Day 3

One day of internet for a refugee home in Germany

No Internet without volunteers

Internet access for refugees

A mother from Sierra Leone can find her daughter on Facebook, a Syrian agricultural engineer finds a job in a neighboring gardening center, a Syrian hobby beekeeper finds a beehive on eBay to establish a new colony of bees next to the shared accommodation, and a group of brightly dressed women sit in front of their computers during an online German course and announce "I'm Michael" into their headsets almost simultaneously. For many refugees, internet access makes it easier to start a new life in a foreign country. It helps to translate, learn a new language, make new contacts and maintain old ones, and to master the complicated bureaucratic issues of the asylum process. But in most refugee centers there is no free internet access.

need

Internet access in refugee accommodation for refugees in Germany.

activity

Establishment and operation of Internet access and computer rooms in refugee accommodation.

Measurable performance

Period during which Internet access can be operated in refugee accommodation.

Result

Refugees have improved access to relevant information and social contacts.

Systemically relevant impact

Refugees find their way in Germany and can return to a self-determined life.

background

Internet access is not a service that refugees are entitled to under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. In shared accommodation, people are not allowed to operate their own access.

Private initiatives such as the Refugees Online association step in where official bodies fail. So far, the association has brought more than 100 refugee shelters in Germany online so that refugees can talk to their families and find their way around their new surroundings.

The good deed

Refugees Online eV sets up and operates Internet access in refugee accommodation. The association sets up professional WiFi hotspot systems that can handle a large number of users. Now it's a matter of financing the ongoing operation of these connections. The state does not provide these services.