SALEM International gemeinnützige GmbH is a German
charitable company with limited liability based in
Stadtsteinach.
It describes itself as an international
non-denominational Christian
Nondenominational Christianity (or non-denominational Christianity) consists of churches which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligning with a specific Christian d ...
non-profit welfare organisation.
Its guiding principles include
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
, vegetarian diet, and the promotion of a non-denominational
Christian way of life. Its slogan is "Christian, nonprofit, charitable".
42
Name
The institution's name "SALEM" refers to
Salem (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
שָׁלֵם, ''Shalem'', "peace"), the home of
Melchizedek
In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...
as given in
Genesis 14:18, possibly to be identified with
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
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
Stadtsteinach 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
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country 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 south by Tanzania. The sou ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
,
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
, and
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
. Similar independent projects exist in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
["After SALEM established itself in Germany, Gottfried Müller decided to bring his ideas also to other countries." ]
See also
*
Maryland Salem Children's Trust
The Maryland Salem Children's Trust Inc. was a Christian 501(c)(3) organization, member of Salem International, founded in 1979 by Louise Sutermeister and located in Frostburg and dedicated to children who "have experienced repeated trauma at a ...
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