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Falken in Pantringshof
Various dishes are prepared in the “Falken Kids Cooking” project. Photo: The Falcons
The closure of schools and recreational facilities is increasingly affecting children and young people. They miss meeting friends, classmates and the casual way they spend their free time. Even children who have always tinkered with joy and enthusiasm will eventually become too much with the ongoing lockdown. In addition, there are conflicts due to imbalance, because there is no romping or the balance in sport and leisure time, describes Detlev Biewald, chairman of the Falken local association in Pantringshof, which run the youth club “JuP” in the district, the current situation of children and young people.
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Therefore, as Biewald continues, it is particularly important to the falcons, although the rooms of the youth club must remain closed, so that they can continue to be there for children and young people. So not everything is really closed with the falcons, because the employees and volunteers are still out visiting for their visitors. “It is important for us to keep in contact and regular exchange with the children and young people of our youth club, to speak to them regularly and to be available as a contact person for advice and action. It is also a special concern of the falcons to give the children and young people a low-threshold exchange platform, also so that they can exchange ideas with one another, “says Katja Thiel, educational director of the supporting association of the youth facility, describing the efforts of the almost exclusively volunteer team.
As in March last year, the youth club offers various digital offers via WhatsApp groups or other social media, where games, fun and creative offers are exchanged or encouraged. There is a regular children’s conference via WhatsApp or Zoom so that we can see each other again. Real letters can also be exchanged in the classic way. The house mailbox of the youth club becomes the so-called “Poldi-Post”, which the children already know from the falcon camp. Handwritten letters to other children, young people and helpers are deposited here and the staff at the youth club then distribute them to the named recipients.
A special highlight is the “Falken Kids Cooking” project. A simple and international dish is currently being prepared online and with live guidance together with the children. A culinary excursion into the diverse favorite dishes of children and young people with and without a migration background takes place. As soon as the youth club is allowed to reopen, this project should be expanded.
Another highlight is regular visits to the front door of the children and young people, where the “Falken-Flitzer” brings small surprises, gifts, games, handicraft packages and an open ear for small conversations. An important link of the youth club is also here the work with parents, which also continues. The employees and volunteers are in regular contact via a parents WhatsApp group in order to further promote the alternation and creativity of the young visitors in close exchange and to involve the parents at the same time.
The falcons from Pantringshof want to continue this work until the youth club can be reopened for everyone. Information about the facility is available at falken-pantringshof.de or on the Facebook page “Falken Jup Youth Club Pantringshof”.
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