A family of ten lives on € 1,400 Hartz IV and child benefit in a completely ailing house.
14-year-old Florentine gives terrifying insights into the world of child poverty.
Munich - Germany is one of the richest countries in the world.
But even in this country one is not immune to poverty, as the case of 14-year-old Florentine from northern Saxony shows.
She lives with her parents and seven siblings in a house that doesn't really deserve the name.
No heating, no warm water, a ruin full of piles of rubbish:
Florentine tells her story on
the
RTL2 show
“Poor Germany - Your Children”.
The family's dilapidated house dates from the GDR era and was last renovated in 1975.
Florentine's father inherited it from his grandfather - including a debt of 66,000 euros.
After the mortgage shock, the family from northern Saxony got even worse;
Florentine's great-grandfather had a lot more debts than that.
Florentine's father still stutters his ancestral electricity bill today.
Hartz IV child Florentine: No electricity, no heating
Two of Florentine's brothers share a small room in the basement.
But in winter almost all children sleep here, explains Josephine.
“Because it's not really warm upstairs.” The 14-year-old finds very mild words for the condition of the house.
There is no electricity or heating on the upper floor.
The family of ten lives on 1,400 euros Hartz IV and almost 1,800 euros in child benefit.
That is not enough in front and behind and leaves Florentine's father in despair.
He had taken over the renovation of the littered house, collapsed after a gastric rupture and had to undergo emergency surgery.
Since then he has not been allowed to work at all.
He says he's sorry that he can't offer his children anything.
Hartz IV child Florentine is not an isolated case: Corona fuels child poverty
According to the latest figures from the Bertelsmann Foundation, poverty overshadows the everyday lives of more than a fifth of all children in Germany.
That is 21.3 percent or 2.8 million children and young people under 18, who are often at risk of poverty for many years.
The corona crisis is further exacerbating child poverty in Germany.
Many poor children are in danger of “falling through the cracks”, explains Foundation Board member Jörg Dräger.
Numerous offers of support outside the home from the state or civil society would not be available during the lockdown.
Children from poor backgrounds are also at a disadvantage when it comes to homeschooling.
Often they don't even have internet access, let alone the necessary technical equipment or retreats for undisturbed learning.
Way out of Hartz IV trap: Florentine draws up a plan
The extent of this is illustrated by Florentine's case.
Construction foam gapes from all corners of the house - surrounded by junk and mold.
The family made a makeshift door to the bathroom out of plywood.
In the corner behind it is a tub on wooden legs.
There is no hot water running here.
Florentine has not had a warm shower for three years, she explains in the TV format.
“Somehow you feel dirty even though you've washed yourself,” she says.
This should now be over, Florentine has come up with a plan: With the around 280 euros in child benefit that the family receives for her, the 14-year-old is now daring to leave.
She wants to move to her aunt in Munich, catch up on her secondary school diploma and become a teacher.
List of rubric lists: © Sebastian Gollnow