Germany – Bad Oldesloe
Aspen Bad Oldesloe has been an active participant in our Mandela Day activities for more than a decade. During 2023 this team supported Stormini, a children’s play city in Reinfeld and retained their ongoing support for Hamburg’s Mitternachtsbus.
Introducing Stormini’s young citizens to pharmacist and chemical laboratory technician professions
More than 300 children took part over seven days in this fascinating simulation game at the Immanuel Kant School in Reinfeld. As residents of Stormini, the children go about their work during the day in tents and classrooms. The day begins in the morning with the children queuing at the job centre in the role of Stormini citizens, choosing a job and experiencing an exciting profession for about an hour so that they can withdraw money from the savings bank at the end of the day.
The Stormini citizens aged between 10 and 13 who were interested were able to learn more about pharmacist and chemical laboratory technician professions at our Aspen classroom. On 20 and 21 July 2024, the Stormini citizens enjoyed interactive experiences with Omid Asgari, Julien Grunbaum, Rahmat Sharifi and Nico Suer making ‘Storminulus’ – vitamin bombs created from chocolate. They also produced creams made with a tube filler as well as lip balm which they were able to sell later the evening at the Stormini marketplace.
This engaging an interactive project was enjoyed by the children and Aspen team alike and we look forward to supporting the Stromini initiative once again in 2024.
What is not seen or wants to be seen on Hamburg’s streets at night
The midnight bus has been operational since 1996. It drives through Hamburg 365 days a year day and provides about 200 homeless people with drinks, food and, if necessary, blankets, sleeping bags and clothing.
As in previous years, colleagues from Aspen Bad Oldesloe supported the night-time work of the midnight bus in Hamburg. On 31 August 2024 Michael Jacobsen took his turn and shared his experience:
“If I had to write down my feelings and emotions from this experience, I would write a book of tears.”
Michael Jacobsen
“As part of our Mandela Day campaign, I was able to travel on the Hamburg midnight bus one evening.
The bus is provided by Diakonie Hamburg and travels every evening from 20:00 pm to 01:00 to around 30 stations (named plates), where homeless people are provided with something to eat and drink.
Around 140 volunteers work at Diakonie. Three employees drive this route every 4 weeks with about 100 drivers in total for the midnight bus.
I was fortunate to ride with a completely new team that included Monika, Steffi and Amelie. It was an exceptional experience with a great atmosphere serving others.
Prior to loading the bus at 19:00 we travelled to bakeries in the neighbourhood to collect surplus fresh products from the day’s baking. Thereafter we prepared 30 liters of hot water to offer the homeless something hot to drink. The midnight bus is also well stocked with handkerchiefs, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, socks and some clothing. I brought bananas to share with the homeless and these were very popular with our hungry visitors.
We set off for the first plate at 20:00 where the homeless stay. When we reached the destination, there were already 50 guests lined up waiting for us. Once the table was set, we were ready to serve our guests and Steffi and I also spent some time chatting to the guests.
It was extremely disheartening to witness that only two out of five visitors have shoes with one even wearing two different shoes. The only thing most visitors had was a bag, possibly a rucksack or a shopping trolley. That’s right, that’s all they have. This is their life … a supermarket bag that contains all their possessions. Everyone was hungry, thirsty and in need.
I would have liked to talk to some of the people on the plate for longer, but we were pressed to stop at 30 plates that evening. Our last stop was Hamburg’s Altona station. Many of the guests I met throughout the evening were back at the last stop because all the food and drink left on the bus is handed out at the last stop.
At 01:15 am we arrived back at the Diakonie. We then removed all the baskets and containers, cleaned the bus, sanitised all the surfaces and completed our shift at 01:30.
If I had to write down my feelings and emotions from this experience, I would write a book of tears,” Michael Jacobsen.
We thank Michael for his insightful summary of what is not seen or wants to be seen on the streets of Hamburg at night!
With appreciation to Nicole Reimers and Michael Jacobsen