WG starts: Mohamed and his buddies are now living in Wolfratshausen's apartment

Created: 05/13/2022, 09:03

By: Dominik Stallein

Flatmates and friends: Mohamed (right) has been living in the shared apartment near the train station since February.

Sven also moved in a few weeks ago.

© Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss

The Jonas Better Place Foundation project in Wolfratshausen was planned as a shared flat for refugees.

The young men have settled in well.

Wolfratshausen – Mohamed likes the kitchen duty the least.

Luckily, trainee cook Alseny has a knack for it.

A few months ago, the two moved into a flat share.

That in and of itself would be nothing special.

However, Mohamed and Alseny are refugees, have only been in Germany for a few years and are cared for by the Jonas Better Place Foundation.

The 20-year-old Africans – Alseny Bangoura comes from Guinea, Mohamed Jimcaale from Somalia – lived until February in the “New Place” group home in Wolfratshausen’s old town.

Foundation WG starts: Mohamed and his buddies now live in Wolfratshauser apartment

It was time for the young men to take the next step, they and their supervisors felt.

You can now do this near the Wolfratshauser S-Bahn station.

They lovingly furnished the apartment rented by the foundation.

A third room has now been occupied: Sven Kalteis (18) has been living with Mohamed and Alseny in the semi-supervised residential group for a few weeks.

There is still one place in the shared apartment available.

The youth welfare office can place someone over the age of 18, explains Lisa Grünbeck, who runs the facility.

Young refugees in Wolfratshauser WG - "They make their experiences"

Life with more independence was not always easy in the beginning.

"I suddenly had to take care of a lot of things that I never had to do before," says Mohamed.

In the meantime, however, the nursing assistant trainee is getting along well.

However, shopping for the flat-sharing refrigerator is still a hurdle.

The three boys have a strictly rationed meal allowance: They are allowed to spend six euros per day and person - and have to prove with receipts that they have actually invested the money in food.

"Sometimes that's difficult," says Mohamed - and it's annoying when the boys forget the receipt after shopping, then they have to pay for everything out of their own pockets.

"They make their experiences," says Grünbeck.

Alseny found out painfully that while fresh fish tastes better,

"but 700 grams of halibut from the counter cost a lot".

It's mistakes that boys learn from, just like every young adult who dares to take the step into self-employment.

Partially supervised flat share: Caregivers are available to the young refugees

The three young men with these kinds of problems are not all alone: ​​Every day, a supervisor from the foundation is in the flat for several hours, and the “New Place” residential group can be reached by phone around the clock.

Every Wednesday evening, the three roommates meet with educators to talk.

Then joint excursions are planned or the cleaning services are distributed - and Mohamed hopes that he will not be assigned to the kitchen.

The young men are happy with their decision to share in Wolfratshausen.

"I like it better because we make more of our own decisions here," says Alseny.

Nevertheless, he likes to stop by his former group home and meet the buddies he used to live with there.

Found an apartment in Wolfratshausen: WG started by Jonas Better Place

The young men organized the furniture for their rooms and the common areas themselves – mainly via online platforms such as eBay.

Mohamed, for example, has purchased a blue LED strip that envelops his room in a special light.

The three of them like to hang out there in their free time, play on the Playstation or chat about their education, football or the next joint ventures.

Most recently, the trio and their supervisors went bowling in Bad Tölz.

Alseny won, which he reminds his roommates with a big grin.

When the three talk about their life together, you get the feeling that everything is going pretty smoothly.

The boys are friends who call each other "bro" like "brother" and support each other.

When Alseny cooks - "actually always casseroles", as Sven notes - he makes so much that there is enough for his roommates.

Then he cleans up the kitchen.

Even if someone else is assigned to do it.

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