SALEM International gemeinnützige GmbH is a German charitable company with limited liability based in

Stadtsteinach Stadtsteinach is a town in the district of Kulmbach, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Franconian Forest, 8 km northeast of Kulmbach. It is known for its proximity to mountains, fields and nature reserves. Town divisions Stadtstein ...

. It describes itself as an international

non-denominational Christian Non-denominational Christianity (or nondenominational Christianity) consists of churches, and individual Christians, which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligni ...

non-profit welfare organisation. Its guiding principles include

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, vegetarian diet, and the promotion of a non-denominational

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

way of life. Its slogan is "Christian, nonprofit, charitable". 42

Name

The institution's name "SALEM" refers to Salem (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

שָׁלֵם, ''Shalem'', "peace"), the home of

Melchizedek In the Hebrew Bible, Melchizedek was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as 'most high God'). He is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20, where he brings out bread and wine and then blesses Abraham, and El Elyon or "the Lord, Go ...

as given in Genesis 14:18, possibly to be identified with

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

History

SALEM International was founded by " Gottfried Müller and a circle of friends" in 1957 in Germany. In Germany, SALEM established institutions for homeless people, children from disadvantaged family backgrounds, and ex-convicts in

and Höchheim, Bavaria, and Kovahl, Lower Saxony. In 1980, 200 children were living in the long-established villages in Germany. But Müller has said that "Salem is only the model"; he and other organizers have not been interested in increasing the number of the villages belonging to the organization, instead seeing them as models. Further Salem institutions were built in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

, and

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. Similar independent projects exist in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

."After SALEM established itself in Germany, Gottfried Müller decided to bring his ideas also to other countries."

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.saleminternational.org/ Christian charities Humanitarian aid organizations Organizations established in 1957 Charities based in Germany Non-profit organisations based in Bavaria

Name

History

See also

References

External links