Project info
Operator: RAA Leipzig e.V. in cooperation with Snaketeam e.V.
RAA Leipzig:
Foundation of the association: 1992
52 permanent employees, 30 volunteers, 2 school social workers at the 84th high school
Camp team: 1 school social workers, 2 experiential educators, 1 cook
Contact person: Isa Isensee, school social worker
Project location: Leipzig-Grünau
Project: self-determined living and learning in nature – 3 days out of the daily routine
Our funding:
Contribution to the costs of this project in the amount of 4997 €
Funding period: 2nd half of 2023
“Learning by doing” is the pedagogical approach of the camp – far away from the often tense and consumer-heavy reality of the target group in school and living environment.
The intercultural project is aimed at 15 children and young people between the ages of 12 and 17, with and without a migration background or from socially disadvantaged families. The target group decides itself to participate in the project.
Access to the target group is provided by the school social work of RAA Leipzig e. V., which is active at the 84th secondary school in Leipzig-Grünau.
The project operator
The association RAA Leipzig e.V. (Verein für interkulturelle Arbeit, Jugendhilfe und Schule e.V.) is a denominationally and politically independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization and primarily active in the city of Leipzig. RAA Leipzig e.V. works with people who are affected by structural and social disadvantage, discrimination and violence, especially with people with a migration biography.
The commitment of RAA Leipzig e.V. arises from the conviction that the dignity of every human being is inviolable, that human rights have a universal meaning and validity and that their practical realization can only be ensured through constant and active commitment. Society as a whole should be sensitized to cultural, religious, social and origin-related diversity and promote tolerance and mutual respect as basic values in everyday interaction and strengthen civic engagement.
The 4 fields of work of RAA Leipzig e. V. are divided as follows:
- Youth welfare & school (school social work at 14 locations in Leipzig; 2 open meetings; HEROES)
- Counseling centers (Salve; victim counseling; RAAinbow)
- Language and integration mediation (Sprint)
- Neighborhood work (management agency – active lifelong learning across generations)
Self-determined living and learning in nature – 3 days out of the daily routine
The socio-economic conditions in the prefabricated housing estate Grünau-Mitte result in inadequate financial, social and cultural resources as well as low access to education. The effects are reflected in the children’s everyday school life.
The children often encounter each other in everyday school life in a tense, highly conflictual and aggressive manner. The reasons for this lie in personal, social and structural conditions that can only be dealt with in a conciliatory and selective manner in everyday school life.
In order to counteract the tense situation in a positive way, the children or young people should be able to become active and effective themselves, to try things out and have positive experiences in a protected setting without experiencing defeat and violence.
This is to be achieved through an experiential and natural pedagogical approach, in which strengths and weaknesses have just as much a place as personal responsibility for oneself and the group. The independence of the children and young people is to be promoted or activated in a protected framework. The community should be experienced positively and conflicts should be dealt with in a pedagogical way.
In addition to the joint construction of the camp with yurt as a meeting and meeting room are in the offer:
- Creation of a cooking plan/team
- Creation of a washing up team
- Creation of a purchasing team
- Bow shooting
- Canoeing
- Cooperative adventure games
- Overnight stay in the wilderness
- Carving, Sawing
- Making fire
In all daily activities, waste reduction, separation and collection in nature as well as the careful use of resources (e.g. water and electricity) play an essential role.
The goals are the participation and self-efficacy of children and young people in wind and weather, according to their interests and inclinations, as well as shared experiences and mutual consideration (interpersonal and to nature).
Isa Isensee, school social worker at the 84th secondary school in Leipzig
Why we are committed to the project
Recently, at a conference, we heard about an experiment in which the connection between nature and empathy was examined. The control group that spent time in nature for a short test subsequently showed significantly higher empathy and social behavior than the control group that spent time in a sterile office.
Similar results were obtained in studies of children participating in experiential education projects.
Outlook
We were very happy to support this project and wish the school social worker team of the 84th High School, RAA Leipzig e.V. and the Snaketeam much success and joy with the children for their plans and offers. We wish the children and young people in Leipzig-Grünau always opportunities to use and find their way to a self-determined, satisfied and happy life.
