Space for one year - for Citizen2be | Yoga & Therapy for Refugees in Berlin. Once you find home within yourself, you can find a new home in the world. This is what we need a space for.

Yoga & Therapy for Refugees in Berlin. Once you find home within yourself, you can find a new home in the world. This is what we need a space for.

Since April 2014 Bettina Schuler offers yoga classes for female refugees in Berlin – once a week and for free. She has started the nonprofit organisation Citizen2be that wants more. We need a space to offer more yoga for refugees and we want to establish a yoga therapy center. You might be asking yourself: I thought refugees rather need clothing, housing, furniture? But how is one supposed to feel at home without feeling at home within oneself?

Privacy notice

Funding period

11/14/16 - 1/15/17

Realisation

From January 2017

Website & Social Media

Minimum amount (Start level): €

12,000 €

City

Berlin

What is this project all about?

The campaign will give us the opportunity to finance a yoga space for one year. And then Citizen2be really can get started. We want to do more than offering yoga classes. We want to create the possibility to participate in holistic therapy – we are already in touch with fantastic therapists who want to support us.

We also want to work on something that is sometimes missing: getting in touch. We will have events and meetings to bring together refugees, locals and friends. This should challenge the refugees to get involved, to show who they are and what they can do. Too often we forget that people arriving here can be a gift for our society. Showing us a different angle on things through their stories, their knowlege and skills.

What is the project goal and who is the project for?

People have fled from war, persecution and poverty to seek safety here. They had to leave everything behind. Most of them have lost trust in themselves and in their bodies due to traumatic experience .

Yoga is supposed to give them back selfconfidence. While they might not have a home for themselves (yet), they can at least build a safe home within themselves again. And feel better. Starting with inner safety it will be possible for them to build a new outer home and to really arrive here.

Why would you support this project?

Do you know the feeling being stressed out and exhausted? Some minor or major crisis may make us sometimes even seek professional help. Being in therapy has become a common thing.
Anybody who has ever tried to find a therapist knows how hard it is. Now add the refugees – every single on of them should have therapy.

When you have lost everything. When everything left is just yourself. Then you should take extra good care. Yoga helps so many people to be more whole again.

Support this project and tell all your friends about it if you feel and understandd what you just read.

How will we use the money if the project is successfully funded?

20.000 Euro / 12 months = 1.666,67 Euro

The Citizen2be campaign will finance the rent for a yoga space for one year. At first glance this might look like a lot of money. But every Berliner knows how hight rents are plus heating, gas and electricity. So in the end it is not a lot of money per month really.

All other material like yoga mats, blankets, furniture etc. will be organised through donations. Once the campaing is successful we can start in January 2017! Finally! You should come over and visit. And yes, that counts as an invitation!

Who are the people behind the project?

Bettina Schuler, author and yoga teacher, founded the nonprofit organisation Citizen2be. She gives voluntary yoga classes for refugee women since 2014. She published her experiences in her book "Norahib Bikom" heißt Willkommen („Norahib Bikom Means Welcome“) in 2016. In this book she tells of her experiences during her voluntary work and her friendship with a syrian family. By now Citizen2be is supported by Christina Häußlerwho is responsible for the communication and planning of the campaign.

Also part of this project:
We want to thank all our supporters, partners, multipliers and friends. All those loveley people that support us with rewards for this campagain. We want to thank all our friends, our network and everybody who clicks on „donation“ or „order reward“ now or just tells somebody else about it. And especially we want to thank the refugees that show Citizen2be already how important this work is.

Citizen2be