By Samuel Kuttler | Head of Donation Administration
Every year, there is a moment nearly every pupil appreciates emphatically (and maybe even more than doing homework): During this moment, the school bell is finally ringing, the children are jumping up: It’s summer holidays!
Of course, our kids at DIE ARCHE have their very own relation to this period. It is a time providing free space to every child – it is our ambition to fill this space with a colorful and recreational variety instead of grey vacuums that could await some kids otherwise.
But first things first – so let us start with the youngest: These kids proudly show their school cones to the camera. It’s a joy to behold, isn’t it? They cannot wait for the school to start and are excited about their new class mates. Every year, we recognize the relevance of a good school start: School years can be a wonderful harmony of education and community. But especially if a child feels left behind right from the beginning, these years can be characterized by frustration and exclusion. That’s why we are grateful for being able to equip our kids with pens, drinking bottles, school bags and other materials to learn as well as some really cool toys that help to prevent them from being outsiders.
Now, let’s bring the report’s beginning to mind again: The teacher’s wishing everyone a great holiday, the sportiest pupil is the very first one to open the door and all the children are leaving the school building. While some pupils already are in a pleasant anticipation of their holiday plans, some others sense the start of a quite long time where they don’t actually know what to do. We aim to offer something in reply to this. Something that could inspire our kids instead of leaving them behind with a feeling of insignificance. Something like our canoe trips where our groups grow together whilst dealing with all features of being waterborne. Something like visiting a zoo or go climbing and leaving obstacles behind. It is about taking action and be there for the kids.
Finally, I’d like to write about some of our kids who actually did something and now had their last school holidays. We are not supposed to call them “kids” anymore: They’ve passed school exams. We use to have mixed emotions about that. On the one hand, saying goodbye to some personalities we know for years is such a hard thing. But of course, we are absolutely proud of them. At a gallant hotel’s invitation, our school graduates enjoyed a gorgeous multi-course dinner. When we saw their jubilant faces, we were reminded of the school enrollment picture above. It somehow felt like coming full circle.
Thank you for enabling us to initialize these circles, to be alongside. It would be a pleasure for us if children in need will also be close to your heart in the future.
Warm regards
Samuel
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