The Leberecht Foundation campaigns for disabled and disadvantaged children. The example of the family offensive in Hattersheim shows how exactly.
Hattersheim – “We get in touch here and can provide support.” Aspe Rosenberg from the city of Hattersheim brings the work of the family office in the Okriftel district to a common denominator. The office at Martin-Luther-Straße 1 is part of the “family offensive” that aims to promote education and strengthen families.
One target group are mothers who have little or no command of the German language. Ms. A., who came this morning with her little daughter, is one of them. Handicrafts are on the program, a large paper star is created for the window and words such as scissors, glue, folding or cutting are also learned.
“At the moment, due to the pandemic restrictions, we can only make such individual offers every half-hour,” explains the organizer of the family offensive, Anika Schulte. Corona has slowed down the family offensive a bit, but it is important to the makers that the family office is still open as a contact point for people in the district.
So that the mothers can also take part in the language lessons under the motto “Mama learns German”, the city has brought the association “Pedagogical Perspectives” on board. He ensures qualified childcare during the lessons. Since the mothers are not gainfully employed, they cannot claim a daycare place, says Rosenbaum.
The employees use the time spent in the family office for language games or other supportive activities. “In addition, the children learn to be without their mom for a while, which makes it easier to get used to the kindergarten afterwards,” says Melanie Schenk from the Pedagogical Perspectives Association. Short conversations with the mothers often result from the care. “They talk about problems falling asleep or ask which toys would be useful for their child,” reports Schenk.
“We can only do all of this because the Leberecht Foundation supports us,” emphasizes Aspe Rosenberg. Almost 60,000 euros as start-up capital for the first year of the project came from the Frankfurter Neue Presse foundation and its regional editions, which not only support children with physical or mental disabilities but also disadvantaged children. The city of Hattersheim is providing rooms and staff, “Leberecht finances the offers,” explains Aspe Rosenberg.
After the opening in August, the garden around the former family home was also used as long as the weather allowed. “We took the language course in the house, the language meeting outside,” says Rosenberg. Anika Schulte reports that the demand is there. “We immediately had 27 mothers here”. The small welcome gifts that parents of newborns can pick up ensure new contacts. A learning aid for primary school children was also implemented.
Good networking with other institutions for children and families is a must for the family offensive. The employees are in contact with the nearby day care centers, the elementary school, the Protestant church community and the Ahmadiyya community.
“With the family offensive we achieve education and support right from the start. And that is the cornerstone for future development,” said First City Councilor Karlheinz Spengler proudly of the project.
It goes without saying that everyone in charge would like to be able to get started again. At the moment, some things have to wait because of Corona. Rosenberg has found an employee who would carry out a father-child offer, but this is not possible under the current conditions. Using the kitchen in the house for communal cooking or baking activities also falls flat. But the look is ahead. An urban gardening project is planned for spring, for example. Nobody here is discouraged by the current situation. “This project is simply far too good for that,” says Aspe Rosenberg.
Help for disabled children for 70 years
The non-profit Leberecht Foundation has been campaigning for disabled and disadvantaged children and young people and their parents for 70 years. Behind the foundation are employees of the Frankfurter Neue Presse and its regional editions. You volunteer for projects in our area. There is only little administrative effort involved.
We ask for a donation for our projects:
Frankfurter Sparkasse
BIC: HELADEF1822, IBAN:
DE59 5005 0201 0000 0760 00
Do you need support yourself or do you know a family that needs our help?
Then go to: https://lerechte-stiftung.de/kontakt/
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