Finding + supporting mentors for pupils in Berlin

The project PaSch enjoyed the summer in Berlin in different aspects and we want to share some impressions with you.

In our first report we mentioned an upcoming field trip with our mentors and mentees, which we could realize on July, 11^th. We invited all kids and volunteers involved in the project PaSch and in the end a group of 19 people started a trip to an amusement park outside of Berlin. In order to get there, we had to take a particular train (regional train), which was really exciting especially for one of the girls – she has never taken a train like this before…Squeezed together with a lot of other people heading to the surrounding area of Berlin, it took us about an hour in train and bus to reach the entrance of the park - finally!

After a short picnic we decided to head through the petting zoo of the park, where the kids could feed goats or deers and their fawn – they were fascinated. We also walked through a park of dinosaurs, explaining and showing the animals of the primeval times. The children played on playgrounds and in a small swimming lake and in the end we ended up driving bumper car. Before we left the park, thanks to the donations, we could invite the whole group to an ice cream and we almost missed our connection back to Berlin.

During summer holidays we organized a family picnic on two afternoons and invited families of the neighborhood, involved in the mentoring-project as well as in other projects in our community center. Families and kids got to know each other, we informed about our variety of offers and we all spend a nice afternoon on the playground with barbecue and games for the kids and enjoying summer weather.

Thanks to the donations, we could offer some basics to drink and eat for our guests, but we were overwhelmed by the willingness of bringing food (salads, meat, vegetables, fruits…) to share with the neighbors.

This week, the mentees started to go to School again and hopefully they enjoyed the rest of their holidays. In the project, we are already planning another field trip for the mentors and mentees as well as a workshop for new volunteers.

We are grateful for your support and your donations, which allow us to offer different activities for our mentors and mentees. Thank you!

Since March 2015, we are part of Globalgiving and are grateful for the received donations that help us to keep the mentoring project PaSch running. We were able to offer a workshop for new interested volunteers. One of them already got to know his mentee and both recently signed the agreement of mentorship. Now, the 10 year-old boy and his mentor, age 31, are an official part of our project PaSch and really happy about it. Other mentors and mentees are in progress to get to know each other.

In May, we offered a meeting for our mentors to give them the opportunity to share their experiences with each other concerning the mentorship. In an open and cozy atmosphere, we came together to talk about the best experiences or situations between mentor and mentee as well as we shared and discussed conflicts or worries. For our mentees, this meeting is a good way to reflect their mentorship and also learn from each other e.g. about games, nearby activities or methods and ways on how to support the pupils concerning difficulties in school, reading or concentrating.

Every year, the NGO “NachbarschaftsEtage Fabrik Osloer Strasse” organizes a festival for all neighbors on the so called “day of neighborhood”. On May 29^th everybody came together and also some mentors and mentees celebrated with us. It was a nice get-together with food, kids dancing groups performing on a stage, activities for children and musicians performing. As you can see at the photos, it was a lot of fun for everybody.

One of the mentorships is about to end after more than 1,5 years, which is sad for both - mentor and mentee. But because of a new job opportunity outside of Berlin, our mentor has to move away. They both promised each other to stay in contact occasionally in order to catch up. Our mentor is furthermore interested in how her mentee, 9 years old, will be doing in school. By now, she really loves reading books, our mentor told us. Finding a special experience they could have together, they went climbing in a high ropes course in Berlin and had a nice day climbing in trees and checking their climbing abilities. This will be one of the wonderful memories to take along for both of them as they are splitting paths, which was only possible with your donations.

Our next joint recreational activity for all mentorships is already planned for the end of June. We will make a field trip to an amusement park with animals and dinosaurs as well as a small swimming lake.

We look forward to match new mentors and mentees, allow them to get to know cultural activities, organize field trips and feasts throughout your donation and support for our project PaSch!

Again, thank you for your support and if you want to have more information about PaSch, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Links:

• our project website