Helping hands

Dr. Raphael v. Hoensbroech

Chairman, Dortmund

Dr. Raphael von Hoensbroech has been the honorary Chairman of the Csilla von Boeselager Foundation since 2007. His main job is as artistic director and managing director of the Konzerthaus Dortmund, where he lives with his wife and five children. He grew up with the founder Csilla von Boeselager for several years during the fall of communism, which meant that he was already intensively involved with the emergency aid for Eastern Europe as a teenager. "As a child, I helped to bag begging letters. Today I can continue Csilla's work in her footsteps."

While studying musicology, philosophy, and debt & copyright law, Raphael developed his own aid project in Poland, after the flooding of the Oder River. After completing his doctorate, he initially worked as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group for eight years, where he also advised aid organisations such as the United Nations World Food Program and SOS Children's Villages. During this time, he took over the foundation's chairmanship of Csilla's husband. "I consider it a privilege that we have such an effective way of helping people in need with the foundation."

Ildikó v. Ketteler-Boeselager

Deputy Chairwoman, Office & Marketing, Arnsberg

Ildikó v. Ketteler-Boeselager has been Deputy Chairwoman of our foundation named after Csilla since 2007 and is the eldest of her two daughters. From an early age familiar with her mother's work and its rapid development, she is the foundation's local representative in Arnsberg - Vosswinkel and is responsible for local campaigns, the office and many areas of public relations. She speaks Hungarian as a second mother tongue and is the communicative link to our Hungarian-speaking partners and projects (Hungary, parts of Romania, Ukraine and Serbia).

Together with her husband, the architect manages the family farm and forestry business in Höllinghofen, the centre of life for the family of seven.

"My mother was strongly motivated to help others because she experienced a similar situation as refugee and through poverty in her youth. Likewise, I probably have a special relationship with people with disabilities and the challenges they face - especially in extreme situations such as poverty and war. Our son Béla lives with the Down-syndrome and our daughter Valentina died as an infant from a rare disease. I feel the pain and concern of parents for their vulnerable children very intensely and would particularly like to help reduce their burden."

Michael v. Boeselager

Deputy Chairman, Treasurer & Legal, Ascheberg

Michael v. Boeselager is a founding member of the foundation. His active involvement began after Csilla's death. In 1996, he was elected to the board of directors and has been deputy chairman ever since. As treasurer he is responsible for finances. "My cousin Csilla approached me, a newly qualified lawyer, in 1991 to see if I could help her set up a foundation for her emergency aid projects in Eastern Europe. I greatly admired her incredible commitment before and after the Reunification, and immediately agreed, not realising the dimensions her work would take on."

Michael lives with his wife Mareike (a member of the Advisory Board) and three children near Ascheberg. He practises as a lawyer in Werne. He also runs a forestry business in Sauerland, which he took over from his father in 1990. "In the more than 30 years of our work, we have changed the projects and their locations several times, but Csilla's principles and goals have remained unchanged and we continue to pursue them - and unfortunately the great need of many people in Eastern Europe has also remained, currently of course especially in war-torn Ukraine. It is very encouraging to see that the willingness to help us is also growing in the next generation."

Ilona v. Boeselager

Public Relations, Frankfurt

Ilona von Boeselager is the second daughter of Dr. Wolfhard and Csilla von Boeselager. She joined the foundation's public relations team in 1999 and took over overall communications from her father in 2007. She had experienced the development of Emergency Support for Eastern Europe from an early age, e.g. sorting clothing donations in the family garage. In the summer of the Peaceful Revolution (1989), Ilona had visited her mother in the camp for thousands of GDR refugees in Budapest. Csilla had set up this camp with Malteser International - virtually overnight. "Our mother believed in the impossible and in God, which gave her work great strength. That still inspires me today."

A stay of several months in Budapest and project trips to Poland and Serbia showed Ilona how poor many old people and children in Eastern Europe still are. "We have a lively, personal dialogue with all our Eastern European project partners and this creates a great deal of trust among our donors. We can work effectively on this basis".

The trained European secretary (Brussels) acquired her journalistic skills through her studies in communication science and in various editorial offices, e.g. at Radio Budapest and the Berliner Zeitung. As a trained systemic coach, Ilona is enthusiastic about working with a wide variety of people, especially in the school and social sector. She lives as a communications consultant in Frankfurt/Main and Berlin.

Johann v. Frankenberg

Projects & sponsors, Schnakenbek

Johann von Frankenberg has been a volunteer on the Board of the Csilla von Boeselager Foundation since 2019, coordinating the area of projects and its sponsors. Previously, he and his wife Katharina volunteered for the foundation's emergency aid projects in Serbia for a period of 10 years. These projects included local care for the elderly, the distribution of warm school meals and the distribution of relief supplies in the Nova Crnja region.

"I have seen a lot of need and poverty in Eastern Europe over the last 15 years. I am happy to be able to make a contribution to alleviating the need through the foundation"

Johann is an entrepreneur by profession and lives with his wife and their two daughters on a small horse farm in Schnakenbek/Schleswig Holstein. Johann studied industrial engineering in Berlin and Ottawa. He then worked for 5 years as a management consultant at Droege & Comp. He took the birth of his first daughter as an opportunity to take extended parental leave, during which the idea of founding his current company Wildglück was born.

"My first intensive contact with Eastern Europe was during a deployment as a soldier in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Our mission was to ensure peace between the population groups. Through my long-standing friendship with Raphael, Ilona and Ildiko, I developed an interest in supporting the region in the longer term. I am grateful to be able to help the region effectively and as unbureaucratically as possible with the help of the Csilla von Boeselager Foundation"

Antoinette v. Wendt

Donors & Members, Düsseldorf

Antoinette von Wendt has been an honorary member of the Board of Directors since 2015. She is responsible for looking after our loyal members and donors and advises on internal IT projects.

Antoinette is a business economist and has worked in national and international management positions - she currently lives and works in Düsseldorf. Antoinette became aware of the work of the Csilla von Boeselager Foundation through Ilona in particular. "I am particularly pleased that 100% of every donation is passed on for emergency relief. This is made possible by a lot of voluntary work and short, unbureaucratic channels."