Education Germany Project #26732

Die Arche - Potsdam

by Die Arche Kinderstiftung Christliches Kinder- und Jugendwerk

Project Report | 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 18, 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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Jun 20, 2024
Let's Get Ready for Summer!

By Pastor Bernd Siggelkow | Founder & Director

We are halfway through 2024, and the excitement for the summer days in Germany is rising. At our “Die Arche” locations, preparations have been underway for months to ensure that our children and teenagers of all ages will have an unforgettable summer.

As the warmer days finally arrive, our various “Die Arche” sites have begun with the final phase of the summer preparations. To make this summer memorable for all of our fosterlings, we aim to offer a wide range of activities.

With the rising temperatures, we are already expanding our range of outdoor activities in the outside areas of our locations. Football, Volleyball or playground time is included in our day-to-day work.

In order to beat the heat, we can make use of our water slush system on the side of our Arche in Berlin-Hellersdorf. At the other “Die Arche” locations in Germany, we can set up pools for a little refreshment. What could be better on a hot summer´s day than cooling off in a pool and having fun with friends?

Besides our everyday activities, the summer season is also the time where our famous “Arche-Camps”, trips to the “Arche-Ranch” and some other day trips or sleepovers are offered. Often our Arche children and teenagers come from families with limited financial resources, so a trip with the Arche is often the only way for them to escape the city for a while, to discover new surroundings and have a travel experience.

With our youngest, we are not bound to the school holidays yet. This allows us to offer camps outside the regular school holiday period, so that we have the possibility to enjoy less crowded destinations.

There will be two camps at the Baltic Sea, which are already eagerly awaited. Digging in the sand and building sandcastles, visiting the nearby strawberry fields and the dinosaur theme park will allow our children to make some exciting new experiences and enjoy their summer to the fullest. And if the Baltic sea is too cold for swimming we have a backup plan: a trip to the nearby indoor swimming pool, where the children can swim and joyfully play around.

For some of our youngest, this summer will be particularly special as their school enrollments are right around the corner. To celebrate this milestone, we are organizing a so-called “Zuckertütenfest” (sugar cone festival). Parents are invited to this event as well where the preschoolers receive a schoolbag and a sugar cone to be perfectly equipped for their school starts.

Whilst our preschoolers are looking forward to their school enrollments, our school-aged children and teenagers eagerly anticipate the opposite - their summer holidays. Six weeks of freedom without homework, learning or tests.

To ensure that our children can fully recharge their batteries and have some meaningful distraction during their holidays, the children and teenagers are invited to join us to our "Arche Camps", to the "Arche-Ranch" or for our further recreational activities.

Our summer camps are always a school holiday highlight. These camps provide a balance of recreational activities, fun and offer the possibility for the participants to grow beyond themselves. In addition, the camps are always the time to strengthen existing bonds and make new friendships. Also for our pedagogues, this is a special time: Trust and open communication often flourish around a campfire, making these experiences invaluable.

Let the summer begin. We are very well prepared for the upcoming summer season. This would not be possible without the wonderful help of people like you.

Thanks to our supporters, we can continue to support the children and teenagers of die Arche. Without your generosity, we would not be able to offer a summer full of activities, camps and excursions.

Your contributions make an unforgettable summer experience for our children and teenagers possible and ensures that we can continue our daily work in the different "Die Arche" locations.

For all of this we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

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