One man’s global journey to make education a reality
That encounter would haunt him. “I knew then that I wanted to build schools when I was successful,” he says. He would go on to open his first school in 2010, and since then many, many more – in fact, he opened his 1000th school in Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
Reiner Meutsch opening the Lunuwila school with daughter Silanca Weihmann and Shiromi Masakorala and Abbas Esufally of Hemas
Reiner grew up in Germany, where he joined his father’s successful bus operation business before deciding to enter the airline industry, taking over the travel agency Berge & Meer (Mountains and Sea) with a business partner. When his father died at the age of 58, having wanted to travel the world but never having the chance to do so, Reiner decided that he would do it in his father’s stead. An aviation enthusiast, he sold his company shares and replaced them with a pilot’s licence, which he used to travel to 77 countries.
Man with a mission: Reiner Meutsch. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Having never forgotten that young boy in Amman, he founded the FLY & HELP Foundation, through which he opened his first school in Rwanda, and then four more. His initial goal was to open five schools a year, which then grew to become more than 100 schools a year – culminating in the 1000th school, opened earlier this week in Lunuwila, Wennappuwa.
For Reiner, education is not just about classrooms and books –it is a transformative force. “In Germany, children cry saying they don’t want to go to school, so seeing children so happy to go to school is wonderful,” he says. He believes that education has the power to change societies. “Education can stop wars,” he adds firmly, highlighting how schools can offer children alternatives to violence, poverty, and despair.
Over the years, he has met many students who have reminded him of the profound impact that schools can have. “One child told me that he went to my school and now he can speak my language and communicate with me,” Reiner recalls, smiling. In many African countries where FLY & HELP has worked, he has seen children grow up, secure good jobs, build families, and live fulfilling lives. For him, these individual stories make the years of effort worthwhile.
To ensure that the schools meet the requirements of the communities they are in, FLY & HELP works with local partners. One of the biggest challenges, says Reiner, has been finding the right local partner to implement the project, build the schools, and ensure that everything is sustainable. In Sri Lanka, this is where the Hemas Outreach Foundation comes in. A board member had spoken to him about the Foundation and introduced him to the company, and the partnership proved a perfect fit. The Piyawara preschool project, implemented by Hemas through a Private Public Partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka, was exactly the kind of initiative that aligned with FLY & HELP’s mission.
Founded in 2002 in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, the Piyawara project focuses on Early Childhood Care and Development in Sri Lanka. Its work includes building model preschools, improving facilities in existing preschools, conducting teacher training sessions, and holding awareness sessions for parents – ensuring that children below the age of five receive a solid educational foundation in a safe, nurturing environment.
With this collaboration, FLY & HELP has already established 31 schools in Sri Lanka. The school in Lunuwila for children aged 3 to 5, is a milestone for Reiner’s global journey.
The school has two classrooms, a sick room, office room, toilets and a playground and can accommodate 50 children. The government selects the locations of the schools based on need and allocates land, and the Foundation works with partners such as FLY & HELP to build the school and conduct teacher training etc. The view is that the school will be a government school to ensure sustainability.
Why Sri Lanka for the 1000th school? Reiner smiles, introducing his daughter Silanca, who was named after Sri Lanka following the unforgettable trip he and his wife took here the year before her birth. That journey created a lasting bond between him and the island. Today, Silanca works on operations for FLY & HELP, and has been instrumental in transforming the organization from a modest start of five schools a year to hundreds annually. For her, the joy comes from seeing the tangible impact their work has on children’s lives.
Recalling her first school opening in Rwanda in 2012, she says it “filled her heart” to see 2000 children singing and waving with pure excitement at the prospect of being able to attend school.
So what comes after the 1000th school? Reiner doesn’t measure his work in milestones. “I hope I will have good health to continue my work,” he says simply. Quoting a German saying, he explains that he will “continue until he is happy” – suggesting that his mission has no fixed endpoint, only the joy of seeing lives transformed through education.
For now, FLY & HELP is expanding its reach, with more schools already underway and a focus on ensuring not just access, but quality. With Silanca and a growing network of partners supporting him, Reiner is confident that the next generation of children – from Rwanda to Sri Lanka – will inherit not only schools but opportunities that once seemed impossible.
From the memory of a boy with a rifle on the streets of Jordan to the laughter of preschoolers in Lunuwila, Reiner Meutsch’s journey has been a testament to the power of vision, persistence and a belief in the promise of education.
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