What We Do

"In Germany, I have a new definition of what it means to be Syrian. I think Syrian people are very strong because we try to be happy no matter what our circumstances are. We take life as it comes and accept the life God gave us."

Imagine spending Christmas at an airport. Imagine being there without a passport or anywhere else to go, since the last flights departed almost ten years ago and any other transfers are constantly being delayed or cancelled as soon as you even get close to getting a ticket.

Danica Simonet volunteered with GSBTB Open Art Shelter for Women and Children throughout summer 2016. There she interviewed some women from Syria for Brother's Keeper International, where this post was first published.

Sinéad Walsh kehrte kürzlich in ihre Heimatstadt Dublin zurück, nachdem sie als sehr engagierte ehrenamtliche Helferin im Team des GSBTB Open Art Shelter mitgearbeitet hatte. Zurück in Dublin war ein Foto der Auslöser dafür, ihre Eindrücke und Erlebnisse aus ihrer Zeit im Frauenzimmer der Unterkunft für Geflüchtete im ehemaligen Flughafen Tempelhof aufzuschreiben.

Sinéad Walsh recently returned to her home in Dublin after volunteering with GSBTB Open Art Shelter, where she was a dedicated member of the team. Here she writes about her experiences at the Frauenzimmer in the Tempelhof refugee shelter, sparked by a photo she saw on returning home.

Since its birth in March 2016, the GSBTB Open Music School (OMS) has grown into a complex, multi-layered project, reflecting the community it strives to serve.

At the beginning of September my friends from Tempelhof camp wrote letters to Aydan Özoguz, the Minister of State in the German Chancellery and Commissioner for Immigration, Refugees and Integration. Our volunteers translated them into German and English.

On Saturday afternoon we were glad to host Nadia Nikova who brought the Bakers Without Borders project all the way from Bulgaria to share it with some of our volunteers.

Give Something Back to Berlin was honoured to receive some very special guests last week: King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden.

Silke Georgi runs GSBTB's English lessons for refugees on Wednesday nights. Here's an English translation of an interview she did for ImmobilienScout 24, which kindly lends us their office space for the lessons every week.

We were honoured to host both Aydan Özoguz, Minister of State in the German Chancellery and Commissioner for Immigration, Refugees and Integration and Dr. Franziska Giffey, the mayor of Neukölln, to show them our projects and introduce them to our community.

GSBTB Open Kitchen's profile in the streetfood scene continues to grow! In July we joined the United Street Food event at Berlin's best-known foodhall Markthalle Neun, hosted by Souk Berlin.