Rudolf’s early childhood in Germany was during the second world war where he grew up witnessing poverty which was an immediate fallout of the war. The deep compassion which is a big part of his nature, was imbibed by watching his parents and grandparents feed the neighbour’s children and also the poor war widows, though not being wealthy themselves.

 

Years later, he and his wife Elfie came to Goa for the first time in 1990 and stayed in Baga for more than a month. Though they enjoyed the sun, the sand and the sea they were very disturbed by the sight of poor, underprivileged children who should have been in school, but were not there! The idea of financially helping such children to pursue their studies took birth in their minds, and that is how the seed of ISEAF was planted. 

Within a few years of their arrival in Goa, about 150 deserving students every year were being selected from across the length and breadth of Goa by ISEAF, and they were given a scholarship by sponsors from abroad who were arranged by Rudolf. The sponsorship stopped only when the student completed his or her education, whatever it may be. But for this to happen the ISEAF had to become a full-blown organization not only in Goa but also in Germany, where a parallel organization was set up by Rudolf at Oldenburg, Germany. It was named as Ausbildungshilfe Indien eV.

Apart from financially helping thousands of students to complete their studies, Rudolf has seen to the welfare of scores of orphans who were suddenly left destitute. He also saw to the medical expenses of many of our scholarship students whenever he came to know that they could not be met by the family. Some accounts of both these types of help by him, can be read in his biography.