By Theresa Ritzer, Project ReconnectOn the ground floor of the refugee welcome center in Potsdam, Germany, a small internet café invites residents to research or study online. The nonprofit organization, Refugees Emancipation, has installed internet access and equipped the welcome center, a big residential facility where refugees live when they first arrive in Germany, with … Continued
By Theresa Ritzer and Sybille FleischmannEvery Monday and Wednesday afternoon, the Serlo Lab School in Munich opens its doors to students from the neighborhood. There, experienced educators and teachers-in-training offer free math tutoring to high school students who need extra practice. Among these students are young refugees, who use the opportunity to catch up on … Continued
By Sybille Fleischmann, Project Reconnect leadIn the year since the first Project Reconnect grantees were selected, 24,000 Google Chromebooks have been distributed to nonprofits working with refugees. The laptops are in use at more than 900 locations across Germany. On March 17, 2017, representatives from these nonprofits met in Munich to share lessons learned and … Continued
By Sybille FleischmannUntil he left Afghanistan at age 18, Hamid Husaini (left, in picture above) had only been to school three years. Today, he bakes pies at an ice cream shop in southern Germany, and studies German and math with a donated Google Chromebook.Back in Afghanistan, Husaini’s mother worked as a teacher for UNICEF in … Continued
By Sybille FleischmannVolunteers in the region of Birkenfeld, Germany plan to teach refugees German and math using Google Chromebooks. And to help them get there, the volunteers are being tutored by Omar Azad Ahmad, a refugee from Syria, on how to use and manage the new laptops. Ahmad (pictured right) is Kurdish, and hails from Qamishli, … Continued
By Sybille FleischmannIn 2011, Ibrahim Mohamed Saeid was working as a carpenter in Eritrea when the police suddenly appeared at his workplace to arrest him. Saeid’s brother, who had received a scholarship to study in India, had left Eritrea without permission, which, in turn, left his family vulnerable to punishment. And though he had committed … Continued
By Wieland Holfelder, Engineering Director at Google GermanyIn January 2016, Google and NetHope started Project Reconnect with the joint goal of providing refugees in Germany with access to online information and educational resources. To this end, Project Reconnect is distributing 25,000 Chromebooks to organizations working with refugees in Germany. Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, donated $5 million to NetHope for … Continued
By Sybille Fleischmann, Project Lead for Project Reconnect“Call me Thomas,” says Dr. Thomas von Rueden, shaking my hand with a grin. The fifty year-old man with gray-black curls leads the team of Asylplus, an organization that provides refugees access to education, and hopefully, to job prospects. While answering my questions, Thomas sticks a silver-gray adhesive label with … Continued
Google.org and NetHope team up on Project Reconnect to give 25,000 Chromebooks to nonprofits supporting refugees in Germany.