Education Germany Project #26723

Die Arche - Berlin

by Die Arche Kinderstiftung Christliches Kinder- und Jugendwerk

Project Report | Jun 12, 2025
30 years of "Die Arche" - A Milestone of Hope

By Pastor Bernd Siggelkow | Founder & Director

Dear Friends and Supporters,

This is no ordinary year for us – 2025 marks a truly special milestone: “Die Arche” celebrates its 30^th anniversary.

For three decades now, we have been committed to fighting the effects of childhood poverty and giving children and families, what they need the most: encouragement, support, and a place where they feel seen, heard and valued. In that time, we have stood beside thousands of young people in their individual life situations – not just with words, but also with action.

And yet, this celebration is bittersweet. While we can look back to our achievements with pride, our pride is not without sorrow. Because the success of “Die Arche” is, in many ways, a reflection of our society´s ongoing failure. Every year in Germany, 60,000 young people leave school without a diploma. Thousands of children go to class hungry, live in overcrowded houses and grow up without a safe space to simply be a child. Their future prospects are dimmed before they even begin.

That is why the theme of our jubilee year is “Next Generation”. We want more than just to continue – it is time to take an even clearer stand to ensure that education does not become a luxury in this country, to shift the focus away from ourselves and towards those who need us most and to stop pushing families affected by poverty further to the margins of our society.

Our children deserve more than an underperforming education system. They deserve our full attention, our hearts, and above all, our support. “You saved my childhood”, a young men recently told me. “Thank you for believing in me”, an eight-year-old gird said. And everyday thousands of children leave one of our Arche centers and say goodbye in the arms of staff members who have once again reminded them: You are seen. You are valued. You are not alone.

For us, “Next Generation” also means continuing the fight: looking more closely, offering an even stronger support and promoting even more. But change does not happen on its own. Politicians must create better framework conditions for this. Children´s rights belong in the constitution, without infringing on parental rights. Funding must reach children directly, and a real improvement in equal opportunities must finally become reality.

These are the changes we demand — over and over again. Until they happen.
And while we advocate, we act. And for 30 years, we've shown what’s possible — thanks to you!

Your support, your trust, and your belief in our mission make this work possible.
“Die Arche” is 100% funded by donations.
And your contributions have proven, time and again, that together we can make a lasting impact.

Thank you for standing by our side.
Thank you for believing in the next generation.
Thank you for showing every single child:
You are seen. You are loved. You are not alone.

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Feb 14, 2025
Reflecting on 2024 - A Year of Challenges and Hope

By Pastor Bernd Siggelkow | Founder & Director

As we step into a new year, we find ourselves reflecting on the challenges we faced in the past and the lessons we learned from 2024. The challenges for our children and teenagers did not just disappear with the turning of the calendar – we are once again reminded that they are facing persistent challenges growing up in poverty and that progress is often about perseverance rather than quick solutions.

In 2024, we could still witness that rising food prices continued to put an additional strain on families, with some mothers even telling us that they would skip meals to ensure that their children have enough to eat. Also further schools have reached out to us, requesting breakfast provision as they noticed an increasing number of pupils arriving at school without having eaten. In general, the demand for our support has grown. Nevertheless, so too has the willingness of volunteers to step in and help. In addition, our financial supporters – people just like you – continued to be on our side and support us with doing our work.

The past year has been marked by both despair and hope—moments of struggle, but also small miracles that remind us why our work is so important.

Despite the hardships, we have witnessed incredible resilience. Young people who once struggled in school have passed their exams, improved their grades, and opened up to us about their worries. These moments show us that our commitment to building strong, trusting relationships with the children is making a real difference in their lives. Sometimes, it is the smallest gestures that have the greatest impact.

As we look ahead, our mission remains unchanged: to stand by these children, to provide them with the support they need, and to create opportunities that allow them to thrive. We step into 2025 with fresh ideas and renewed energy, determined to continue our work.

One of these new ideas that is just about to be launched is our new Arche Tiwi, our YouTube channel for children. Arche Tiwi offers fun and engaging videos from our various Arche locations and invites children to explore, learn and even create their own videos.

None of this would be possible without you—our generous supporters. Your donations, your time, and your dedication make all the difference. It is because of you that we can continue to provide hope and relief to those who need it most. Thank you for standing with us.

Let’s make 2025 another year of compassion, support, and change for and in the lives of our children and teenagers.

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Oct 17, 2024
Opening Future Perspectives

By Pastor Bernd Siggelkow | Founder & Director

"Thank you for always motivating me to read and do my homework, otherwise I would have never got my traineeship."

As the relaxing and restful days of the summer become a more and more distant memory, our children and teenagers had to return to school and face the familiar yet growing challenges of the educational system once again. Sadly, the shortage of teaching staff has intensified, leading to more missing school hours. With the start of the new school year, there is a shortage of 1500 teachers in Berlin alone.

The lack of classroom time hits the pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds particularly hard. Many children do not receive the educational support they need at home and many parents are for various reasons unable to offer the help their kids would need to keep up with their classmates. For these children, the gaps in their education become even more pronounced.

In our various Arche locations, we are experiencing the impact of canceled school lessons and a government that appears to be losing focus on children, combined with decreasing investments in the education system, particular clear. Children and teenagers come to us with little hope or vision for their future, feeling as though their only option is to rely on state welfare, just like others in their communities.

However, we believe that there must be another way. A way that opens doors to opportunities and breaks the cycle of poverty. A way that opens up future perspectives for the children and teenagers in our Arche locations.

Therefore, one important pillar of our work is to offer the kids and teenagers a variety of educational offers and provide them with the educational support they need.

At our Arche locations, we are committed to providing not only the regular homework assistance that is essential for a successfully school time but also additional educational opportunities. We help with the preparation for final exams and give guidance towards apprenticeships that offer a promising start to the working lives of our teenagers.

Beyond this, we believe that the key to a successful education can also be found beyond the pure academic instruction - in the building of stable and trustful relationships. Only by showing an honest interest in the children and teenagers, we can motivate them to visit our Arche locations on a daily basis and to work on their learning goals. Our protégés know that we would never give up on them, regardless how slow their progress might be.

The work we do is vast, and there is always more to be done. However, it is important to recognize that none of this would be possible without the generous, ongoing support of people like you. Your contributions allow us to maintain and grow our programs, giving the children and young people in our care hope for a brighter future.

Therefore, we would like to thank from the bottom of our hearts. Your kindness makes a real difference, transforming lives and shaping futures, which are no longer defined by hopelessness, but by promise.

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