Vilma Sindona Eichholz facts for kids
Vilma Sindona Eichholz (born in 1926, died July 15, 1995) was a dedicated Esperantist from Germany who moved to Canada. She was also a teacher and a leader in the Canadian Esperanto Association. Vilma and her husband, Rüdiger Eichholz, worked hard to help more people learn and use Esperanto in Canada.
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Vilma's Early Life and Family
Vilma Eichholz was born in 1926 in a part of Germany called Silesia. After World War II ended, she left Silesia and met Rüdiger Eichholz in western Germany. They got married and, in the early 1950s, moved to Canada. They had three children, and they taught them Esperanto from a very young age, making them native Esperanto speakers.
Spreading Esperanto Around the World
In 1979, Vilma traveled to Sri Lanka, an island nation. She wrote a small book about her trip called Impresoj de esperantistino en Srilanko, which means "Impressions of an Esperantist in Sri Lanka." She was likely the first Esperantist from another country to visit Sri Lanka. Her visit helped start the Esperanto movement there. One of her students, Daniel Balasingham Jesudason, later founded the Sri Lankan Esperanto Center.
In the 1990s, after the Soviet Union broke apart, Vilma taught Esperanto in different places, including Kaliningrad. She passed away from cancer on July 15, 1995, in Bailieboro, Ontario.
Vilma's Contributions to Esperanto
Vilma Eichholz created a special Esperanto course for children called En Novan Mondon ("Into a New World") in 1984. This course used the Cseh method, a popular way to teach Esperanto.
Helping with Books and Learning Tools
She also wrote a brochure in English about having fair bilingualism in Canada (1982). Vilma worked with her husband, Rüdiger Eichholz, to put together a large collection of writings called Esperanto in the Modern World (1982). She also made fun card games to help people learn Esperanto.
Vilma was a big help to her husband with his work on dictionaries and word lists. For example, she helped revise the first version of the Esperanta Bildvortaro ("Esperanto Picture Dictionary") in 1988. She also thought about new words for Esperanto (neologisms) and how to make the language fair and inclusive for everyone. She supported her husband with the books published by Esperanto Press.
Vilma was a member of the World Esperanto Association her entire life. She also served as a delegate for the association, focusing on topics like gardening.
