2021, what a year it has been!
What a year it has been! Hildashaus spent another year making an impact in Berlin and in the world. Let’s look back at the busy 2021.
In March we got accepted to the Design Thinking Accelerator sponsored by Do Good Here and Empathy Spark. This long journey ended in the month of July with an inspiring session with designers from across the globe who came together for more than 10 hours to co-create a program implementation concept for Hildashaus e.V.
In April of the year, we finally received charitable status. Alongside the official ‘Verein,’ we became an official Non-Profit Organization. YAY!
The launch of our "Empowerment and Well Being program"
In July, we finally launched our "Empowerment and Well Being program" with JACK-Berlin's community of women in refugee status or seeking asylum. The first event being the long-awaited Hildasfair supported by our first big grant from the House of Resources Berlin and private donors. During the seed phase, the community experienced a first taste of the activities included in the program as well as important tools to use in daily life:
Integration and conflict management for the refugee community. Initiative developed by PrettyDeadly Self Defence
This program helps participants gain confidence to effectively de-escalate and navigate potentially threatening situations, without betraying their own cultural backgrounds.
Art as a self-care practice. Initiative developed by Dr. Joanna Wróblewska
These sessions will enable the group to create more self-understanding, discover already existing resources, gently reconnect with their bodies and find a place of belonging.
Gentle movement based on Trauma Sensitive Yoga. Initiative developed by Emel Coban
TCTSY is a highly effective, evidence-based treatment program for survivors of traumatic experiences.
With the great feedback from the participants, we were encouraged to develop the program further in autumn. But more on that later!
Menstrual Health Equity for Refugees and Lebanese people who menstruate
Period poverty, which is one of the issues we try to tackle in our mission, strongly impacted menstruating people of Lebanon. With the ongoing economic crisis there, the prices of menstrual products increased by up to 500 %. With a lack of gender inclusivity in the emergency response from the government, Lebanese & refugee women experienced difficulties managing their periods.
That is why we started a menstrual equity campaign in cooperation with I Support The Girls Germany. With the donors' support, we managed to distribute 100 menstrual kits bought from Days for Girls Lebanon: 50 of them to Ibrahim Junction Minyara Syrian Refugee camp, and 50 to local Lebanese people. You can read the full report here.
Our goal is to build a bridge between our communities in Germany and the community in Lebanon. In the long-term, this collaboration will lead to the implementation of several programs.
Fall, what a season we had!
On September 1st, Rotaract Club Berlin - Hauptstadtclub, gave us space to talk about our vision and to motivate an audience of young people to cooperate and join exciting projects. We received great feedback and support, for which we are grateful.
September was also the month where we continued our "Empowerment and Well Being program" which helped us to learn more about what fits each woman's needs and what activities they benefit from. The attendees’ active participation, their questions related to personal challenges, and their willingness for a second cycle conclude that the program is ready to be implemented. Make a change and contribute to the Physical & psychological empowerment program for refugee women in Berlin.
In the autumn, we hosted a series of sessions in collaboration with Berlin-based THFWelcome, in the former Tempelhof airport space Hagar 1, which now serves the refugee community. With this Saturday morning program, 15 women in refugee status (displaced because of war or abuse) have the opportunity to attend a gentle movement session (based on Trauma sensitive yoga approach) with Emel Coban and/or a Shiatsu self-massage workshop with Aleksandra Hoffmann. After each session, women have space to reconnect, talk, have a small lunch, dance, and rewind after a long week.
In November, we welcomed a new addition to our team - Julianna, to join Natalie in the Communications sector. In case you didn’t know, Hildashaus is fully led by volunteers passionate about the cause. If you feel like you share our enthusiasm to help and can contribute to our mission, get in touch!
The year is almost over and there have been many moments when we got emotional (especially our founder Fede!) about how far we’ve come, but as we grow, we are constantly reminded that this is just the beginning. The past 2 years of our existence have shown us that we can do important things and how much power is in passion and collaboration. And we are so ready for 2022!
Thank you for hanging out with us for another year.
With love and gratitude,
Hildashaus family
