Donor Testimonies
Gregorio Naçu, Canada
I donated to ESF to support Lernu.net because without lernu! I wouldn’t have successfully learnt Esperanto. With Esperanto, I opened my mind and my world. I’m very thankful for that and I want to help lernu! help many others to discover Esperanto and "Esperantoland".
Zhang Long, China
I supported ESF because if its merit. I learned Esperanto by myself with Lernu.net and I made lots of friends throughout the world. The website is very valuable. I also invited to join some friends who are interested in Esperanto and who would like to learn it by themselves.
Jürgen Wulff, Germany
I donate to Lernu.net because it is a truly international platform for learning Esperanto, and at the summer study in Nitra, it offers an event with a great atmosphere, especially for young people. I started learning Esperanto in 1981, and I would have liked to have the resources that we have today through Lernu.net.
Jean-François Clopeau, France
I started learning Esperanto three years ago, with the help of Lernu, following the great advice of an Esperanto-speaking friend. I have a moral debt to lernu!, to whom I am very thankful.
James Bulls, Canada
I supported the ESF with my donation because I believe in the dream of Esperanto: that an international language can build bridges between people and ultimately foster a safer, more cooperative world. With the terrific advantage of the Internet, bringing Esperanto to new students has become faster and easier than ever before, and I'm happy to support Lernu.net with my donation. It's because of the ESF that L.L. Zamenhof's dream continues to inspire the hopeful, but it's because of Lernu.net that the hopeful are finding their way.
Humphrey Tonkin, U.K., United States
1. The firmly established Esperanto organizations are usually membership organizations that are responsible to their memberships for their acts. They usually serve the interests of those members. ESF thinks differently : it strives to find new ways of promoting Esperanto and its ideals on new grounds. Its initiatives are original and it adapts to new ways of communication, for example, among young people.
2. At the same time, ESF is also firmly established: it has existed for over four decades, and it has a history of responsible and purposeful management – a fitting place for investment in the future.
3. ESF is attentive to the circumstances that surround the phenomenon of Esperanto: the language policy that dictates the direction of language usage in countries and organizations (and internationally); developments in linguistics and sociolinguistics; new methods of communication among individuals across the borders of nationality and language.
Helen Faraji, Iran, United States
I'm a teacher of literature and one day, I happened to notice that my best student wasn't listening to me anymore. She was reading an article in a women's magazine, which she gave me during a break. In the article, Esperanto was mentioned - and I was amazed that so many people could speak the same language. The article interested me very much, because I had already experienced travel in France, where I had many communication problems, because people didn't want to hear English. A telephone call to a university followed, and then learning Esperanto quickly - then later, a trip to Grezillon Castle in France, for more study. I fell deeper and deeper in love with our dear language, and some time later, I even married a wonderful Esperantist from another country. He travelled to Iran during the revolution three times before we could both travel together abroad. By means of our dear language, we met and got to know many people, and even created a tour agency. My husband has already passed away, and I am still in the United States with my family. Unfortunately, I really miss contacts with dear friends - I am like a girl who has been separated from her true love... I thank ESF for everything that they have done to help our dear language progress!
Frank Merla, Germany
I began to learn Esperanto out of curiosity because I wanted to know how an invented language works. Soon I found out that Esperanto is not more "invented" than the Standard German. Meanwhile, it is increasingly clear that people don’t simply wait that Esperanto prevails, but hope / trust that other people in other countries will do the same: I want to be able to communicate with as many people as I can, across borders. Lernu.net offers excellent ways to learn Esperanto and to network. Another opportunity to network without Facebook is with per.esocom.de.
Francisko Lorrain, Canada
Among current Esperanto organizations, I think that ESF is the one that, through its various continuous, professional-quality projects, has most concretely and energetically contributed to spreading Esperanto in recent years.
Fernando Maia Jr., Brazil
I donate to ESF because I agree with and trust the work that they fund. ESF runs and supports some of the most important spaces for Esperanto on the internet, always with a modern eye and inspiring results.
Ferdinand Cesarano, United States
I made my donation to Lernu because its chat room gives me a lot of pleasure. I really enjoy the text chat - honestly, I prefer communicating that way even in my native language, because of the clarity and precision that can be achieved through writing. Also, it's very satisfying to help learners; in doing that, I get the sense that I am helping give our language life.
Eustáquio Maia, Brazil
Dear friends! It is with great pride and gratitude that I give my support to ESF, because I believe in the cause of Esperanto and I feel that it has a great future.
Bruce Sherwood, United States
I learned Esperanto starting in 1954, and knowing it has opened many doors. Through Esperanto, I got to know other cultures and other people, which I wouldn't have known without this useful language. I am an American and I studied physics for one year in Padua, Italy. A young couple there helped me a lot; they spoke Esperanto at home, and later had two children who spoke Esperanto from birth. I have read a lot of original and translated Esperanto literature, which has broadened my own culture. During trips, I have often experienced intimate conversations in a common language, which would hardly happen in English. Esperanto was an important basis for learning other languages, which is why I can speak well in Italian and Spanish (and I have professionally given talks in Esperanto, Italian, and Spanish) and I can read well in French and (less well) in Russian. Because of this foundation, I, a physicist, was even a professor of linguistics for a few years. I contributed to ESF because I want other people to have the ability to learn about Esperanto, and to judge for themselves, whether it would be interesting to learn the language. Bruce Sherwood is a retired professor of physics, North Carolina State University
Benny Lewis, Ireland
Learning Esperanto was just a fun week project for me initially, but I didn't realize how much it would open my world up to so many incredible people. I've literally spend months of my life just speaking Esperanto at gatherings! Lernu.net was instrumental in helping me get the foundations needed to get into many conversations and making lifelong friendships!
Alain Zugetta, France
Esperanto is a wonderful tool for communicating with people from the whole world. I donate to lernu! because I want to support it, and I admire the whole team, which works hard for the success of lernu.net.
Matheus Chaud, Brazil
Lernu.net is the best place on the internet to learn Esperanto. Actually, it is the place where most beginners start studying and then become active users of Esperanto. Therefore, it is a hugely important website for the success of Esperanto. Do you want to help spread Esperanto all over the world? Support ESF. Do you want a better world, with more understanding, communication and sharing between people? Contribute to Lernu.net. I am very thankful for everything this wonderful site has offered me. Congratulations to all the staff - I know that the future will be great, thanks to idealists like you!
Trefflé Mercier, Canada
I don't hesitate to support ESF, because for me, this foundation is the most important and effective for spreading Esperanto and getting people to accept it. You only need to take a look at the various activities that ESF supports, to understand that the money donated to this foundation is well used and bears concrete and useful fruits.
Russ Williams, United States, Poland
ESF supports lernu.net, which is how I learned Esperanto and got to know Anna so... I'm repaying that favor 🙂
Synnöve Mynttinen, Finland
This year I am celebrating my 25th year as a speaker and user of Esperanto. When visiting Esperanto meetings in the past few years, I have gotten to know talented Esperanto speakers of various ages, who were participating in their first Esperanto event after they had learned Esperanto through lernu.net. I always admire their wonderful pronunciation and large vocabulary. A good example is the film of Rowland Goodbody in the film archive at edukado.net. Lernu.net and edukado.net are current methods of teaching Esperanto to millions of people all over the world, both effectively and with high quality, according to everyone's personal capabilities. Esperantujo doesn't have the financial resources to do everything. That's why we have to use our money for the most effective methods of spreading study of the language and increasing the language level of people who have already learned it. That's why I donate money to ESF from time to time; I think that ESF has supported many important things in the Esperanto community, at a scientific and a practical level. Synnöve Mynttinen has successfully passed the C1 level CEFR exam in Esperanto.
Richard Knight, United States
As a 75 year old man I have time on my hands and prefer to use it wisely. So I began again a study of Esperanto which started for me in 1963 using the little book, "Esperanto", by Cresswell and Hartley. Though I never acquired fluency and eventually put the book on the shelf, this beautiful language was always close to the front of my memory ready to pop up with but the slightest nudge. Back then I had no one to speak it with, but now the whole world lies available to me through Lernu! How could I not show my gratitude but by making a donation, albeit small. Thank you Lernu and ESF for your grand project.
Nicoline Kinch, Sweden
I wanted to contribute to ESF because thanks to Esperanto, I had a better name for my invention. I gave it the Esperanto name "Kolormondo". It works worldwide, it's simple and attractive, and it often offers a possibility of speaking Esperanto. Kolormondo is also a logical invention, understandable and beautiful, just like Esperanto... I learned Esperanto in the University of Stockholm, with Sonja Petrović-Lundberg, and also by means of lernu!
Maria Barcellos, Brazil
I donate to ESF every year because I think that it is the most important and efficient in advancing Esperanto. When I talk to people about Esperanto, I always mention Lernu.net
Luís Ladeira, Portugal
I support ESF because it is an important supporter of important Esperanto institutions, scientific research, and events. Since 2002, when I became an Esperantist, I have become accustomed to seeing ESF in serious and progressive Esperanto activities. We should support ESF!
Charles Mays, United States
In my opinion the Esperantic Studies Foundation uses its limited funds wisely and with great impact. Lernu.net is a good example. The vision that resulted in the creation of this interesting and practical website illustrates why I donate to ESF. On a more personal note, my first Esperanto contact was Cathy Schulze, who along with her husband, Bill, wisely provided funding, which today greatly helps sustain ESF. Cathy and Bill saw the value in supporting ESF, and I can not imagine an organization where my donations will be better used.
Katharina Fust, Germany
For half a year I can learn Esperanto thanks to lernu! with the "Ana Pana" course, guided by an experienced and lovable tutor, and I have established a number of e-mail contacts with people from different countries. Because of that I find it logical to financially support ESF / lernu! according to my means.
Calogero Montalbano, Italy
Give something to lernu! is the right thing to do because this site has allowed me to learn Esperanto, and learn Esperanto is one of the best things I've done in my life.