About our founder
In 1908, German Pastor Ernst Christoffel travelled to Turkey and was overwhelmed by the desperate hardship experienced by people living in extreme poverty – including people with disabilities and orphaned children. He founded a home in Malatya for them, independent of religion or nationality, with the support of only a handful of friends. While originally sent to Turkey to evangelise, he made it his mission to rehabilitate and educate these children, and dedicated his life to them, as a pioneer and champion for inclusion. He began Christoffel Blindenmission (Christian Blind Mission), which more than 115 years later is now a global force for change.
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CBM Global's origins
In 2019, the former CBM International Federation made changes to allow different parts of the Federation to focus on their priorities and areas of expertise. A number of the CBM Member Associations agreed to register as a new federated entity named CBM Global Disability Inclusion. CBM Global is the shortened name for this new entity.