SARAH GOOD Practice CRITERIA and REPORT

SARAH: Social learning – Activities in Rural Areas for Hidden People SARAH GOOD Practice CRITERIA and REPORT

SARAH GOOD Practice REPORT

2019-06-12 Country: Germany Name of the project: Coordination of Voluntary Refugee Aid Name of the reporter: Isabel Wolf Name of the project coordinator: Baerbel Uschold Contact data: [email protected], phone: 0049 (0) 9281 837 102 [email protected], phone: 0049 (0) 9281 540 570 32

1. Short summary of the project

The three-year project started in April 2016 and was carried out by the Diakonie Hochfranken in the city and district of Hof in Upper Franconia. It was financed by the German TV lottery with a budget of roughly 200.000€. The main aim was to establish networks between different voluntary groups and individual volunteers active in the field of refugee aid. Besides networking, it provided guidance, knowledge and psychological support to the volunteers, thereby coordinating the help offered to refugees and ensuring a certain quality and standard of the voluntary refugee aid.

2. Description of the former situation (history, need, conditions of life)

Starting from 2015, a proportional high number of refugees arrived in the city and the district of Hof on a regularly, often weekly basis (16.917 refugees have arrived in Up- per Franconia from 2015-2018). Whereas local authorities provided housing and fi- nancial support, the Diakonie Hochfranken offered counselling services regarding the German social welfare system and German immigration law. Volunteers, in addition, played an important role concerning the refugees’ manifold challenges of everyday life and offered immediate, low-threshold support wherever and whenever needed. In April 2016, nine voluntary groups and many countless individual volunteers have been active in the city and district of Hof. Those volunteers have been faced with the following problems:

. the feeling of their work has not being appreciated by authorities and local aid organizations and their voice has not being heard . the feeling of having been left without professional support by authorities and local aid organizations . the feeling of exhaustion . difficulties with the different cultural backgrounds of the refugees and communica- tion problems

From the Diakonie employee’s perspective, the following challenges connected to the volunteers’ engagement occurred: . missing exchange between the different voluntary groups, individual volunteers and Diakonie employees resulting in: o wrong advice on the German welfare system and the German immigration law was given by the volunteers o duplication of support offered to the refugees

Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church 1

SARAH: Social learning – Activities in Rural Areas for Hidden People SARAH GOOD Practice CRITERIA and REPORT

. missing structures and procedures within the different voluntary groups resulting in internal disputes and thus lowering the motivation of volunteers . missing healthy closeness-distance-relations between volunteers and refugees resulting in an overload of work and the exploitation of voluntary refugee aid

3. The project

a. Frame finance: German TV lottery, 200.000€ for 3 years employees: 1 Diakonie employee, full-time i.e. 40 hours per week target group: volunteers active in the field of refugee aid number of voluntary groups: 10 groups number of volunteers: 350 cities reached: 11 cities (Bad Steben, Helmbrechts, Hof, Lichtenberg, Muenchberg, Naila, Oberkotzau, Rehau, Schwarzenbach/Saale, Schwarzen- bach/Wald, Selbitz)

b. Facilities and abilities of the employees and what do they need

Diakonie employee: . office with access to internet, Email and phone . company car . facilities for hosting events and meetings . ability to motivate and activate people . good listener and eloquent speaker . empathy . good knowledge of local aid organisations and authorities . excellent networking skills

c. Description of the beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of this project are refugees living in the city and district of Hof.

Social workers and institutions active in the field of refugee aid – be it full-time professionals or volunteers – are well connected to each other and work to- gether hand-in-hand, referrals to the right contact person can easily be made. Those actors share and exchange their knowledge and experiences, thereby creating a feeling of solidarity and understanding for each other. A duplication of support offered to refuges can be avoided, help is organised faster, well di- rected and more purposeful. As volunteers enlarge their knowledge about laws, rules and regulations, refugees are advised correctly and a certain quality and standard of the voluntary refugee aid is ensured. This also minimises the work load of Diakonie employees working in the Diakonie’s counselling services. The different ways of showing appreciation towards the volunteers and the manifold support measures offered by the project guarantee the maintenance of a high level of motivation. Refugees benefit from a large and consistent number of volunteer helpers.

Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church 2

SARAH: Social learning – Activities in Rural Areas for Hidden People SARAH GOOD Practice CRITERIA and REPORT

d. Aims, what you want to improve . establishment of a local network of voluntary groups . improvement of the internal structures of voluntary groups and the procedures of voluntary refugee aid . better cooperation between voluntary groups, authorities and Dia- konie . support, guidance, training and knowledge transfer for voluntary groups thereby ensuring a certain quality and standard of voluntary refugee aid . consistent motivation of volunteers who are already active, acquisition of new volunteers . public acknowledgment and appreciation of voluntary work . acquisition of translators among the refugees

e. Methods, tools: . first contact to volunteer groups: direct approach, participation in the round tables in their specific cities . establishment of a mailing list thereby connecting the different voluntary groups and individual volunteers to each other . regular newsletter distribution (useful information about laws, rules and regulations, language courses, translation programs and apps, budget shopping, integration in Germany etc.) . every two to three months organization of round tables connecting volunteers to Diakonie employees . training on different topics regarding the asylum procedure in Ger- many: laws, rights and obligations of refugees, intercultural differ- ences, trauma, situation in the home countries of the refugees, etc. . establishment of an open meeting space where volunteers could connect to each other and exchange experiences and knowledge . “time for myself”: psychological support for volunteers offered by a retired psychologist (himself being a volunteer) . “sisters in Hof”: regular meetings of German and migrant women in order to get to know and learn from each other . “refugees for refugees”: refugees who have been living in Hof for a longer period of time support and advice newly arrived refugees on structures and life in the city and district of Hof . school project: information and discussion rounds in schools, refugees themselves report about the situation in their home countries and their experiences along the escape route . establishment of a voluntary spokesperson addressing local and re- gional authorities . addressing local newspapers thereby creating awareness of the im- portance and the achievements of voluntary refugee aid . special events and vouchers for volunteers in order to show appreciation for their excellent and important work . invitation of politicians and decision makers addressing problems and challenges of voluntary refugee aid . establishment of a pool of voluntary translators among the refugees offering translation services to volunteers when needed (visit to the doctor, completion of forms, etc.)

Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church 3

SARAH: Social learning – Activities in Rural Areas for Hidden People SARAH GOOD Practice CRITERIA and REPORT

f. Describe good practice items . empowerment: o volunteers are better connected to each other and cooperate more efficiently using the networks established by the project o volunteers are better informed about local authorities and aid organizations and know whom to address concerning specific problems o volunteers are better informed about German laws and give correct advice to the refugees thereby assisting the Dia- konie’s counselling services o volunteers autonomously address local authorities with challenges they face in the voluntary refugee aid o refugees serve as translators for German volunteers herewith gaining a certain sense of pride and usefulness o refugees support and advice newly arrived refugees thereby reducing the workload of German volunteers

. networking: o voluntary groups operate more efficiently internally but also among each other o voluntary groups are better connected to authorities, decision makers and local aid organisations (e.g. Diakonie)

. early prevention: o school project raises awareness about the situation of refuges thereby reducing stereotypes and xenophobia o in case of another high number of refugees in the city and district of Hof, voluntary groups and the networks among them can easily be retrieved based on the knowledge gained during the project

g. Recommendations for further successful projects / programs / activities

4. Final remarks, conclusion

Through numerous events and corresponding public relations work, the project was able to achieve a large presence among the local population. New voluntary groups have been formed, new individual volunteers could be recruited. 350 volunteers are now engaged in the field of voluntary refugee aid. Cooperation between authorities, the Diakonie and the voluntary groups has significantly intensified and improved. The coordination of the voluntary refugee aid is perceived as a significant improvement by the volunteers, as questions are often answered in a short way, new contacts have been established and more helpful networks have been created.

Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church 4