the years, right now as selector of Germany’s veteran sound SoundQuake. With the sound, he is touring through Europe regular and gained a lot of contacts in the international reggae fraternity (that are now very useful for HELP Jamaica!)
He organized & promoted a lot events, from small club events to big promotional company events, artist tours and medium sized Festivals.
While several stays in Kingston and the Caribbean he recognized the great need of inner-city projects that provide opportunities of free education and access to books and computers as well as sports and games. Together with Birte Timm he started to support the Trench Town Reading Centre financially, with different fundraisers, later the both decided to start saving funds to establish similar Libraries/Education Centers in other deprived inner-city areas in Kingston. Consequently, they founded non- profit associations in Germany and later in Jamaica. He is delighted to be part of a positive effort to inspire a change in the life of young people growing up in the inner-cities and is dedicating all his energies to realise that goal.

3rd Chairwoman

Nadia Hentschel

- is a child care worker by profession, nature and forest educationalist and event manager, residing in Ludwigsburg close to Stuttgart, Germany.
During her professional career and in her early honorary activities like the founding of a forest kindergarten and, a few years later, the founding of the „Landesverband für Wald- und Naturkindergärten in Baden Württemberg e.V.“, an association for forest and nature kindergartens in Southern Germany, Nadia Hentschel has gained considerable experience in the field of founding associations and the organisation of non-profit organizations as well as being responsible for political work and public relations.
For ten years, she has been manager of an educational institution and therefore is a specialist for educational conception and construction work of an institution, personnel management and developing programs and concepts for educational work.
She expresses her fascination and passion for reggae music and the culture of Jamaica for more than ten years as founding member and selectress of the infamous soundystem „Sentinel Sound“, organizing the „Kingston Hot“-party in Stuttgart. The extent of her fame in the European, internal and the Jamaican reggae scene establishes important and helpful contacts for Help Jamaica!, too. In the course of her countless travels to Jamaica and the town of Kingston, she has become familiar with the life on the island.

In her work, she is devoted to support the development and the learning processes of children and teenagers, arousing interests and the pleasure of learning, developing their individual strengths. Since the summer of 2009, Nadia is engaged for Help Jamaica!, starting as a advisory council, now being a board member. Therefore it is not surprising that „action speaks louder than words“ is one of her maxims.

4th Chairwoman /Treasurer

Aninna Beck

- is a student of social work with focus in intercultural education. Situation of refugees in Germany and European Union forced her to be busy with the issue migration, integration, refuge and asylum.
Since 97 she has been doing a lot of charity work in several NGOs of policy of environment and peace as well as in movement against neoliberal globalisation. Once she found herself involved in grassroots democratic reference groups, she arranged for plans of action, filled the air of social radio stations with high qualitative programs or took part in chaotic living room workshops as well as in nationwide organized meeting to start well structured networks and campaigns.
Few years ago caribbian vibes put her under their spell. Together with the mighty „Rastafahnder Partyservice“ she brought finest tunes to the dancehall. Since 09 she combines all her energy resulting from studies, social involvement and reggae fever in HELP Jamaica! Here she acts mainly as treasurer.