"This is really hard work!"

Students from five countries explore social professions in Leiria, Portugal.

Nearly a hundred Portuguese kindergarten children run around, dance, jump and sing together. On this Tuesday in April, they are especially cheerful because they have been visited by students from Germany, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands and Portugal. As part of the Erasmus+ project "CARE", they took part in a multilateral meeting of their schools in Leiria in Portugal on the topic of "Caring for old and young people" in the week from 2nd to 8th April and learned more about social professions. It was part of their programme to visit kindergartens to learn more about the work of kindergarten teachers, psychologists and other professions there and to find out what training opportunities are available for these jobs. All the guests brought small presents and activities from their home countries to practise with the children. It looked particularly amusing when all the Portuguese children tried to imitate the movements to the song "The Red Horse" from the German pupils and visibly had fun doing so.

But not only different kindergartens, also the work in old people's and nursing homes was looked into. The participants of the conference visited different facilities and talked to the residents as well as the nursing staff. All were particularly impressed by the work that is done there and were sure that they would now be able to appreciate it even more.

Right next to the Portuguese school "Escola Secundaria Francisco Rodrigues Lobo" is a technical college for social professions, the "Instituto Politecnico de Leiria". The group of 60 students and 10 teachers was warmly welcomed and shown around. A professor presented the campus of the school as well as the different training courses. Particularly interesting was the conversation with a Dutch Erasmus student who reported about her experiences studying abroad.

At another location, the University of Applied Sciences offers training in medical fields as well as in the development of the technology needed for nursing. During a visit there, the group not only learned how life-saving measures have to be carried out, but were also allowed to test numerous technical innovations that can be very useful for people with disabilities and in the nursing field. For example, there were numerous wheelchairs with special functions, computers that can be controlled with the eyes as well as various objects that can facilitate or maintain independent everyday life.

The participants were impressed by these experiences during the subsequent evaluation of their experiences. Before their arrival, all the students had researched in their home countries which (day) care facilities for children and the elderly exist and how they work. They also reported on training opportunities and professions that can be pursued there. It struck everyone that these professions are still too poorly paid in all countries and, above all, are not recognised enough. According to the participants, this should urgently change, because the lack of staff was also a problem mentioned by all countries.

In addition, there was of course time to enjoy the Portuguese hospitality. Numerous "Pastel de Nata" (pudding-filled cakes), "Bacalhau" in various preparations (typical Portuguese cod) as well as countless desserts and "Bica" (espresso) could be enjoyed by the guests and some could even be taken home. The international group got along brilliantly from the very first day and visibly enjoyed the activities, not only because Leiria is only 20 minutes away from the beach and a detour was still possible after work was done. It was certainly helpful that the southern joie de vivre and light-heartedness of the hosts was immediately transferred to the guests. Already at the opening ceremony, everyone danced together to traditional dances of the participating countries as well as to music videos of current hits. This so-called "ice-breaking activity" did its job and prepared the ground for a harmonious week. The extensive buffet prepared by parents at the closing ceremony and the group's joy in dancing and singing made it a complete success. 

Already at the airport before departure, the completely enthusiastic students from Germany asked when they could take part in such an activity again, as they considered the experiences made in Leiria to be particularly valuable. Unfortunately, this was the last conference in the framework of the CARE project, but all the schools agreed to familiarise students with social professions again in the futureEvery morning, of course, all participants went to the Dr. Knippenbergcollege riding a traditional Holland bike. There, the group consisting of students and teachers from partner schools from Portugal, Poland, Finland as well as the Netherlands and Germany could work intensively and extensively on their topic: They had set out to explore social professions and this time the focus was on professions that deal with the care of addicts.

On Saturday and Sunday, the empty school was used to inform each other about how and where addicts can be helped in the participating countries. All students had previously conducted interviews in their home countries and invited experts to report back in Helmond. It was remarkable to learn how diverse and yet also different the work in the individual regions is.

The Dr. Knippenbergcollege is particularly active in promoting the artistic abilities of its students and was therefore able to offer the participants a special workshop: The participants dealt with different addictions in a creative way and came to an abstract representation of the dangers and problems in a creative design. The results not only impressed the teachers, but also invited the students to numerous discussions.

In addition, the school offers a course that aims at preventing addiction through practical activities. The CARE group was able to experience this for themselves when they prepared a typical Dutch lunch together. A professional cook instructed and supported them in the preparation. The experience of preparing something together was a great and bonding experience for the group. 

Laurens Veltman, the owner of "digital awareness", an agency for education about the dangers of media addiction, informed the participants about his own computer game addiction and managed to captivate everyone. After his presentation, there was plenty of time to discuss further questions and also to self-reflect on what the students had learned and to develop strategies in small groups to support those affected.

The organisers from Dr. Knippenbergcollege did not miss the opportunity to invite all participants to a joint cinema evening. Together, the group watched "A Streetcat Named Bob", which tells the true story of a drug addict who finds a way to get "clean" (also) thanks to his cat. This very sensitively and authentically told story opened up yet another insight into the destructive and disturbing world of an addict and made it all the more clear that there is a need for well-trained people to take care of those affected.   

An exchange about the possibilities of getting help at one's own school rounded off the conference. The participants described the professions and tasks of guidance counsellors and/or school psychologists. It became clear that the equipment in many European countries is hardly comparable, as in Holland, for example, eight people alone are exclusively responsible for the care of the student body.

On departure, everyone agreed that they had learned a lot of new things and had taken home valuable and important experiences as well as unforgettable memories of eventful days in Helmond: CARE is addictive.

Hundreds of bicycles stand in front of the modern building of the "Knip", as the secondary school in Helmond is affectionately called by everyone. The three-armed building has only been used since last September and is not only new, but modern, large and very impressive: there are hardly any walls, everything is made of glass, open areas invite to learn. From 11th to 16th March, 24 students from five European countries gathered there in order to spend four eventful days in the Netherlands, where they all took part in a multilateral conference -a part of the Erasmus+ project "CARE".

Every morning, of course, all participants went to the Dr. Knippenbergcollege riding a traditional Holland bike. There, the group consisting of students and teachers from partner schools from Portugal, Poland, Finland as well as the Netherlands and Germany could work intensively and extensively on their topic: They had set out to explore social professions and this time the focus was on professions that deal with the care of addicts.

On Saturday and Sunday, the empty school was used to inform each other about how and where addicts can be helped in the participating countries. All students had previously conducted interviews in their home countries and invited experts to report back in Helmond. It was remarkable to learn how diverse and yet also different the work in the individual regions is.

The Dr. Knippenbergcollege is particularly active in promoting the artistic abilities of its students and was therefore able to offer the participants a special workshop: The participants dealt with different addictions in a creative way and came to an abstract representation of the dangers and problems in a creative design. The results not only impressed the teachers, but also invited the students to numerous discussions.

In addition, the school offers a course that aims at preventing addiction through practical activities. The CARE group was able to experience this for themselves when they prepared a typical Dutch lunch together. A professional cook instructed and supported them in the preparation. The experience of preparing something together was a great and bonding experience for the group. 

Laurens Veltman, the owner of "digital awareness", an agency for education about the dangers of media addiction, informed the participants about his own computer game addiction and managed to captivate everyone. After his presentation, there was plenty of time to discuss further questions and also to self-reflect on what the students had learned and to develop strategies in small groups to support those affected.

The organisers from Dr. Knippenbergcollege did not miss the opportunity to invite all participants to a joint cinema evening. Together, the group watched "A Streetcat Named Bob", which tells the true story of a drug addict who finds a way to get "clean" (also) thanks to his cat. This very sensitively and authentically told story opened up yet another insight into the destructive and disturbing world of an addict and made it all the more clear that there is a need for well-trained people to take care of those affected.   

An exchange about the possibilities of getting help at one's own school rounded off the conference. The participants described the professions and tasks of guidance counsellors and/or school psychologists. It became clear that the equipment in many European countries is hardly comparable, as in Holland, for example, eight people alone are exclusively responsible for the care of the student body.

On departure, everyone agreed that they had learned a lot of new things and had taken home valuable and important experiences as well as unforgettable memories of eventful days in Helmond: CARE is addictive.

Snowy Finnish mountains, trees, lakes and houses were the picturesque background images to give the participants of the 3rd ERASMUS+ CARE Conference the feeling of actually meeting the Finnish hosts in Jyväskylä.

The Finnish organizers of the conference on the topic 'caring for immigrants and refugees', which took place from February 2-4, 2022 only digitally due to corona, had taken the nightly heavy snowfall as an opportunity to present the Finnish winter to their 'guests' at least through their respective background photos during the various online workshops and lectures.

Right at the beginning of the so-called 'Big Meeting', a video conference room where all participants of the CARE schools from Germany, Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands and Finland met, the guests got an impression of what they could have expected in Finland during this week: By means of photos from the snow-covered surrounding countryside, a video about Jyväskylä and pictures of the school, a tour was made possible at least virtually.

After the official opening speech by the Finnish principal, all the young people went to their previously assigned group rooms and presented first themselves and finally, with the help of the prepared presentations, the support measures for immigrants in their home country and discussed the different results:

- What help is offered by the city?

- Where and how can immigrants get this help?

- Who takes care of immigrants/refugees?

- What training is necessary or helpful for with immigrants?

- And last but not least: what (can) young people do to improve the situation of immigrants and refugees?

On the second day of the conference, the focus was on the work of a unique person: Ilkhom Khalimzoda, a young man who immigrated from Tajikistan, first explained his interesting career from dishwasher to PhD student and 'Volunteer of the Year 2021' in a webinar lasting several hours - and in the second part of the day he still presented his impressive work for and with immigrants in Finland. In vivid films and reports, the inspiring scientist explained how he and his team organize various help offers, but also cultural events, in order to simplify togetherness and make it easier for people to integrate into Finnish society. The work of the Sky organization is clearly presented on the project page (https://www.skyry.fi) and attention was also drawn to more complex videos and webinars (e.g. https://www.skyry.fi/sky-events/past/no-one-wants-to-be-a-refugee/). After another break, there was an opportunity for questions and answers and this was gladly used by the impressed participants.

The last day of the conference was mainly focused on the question:

What could be improved at our schools to help immigrant students?

Once again, the young people from the five participating schools met in the digital group rooms and discussed and wrote down what could be set up or organized at their schools to improve the starting conditions and togetherness.

The results of the workshops are to be presented to the respective school administrations and student councils so that individual projects can hopefully be tried out, at least on a trial basis.

After a long period of only digital meetings ...

In October, the time had finally come and groups of six students each, together with their teachers were able to set off for Torún in Poland.

The second conference of the CARE project, which aims at introducing the participants to jobs in the work field of care-givers and at experiencing them, took place from 5 to 10 October and gave students from the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland and Germany the opportunity to deal with the lives of people with physical and mental disabilities and the care of these people.

As in Germany in February 2020, the aim was to raise awareness among young people about social professions. Accordingly, on the first day, the students were already given the opportunity to better deal with the topic by simulating the everyday life of a person who had lost their ability to see in the so-called "invisible house" by orienting themselves through an area without any light.

The following day, the participants were offered an even closer perspective regarding a potential professional future in the care sector. Thus, they first did a guided standardised test and could find out which group they belong to: Thinker, Visionary, Sprinter or Helper. Afterwards, the participants spent the rest of the day in institutions that deal with the care and support of people with intellectual disabilities. It was precisely through this that the students learned to break down their prejudices and appreciate these professions much more. In retrospect, they were enthusiastic about these experiences.

These experiences were then brought together in groups the next day, presented to the other participants and then evaluated together. On the same day, the participants collected information about similar caring professions and the training required for them in the different participating countries for caring for people with mental or psychological problems. The students first talked about the different problems that people have and about the different forms of therapy available today and eventually compared the different training and study courses (and their respective costs) offered in their home countries and were surprised how different the opportunities are.

Later the organizing school conducted a collective interview with a woman with physical disabilities. The latter did not only highlight the many different ways in which life is different for people with physical disabilities but also where such people still experience social injustice today. This woman's simultaneously exuberant yet serious storytelling made the conversation extremely enriching for the students.

There was also time to get to know the host city of Torún. A guided tour through the historic old town, where Nicolaus Copernicus was born, was very impressive. The visitors also enjoyed the "Gingerbread Museum", where classic Toruń gingerbread was shaped and baked.

During the closing ceremony, all participants praised the joint work and the experiences gained and gave each other a little insight into their respective cultures before they parted ways again the next day.

Despite the chaotic world situation in which we currently find ourselves, young people were once again strengthened in their social awareness and acquired important skills for their own professional path. The next conference will hopefully take place in Jyväskylä (Finland) in February 2022.

“I never expected that!”

Young students discover what it is like to work with disabled people 

The first Erasmus+ CARE conference took place in Lübbecke from 9th to 14th February. 47 Students from five different countries (Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Finland and Germany) came together to deal with the topic of how disabled people are taken care of in Germany. The name of the project which is coordinated by the German school and funded by the EU stands for “Cooperating Actively for Responsibility and Empathy” (https://www.care-erasmus-project.eu). It aims at sensitizing young people for social professions. 

The first meeting of participants from all five countries was mainly about overcoming inhibitions and breaking down prejudices. Even though the storm “Sabine” or “Ciara“, as it was called in some European countries, caused a lot of trouble, especially for the Polish and Finnish group, everybody arrived on time to start the first day. 

On this particular day, all students and teachers were greeted during a welcome ceremony by the headmaster of Wittekind-Gymnasium (https://www.wittekind.de), Dr. Eberhard Hagemeier, and Angela Hölscher, the second chairwoman of the Lebenshilfe Lübbecke (https://lebenshilfe-luebbecke.de). Mrs Hölscher was able to give insight into her private life and thereby reported impressively from the perspective of a mother of a boy with Down syndrome to sensitize for the problems they have to face.

After that the students got the opportunity to try wheelchair basketball with a professional team from Rahden, a neighbouring town (http://baskets-96-rahden.de). They also played blind soccer and got to know what it must be like to be blind. This made it easier for them to find access to the topic and it helped to relate to the problems disabled people face in their life. This preparation was very useful considering the visit of the Lübbecke workshops in the afternoon where they met lots of people with different disabilities. They got the chance to see the workshops and learn a lot about the conditions for the people working there. With lots of impressons they went home after that first day.

On Tuesday the students were split up into small groups that either worked at institutions of the “Lübbecker Lebenshilfe“ or the “Wittekindshof“ (https://www.wittekindshof.de).  Not only  did the students receive  insight into the daily routine of the people living or working there but they also got an impression of what problems the supervisors are facing while taking care of the people, for example they have to make sure that everybody is doing their work correctly, think of a way to design the machines so that possible mistakes or accidents are prevented and assess the person’s skills and assign him or her a suitable position and partner beside the “normal“ tasks such as medication or feeding those who aren’t able to do that themselves. In the evening there was so much to catch up on, so that most of the time wasn’t spend on the alley but on the table beside it, sharing the new gained information with the rest of the group. 

On their trip to Bielefeld the following day, the group learned, much to their surprise, that the institution Bethel (https://www.bethel.eu) is much larger, complex and diverse than they originally envisioned it to be. They were informed about the so-called Bethel year, an opportunity to spend a year in one of the institutions in Bethel after finishing school for example. They also visited a school for nurses and learned about the job training as well as possibilities to study in Bethel.  In their freetime, after the tour, they had a lot of fun exploring Bielefeld in small groups, spoiling the stores of the city with their money spent on food, clothes and souvenirs. The evenings were usually spent in groups at the host houses, bonding and talking about their cultural differences as well as similarities. 

The last day was not only used to collect all the information and evaluate the project at the end of the week, but also to prepare a farewell party with all the host families that showed in the end how well students had learned to take CARE of each other when they presented their results, gave speeches, had dinner together and enjoyed the last dances in their international group. 

As a conclusion one could describe this week as an extremely successful experience because students and teachers got the opportunity to learn at first-hand what it means to care for somebody but they also met many interesting people from different countries and build up international friendships that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.