We apologize that information on this website is available in German only. Please see below for basic information about our activities and possibilities to participate.

An initiative of dedicated KIT employees, the KIT staff council and student university groups intends to support the work of the Karlsruhe Refugee Aid / Karlsruhe Refugee Relief. Many volunteers have united in several groups to improve the living situation and maintenance of refugees and asylum seekers arriving in our city. Given the proximity of the provisional accommodations at Campus East (former Mackensen-Kaserne), which have been opened due to overcrowding at the Landeserstaufnahmestelle (LEA) in Durlacher Allee, the main goal is to improve the conditions at this location. A second site with accomodations for refugees is located at the Campus North (former Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe Research Centre).

Are you interested in our work or do you want to participate actively? Please contact us or subscribe to one of our topical mailing lists (see contact box in the right-hand column).

In coordination with public authorities and other involved associations the following activities have been started:

Tea Parlor

The Tea Parlor is currently open 7 days a week (even on holidays), in it hot beverages like coffee and tea are served for free to the refugees. The bar is open from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. The bar is so appealing that eight to ten volunteers are required per evening. Helping hands are needed as well from 4:30 pm on to make coffee and tea.

Crafts / Child Care

Every day during tea time from 17 to 19 o'clock, we offer crafts, games and drawing for the children. Due to the strong demand, we are offering the child care also on days when the tea parlor is closed. To supervise the children, we need at least four volunteers each afternoon.

Encounter Group

Additionally to the child care activities of the KIT refugee relief, we want to offer adult refugees the opportunity to speak about their experiences, needs and daily issues. Volunteers with varying language skills invite refugees to an open dialogue during the tea parlor at KIT Campus North. Through joint activities, short discussions as well as a German culture orientation course conducted in Arabic, Farsi/Dari and English we welcome the refugees and offer some distractions of the harsh conditions at the emergency accommodation.

Sports

To provide a little distraction for the refugees, we offer sports and activities twice a week, especially for the many children. The main focus is fun. The children and young adults attend the activities with enthusiasm.

Translators / Interpreters

Additional to the special challenges that their flight brings, many refugees are facing a language barrier on a daily basis. This becomes especially critical during a medical appointment or application for asylum, but it even makes simple daily tasks difficult. For all these situations, we are offering a pool of interpreters to help the refugees with their language knowledge.

Book Shelf

A wide range of books in English and French as well as picture books for children are available to everyone on a shelf in the common room. The people can read them in place or keep them.

Clothing Store
(discontinued, see http://mackensenkaserne.de/spenden/ for activities)

A Clothing Store is an essential component of the provisional accommodation. In it refugees are endowed with clothing. A main task is the distribution of donated clothes to the refugees, combined with helping them regarding their selection of clothes. For this purpose the donated clothes have to be unpacked, sorted and stocked by volunteers.

Background Information

A growing number of people flee their home countries to evade war, persecution, violence or the loss of their livelihood. In the summer of 2014 people most notably fled from the crises in Syria and the Ukraine. In the winter months additional refugees arrived from Eastern and South Eastern Europe to escape freezing to death in the open street. Now it's summer again and global crises haven't declined, so again refugees are trying to reach europe by boat crossing the mediterranean sean.

The asylum-seekers arriving in Germany are distributed among the German states according to admission quotas (contigent for Baden-Württemberg: 12.9%). All refugees arriving in Germany via Baden-Württemberg are sent to Karlsruhe to be registered and distributed further.

Public authorities were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of refugees and barely capable of providing  shelter for all of them, let alone meeting their basic human needs. The state of Baden-Württemberg intends to improve the situation of the refugees with additional financial aid. Nevertheless it needs the help of many voluntary workers to give aid unbureaucratically and to create a true welcome culture.