Ernst Jakob Christoffel – founder of the Christian Blind Mission

‘The deed of love is the sermon that everyone understands’. His deep faith in God moved him to work with blind people, persons with disabilities and other marginalised people. He became the founder of the “Christlichen Blindenmission im Orient”, renamed the Christian Blind Mission (CBM) after his death.

Despite all the obstacles and with little financial support, Christoffel travelled to Asia Minor in 1908 and founded his first home for blind people, persons with disabilities and orphaned in Malatya, Turkey. He was expelled from Turkey at the end of the First World War and tried unsuccessfully to return to Malatya in 1925.

Instead, Christoffel continued his work in Persia, now Iran, first in Tabriz and later in Isfahan. There, and in two other homes he opened, persons with disabilities were accepted and supported regardless of religion or nationality.

In 1943, Christoffel was taken prisoner of war. It was not until 1951 that he was able to return to Isfahan, where he resumed his work with the blind and persons with disabilities, until he died in 1955.

The chapter in the history of CBM following the death of E.J. Christoffel in 1955 represents a significant low point. Christoffel had not established a succession plan. Nonetheless, a young couple, Siegfried Wiesinger and his wife, Magdalena, were recruited to lead CBM. Upon arrival in 1961 at their office in Bad Sachsa, located in the southern Harz mountains, they were unaware of the extensive global reach that CBM would soon achieve.

Magdalena Wiesinger wrote hundreds of personal letters to loyal friends. She compiled mission newsletters, while her husband often spent months in Isfahan, Iran, putting the home for the blind Christoffel had left behind on a firm footing. Over the next few years, the number of donors grew enormously.

The start of ophthalmological work in 1966 marked a breakthrough to new horizons in modern missionary work. By 1967, CBM was no longer limited to Iran. Service projects began in other countries.

In 1968, CBM relocated to Bensheim, Germany, thereby expanding its aid to numerous developing countries. The organisation witnessed a continuous increase in the number of its donors. While rehabilitation for the visually impaired and ophthalmological initiatives were the primary objectives until the mid-1970s, additional mandates were subsequently incorporated. CBM collaborated with project partners to implement programs addressing physical, hearing, and intellectual disabilities.

International CBM associations are founded.

Magdalena Wiesinger established CBM International in the United States, Canada, and Australia. CBM has since evolved into a globally active and internationally recognised specialist organisation that advocates for the rights of persons with disabilities in a comprehensive manner.