Beskrivning av organisationen

1) The NGO (Nachbarschaftsheim Schöneberg e.V.):

The responsible non-profit organisation is the Nachschaftsheim Schöneberg e.V. It was founded in 1948 as an urban district-orientated sociocultural organisation in Berlin-Friedenau. Today the NGO is active in Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Steglitz-Zehlendorf and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. The activities of the Nachbarschaftsheim (literally: “Neighbourhood-Home”) are open to all the population living nearby, the house is open for everyone. The Nachbarschaftsheim has a long tradition of honorary work and being active in the neighbourhood, which is still important and permanently refined. The organisation runs kindergardens, day-cares, youth clubs and organises other social community work.



2) The facility where the volunteer will be active (All-Day-Care at the1. Gemeinschaftsschule Schöneberg):

A team of 26 educators is taking care of around 280 children of the primary level of the 1. Gemeinschaftsschule Schöneberg. Two colleagues with mental disability support us.

Our day-care is located in Friedenau, that part in the south-west of Berlin. The background of the pupils of the 1. Gemeinschaftsschule Schöneberg is very mixed. We have children with and without migration “background” (ca. 60% of the children of the 1. Gemeinschaftsschule Schöneberg come from families with migration background). Some children have mental or physical impairments; some come from rather wealthy and well-educated families, some have a rather socially deprived and sometimes also educationally challenged family background. Quite a high number of children need a special support in social and emotional learning.

We are there for all the pupils during the morning, sometimes from six o’ clock, so before the school starts as well as during teaching time, if e.g. classes are cancelled, or when there is religious education, which is at our school not attended by all the children. The day-care-staff is also present in class to support children who have difficulties with learning.

In the afternoons, not all the children come to us, most of the pupils from 5th and 6th grade go home on their own or spend their free time in the pupils club “Oase” at our school. After lunch and homework, the children who stay in the day-care can take part in various creative activities, taking a romp in the school yard and play football, do some work out in the gym, work with wood in the studio or just be with the friends, chat and listen to music.

We offer study groups for children with special needs. Here they get for example the possibility to do a special motoric work out, to improve their equilibration and cognition, to relax on phantasy-tours, to do experiments or to discover new worlds in language workshops. Since many years, we have two staff-members with a mental disability in our team. All colleagues were trained for the teamwork with them; mainly two colleagues are contact persons and guide them, if necessary.

The day-care is mainly surrounded by residential buildings and nearby: a youth club, an adventure playground, a youth club with focus on music, as well one with the focus on media competence. Sometimes we organise together with these organisations our holiday program.

We work in three teams that manage their pedagogical work independently. Currently two teams work in fix “relation groups”, that means, that the children (1st to 4th grade) are assigned to a personal mentor-educator. They have lunch together and in the afternoons, they spend most of their free time together in their relation group respectively on their floor. The third team works “openly”. That means the children (4th and 6th grade) register when they come and then they can have lunch at certain times. In the afternoons, the children are free to move in the house and yard and choose activities they like.

The European Volunteers are “special” contact persons for the children in the all-day-care. It is about a new and practical way of learning experiences and cultural exchange for both sides. On the one hand, the volunteers, as part of the team, get to know the everyday life of school- and educator work, and on the other hand they have the freedom, to bring in their own experiences, ideas and interests - into the team and workprogram of the all-day-care.   

Applicants can contact their EVS-sending-organization and/or please contact our EVS-coordinating partner-organization “ijgd LV Berlin e.V”. (2013-DE-119). In general the volunteer service starts each year at the 1st of September. Applications are welcome from January of the same year. The applicant will be chosen by ijgd and the hosting project together. An essential criterion is to be interested in EVS, commitment and the motivation regarding the profil of the facility project. Formal qualifications are generally not relevant. The decision will be made by the application and a personal interview by phone or video-call.