May 2022 – Paulihof – Kinderhilfe gGmbH (children and animal welfare)

When we arrived at the Paulihof, we were greeted by a multitude of colourful impressions. In the house we met three dogs that couldn’t be more different in their behaviour. Shy, playful, daring; Each one unique in its own way. These first impressions characterised our entire stay: Each and every resident at the Paulihof is special, unique. This includes the many chickens, sheep, goats, donkeys, horses, and the many other animal residents as well as the children who have found their home on the Paulihof.

Paulihof – Kinderhilfe gGmbH (i.e., children’s aid company) is an educational-therapeutic residential group for traumatised children, which has its approach in curative education with animals. The Paulihof farm was founded over 17 years ago, was formerly part of the child protection agency in Munich, and has been an independent, non-profit company since 2020.

Up to 10 children are accommodated at the Paulihof at the same time. Some of these have had a long history in child protection and youth welfare. Many have had bad experiences, severe fears of attachment, and were “written off” by the system. Nothing of this was noticeable during our visit. At lunch, the children excitedly reported on their school life, discussed upcoming tasks, and exchanged hugs. However, it is obvious how much work and energy has gone into this development. A total of 14 supervisors work in shifts on the farm. Their tasks involve not only intensive childcare work, but also household chores, and, above all, farm work. The children are intensely involved in the animal care process on the farm and they each have a reference animal for which they are responsible. The work being done with the children and animals on this farm is very special and helps them to find the protection, security, and trust to be able to form new relationships. Animal-assisted education promotes physical, emotional, and social development and enables new experiences. The focus of the work being done on Paulihof is on building a relationship between humans and animals and transferring these experiences to dealings with other people.

Just like the children, the animals at the Paulihof have gone through a lot in their lives. They were often neglected, mistreated, and unwanted and in some cases they are severely traumatized. It is precisely this similarity in experience that the children can identify with particularly well. On the informative website of the Paulihof (www.paulihof.eu) you can find the sentence “Here, child and animal welfare come together.” and it couldn’t have been put into words in a more appropriate way. In the middle of this wonderful undertaking stands Ulrike Heigenmooser, who originally set up the project and has since run the Paulihof. During our visit, we immediately felt how much love and strength she puts into dealing with each and every Paulihof resident. Supported by her colleague and co-director of the farm, Sandra Sailer, the remedial teacher is committed to helping her protégés with heart and soul. Not always an easy undertaking, but always an incredibly rewarding one.

We were absolutely delighted after our visit to the Paulihof and are glad to be able to contribute to this great project with our support.

A short video (in German) about the Paulihof can also be found here: https://www.tvingolstadt.de/mediathek/44381/

March 2022 – Girls are kicking it! A project of the Munich-based Education and Culture Association

The Munich-based Education and Culture Association (BIKU e.V.) works mainly with freelance employees and has several different pillars. Among other things, the “A.PPLAUS” project, which offers inexpensive and exciting holiday courses such as theater, aerial silk or acrobatics. Moving Child’s attention was particularly drawn to the “Girls at the Ball” project last year. Under this title, BIKU e.V. organizes free football training with an integrative approach for girls with and without a migration background. This is where girls come together, interact and communicate through sport. “Mädchen an den Ball” is aimed at girls between the ages of 6 and 17, for whom there are often fewer extracurricular sports activities than for boys. Sport conveys new self-confidence and strengthens social and intercultural skills. The aim of the offer is to give girls the opportunity to interact free of gender constraints and role models and to cast off external expectations in the process.

What started as a small but very important idea in 2007 has now become a far-reaching offer. Every month up to 800 (!) Girls come together to play football at 8 locations in Munich. But it shouldn’t stay that way. The success of “Girls on the Ball” is making waves and by 2024 a total of 32 locations have asked to establish the project with them too. However, in order to guarantee the quality assurance of the project, “only” 6-8 new locations will be opened per year. Because “girls on the ball” is not just simple soccer training. All locations have their own dynamic that allows them to be adapted to the respective conditions and needs of the group. It is about combining the aspects of culture, sports and social education. But it is also a feminist work that aims to “make girls visible”, especially in male-dominated sports facilities.

It is important that everyone involved understands that the project is not just about inclusion, but also about emancipation. The soccer game also allows girls with physical, psychological, mental or language handicaps to playfully find a place in a safe and supportive group and all participants gain self-confidence through their game and the support of the group. The supervisors at all locations must internalize these background ideas and help to implement them. At each location there is therefore a permanent team of four consisting of a location manager, two coaches and a cultural educator: in. There are currently 24 coaches involved in the project, but the team is gradually getting reinforcements. Moving Child supports BIKU e.V., for example, by financing trainer training to strengthen staff at the sports fields.

In the long term, it would be conceivable and very nice if “Girls at the Ball” could establish itself throughout Germany and not only support girls directly, but also draw attention to the unequal representation of boys and girls in public spaces . In this context, a pilot project is initially planned in Augsburg, which will then hopefully also initiate the future nationwide opening of “girls to the ball”.

January 2022 – Aid for refugees in Austria concluded

After a long, utterly exhausting, and life-threatening escape from their home in Syria, a family with five children finally reached save grounds in Austria. The family had lost their house and all of their wealth in the war. Together with other refugees the family was initially received in an emergency shelter in a village close to Eisenstadt. The aid organisation Burgenland covered their care. Furthermore, several of the villagers offered voluntary services and care, such as educational help and language courses. The essentials were quickly organized for the families. The network of helpers, which was established at that time is still very active today. Since then, the family was officially accepted by the town and a house was rented to them. This way it is now possible for the family to build new roots in safety and start to work on processing the trauma of their escape.

When Anna and Gertraud got to know the children at a birthday party, they were moved by their story and decided straight away to offer the support of Moving Child. Since then, Moving Child has supported the children continuously by enabling special language tutoring and training. Since 2016, Moving Child has been helping the small family by financing afternoon care, helping them find apprenticeships, and various small educational offers. In the meantime, the family has settled in and developed in such a way that no further support is necessary.

It is very impressive to see how, within a few years, this family has proactively and successfully found their way into a new every day and professional life. Both parents are now working. While the father works in a bakery, the mother is employed as a cleaner in the nearby hospital. The independence that comes with working gives both of them a lot of pleasure and allows them to make many new and supporting contacts. The oldest son in the family has already completed his apprenticeship as a car mechanic and continues to work in his training company with great pleasure. The second oldest son has also completed his training as a dental technician and is now moving to Bregenz to continue working as a dental technician, which he really enjoys. The middle daughter successfully passed the Abitur in the summer of 2021! Subsequently, she started studying chemistry at the University of Graz. But since her deepest wish is to become a doctor one day, she will apply for a place in a medicine program in the coming year. Her younger sister is still in middle school but would like to attend vocational school soon and train as a kindergarten teacher. The youngest son of the family is now also in the second grade of high school but would prefer only to play soccer all the time. And he has great talent! Who knows, maybe he’ll go to a soccer academy after graduating from high school? One thing is certain, the family has gained a foothold! The parents are happy to continue living in the village with their two youngest children and are often visited by the grown-ups. We are touched and moved to have been part of this development in recent years. We wish the family good luck and the children much joy in shaping their lives independently.