Community OT based practice with poor children

1
Community OT based practice with poor children

• ETOS Ergotherapieschule Osnabrueck e.V.
• Christiane Doermann, Mareike Dohrmann, Frank John

2
Overview

• Current situation in Germany
• Background
• Project Die Arche
• Introduction
• Why this project?
• Aims of Die Arche
• Methods
• Why OTs should be involved in this project?
• Visions for the future

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Current situation in Germany

• Till now high standards in the social security
  system
• System is changing
• CBR projects from Germany are mainly for the
  development aid abroad
• Desirable to develop CBR projects for OTs in
  Germany

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Background

• UNICEF March 2005 Children poverty strongly
  increased in Germany since 1990.
• Children poverty in Germany means
• children below the poverty line
• Major affected people single parent children,
  children of immigration families
• Nearly every 7th child in Germany lives below the
  poverty line

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Project Die Arche

• Introduction
• Founded 1995 in Berlin
• Looking after over 250 children (0-20 years)
  everyday
• Financed mostly from donations (more than 95)
• Two centres in Berlin, one in Hamburg, one in
  Munich
• Responsible body Christian children and youth
  organization e.V. in Berlin

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Project Die Arche

• Why have we chosen this project?
• There are no OTs working in CBR projects in
  Germany.
• This project is close to the principles of CBR
• We can see many opportunities for OTs to work in
  this area.

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Projekt Die Arche

• Aims
• Get the children away from the street
• Support of life competences such as
  self-determination and self-responsibility
• Give the children a good condition for their
  development (e.g. health, personal, nutrition)
• Integration into the community

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Project Die Arche

• Methods
• Children get a hot meal for free
• Clothing Chamber
• Homework assistance
• Support of Health Awareness
• Learning by playing in order to have more fun and
  success at school.
• Youth Camps
• Prevention of violence through conversations,
  games etc.

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Project Die Arche

• Why OTs should be involved in this project?
• Poverty has negative consequences on the
  development of the child
• OTs have special knowledge and abilities in
  pediatrics, e.g.
• To improve the cognitive, physical, social,
  sensori-motor skills, every-day-life competences,
  occupational behaviour etc.
• To involve the environment, social context and
  culture

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Visions for the future

• Projects with other target groups e.g.
  Immigrants, homeless people, elderly people etc.
• Organize own CBR projects

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Vision

• Education should teach
• Global aspects of OT
• Themes like CBR, occupational apartheid and
  justice
• Project development/management

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Contact details

• ETOS Ergotherapieschule Osnabrueck e.V.
• Senator-Wagner-Weg 2
• 49088 Osnabrueck
• Germany
• Christiane Doermann
• Mareike Dohrmann
• Frank John
• Kathrin Loesel
• Annika Schaekermann
• Saphira Schlesinger
• email enothe-ag_at_gmx.de