Homeless children are allowed to shine

Created: 12/23/2021, 4:48 PM

By: Victoria Strachwitz

AWO and the municipality of Planegg have packed a mountain of gifts for homeless children.

Marion Wedershoven (left), Tanja Fees and Mayor Nafziger are happy about the campaign.

The wish lists are hanging on the Christmas tree.

© Dagmar Rutt

Life is not a request concert.

The homeless children in the Würmtal know that.

Nevertheless, they wrote wish lists for Christmas this year.

The chance of success has never been so good.

Planegg

- Seven-year-old Roza would like an apartment for her family, a small room of her own and if all that doesn't work then at least a desk.

There are wishes that the Christ Child cannot fulfill, even with a lot of help.

How lucky it is when at least a few small wishes come true for homeless children.

Children are between two and 15 years old

The past two years have not always been fun for the youngest and exhausting and hardship for families as a whole: lockdown, homeschooling, quarantine periods. “They really deserved it,” says Tanja Fees from the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO). She looks after the homeless in the communities of Planegg, Graefelfing, Neuried and Krailling. Eight children are currently living in the Planegger accommodations alone, one of whom is seven-year-old Roza. The other children are between two and 15 years old. They too want dolls, cars and Bluetooth headphones, like all the other children in the Würmtal. But for them it is anything but a matter of course that their wishes will come true. Your parents cannot afford a sumptuous reward for their patience and hesitation in times of the pandemic,they can't even find an apartment to pay for.

50 euros for each gift

Together with Marion Wedershoven from the Planegg community, Fees made sure that the Christ Child does not forget the children in the homeless shelters this year.

The community donated 50 euros per child from the social fund to make every wish come true.

The children were finally allowed to dream and write their wishes.

When Fees asked the children to write wish lists, they could hardly believe their luck.

"When you see the children beaming there, that's just great."

Roza wanted something for her doll.

But at the top of her wish list are the apartment for her family, a small room of her own and a desk.

She is attending first grade.

“That shows where it's missing,” says Fees.

“Accommodation for the homeless should actually be a temporary solution.” But some of the families have been living in the Planegger accommodation for four years.

Some children were born there.

"Great things came together"

Fees really hung in to fulfill the wishes on the slips of paper. When the green remote-controlled car appears under the wrapping paper at Christmas, as requested, when the doll mom notices that she can drive her new baby around in the buggy in the future and that older children can install their new Bluetooth headphones, the joy should be in the Accommodations can be huge. “Great things came together,” says Fees. “Of course the parents do what is possible.” But a new pair of football boots costs a lot of money - even if the son plays football incredibly well. Thanks to the community, Fees was able to say: “This is such a great football player, of course he needs good football boots,” he went and fulfilled the wish. "It is clear that he will also get beautiful ones there," she assures.

But "make a wish" has its limits. Fees could organize a pink desk for Roza. An apartment for the family was beyond the scope of the possible. The housing market is simply difficult, says Fees. After all, Rosa's doll is now getting a house for Christmas. Because for them, too, the girl had wanted a roof over her head on her wish list.

The mayor of the community of Planegg, Hermann Nafziger, approved the 50 euros per child from the community's social fund to “simply reward those who have the hardest time in the pandemic, those are the children”.

Even before Christmas, Fees thanked the community for bringing enormous anticipation and wonderful gifts to eight children.

Nafziger read the letter to the local councils.

And it could even be that in the future it will be called: "Every year again".

It is to be hoped that Roza will have her greatest wish come true by then.