Reinickendorf

UPDATE 25 NOV 2017

A few months ago College Voltaire, in its Notunterkunft form, was shut down.

Many refugees have been sent up to Büch, now apparently under some kind of "stephanus stiftung"

umbrella.

Many were kicked out of germany and sent back to the non-war zone countries

The company who operated the Reinickendorf shelter are now operating one near Spandau,

with completely new refugees

I will update the music I am doing there etc details soon

cheers

Simon

Hello

Ich benötige 30 Instrumente für Leute, die im College Voltaire wohnen.

Hier, sind ungefähr 30 Familie…es kommt darauf an: manchmal bis zu 250 Personen.

Diese sollten zu folgender Adresse gebracht werden:

Simon Ganly

Musik Instrument

Notunterkunft „College Voltaire“

Rue Racine 7 / Avenue Charles de Gaulle 33

13469 Berlin

FAQ:

Könnten Sei die Instrumente abholen?

Ja, aber es wäre besser wenn Sie diese bringen würden,

Was soll ich mitbringen bei der Abgabe von Instrumenten?

Personalausweis bzw. Reisepass reicht aus

Was genau geschieht mit den Instrumenten, die ich spende?

Sie werden an die Flüchtlinge verkauft; der Erlös geht an College Voltaire, die Notunterkunft der Flüchtlinge, z. B.: Investition in Konzerte, Kauf von Musik-Ausstattungen, Reparatur usw.

I need another 30 instruments (donated) for people staying at college voltaire.

There are about 30 families, somewhere between 250 and 300 people

at any given point staying here.

These should be delivered to the following address:

Diese sollten zu folgender Adresse gebracht werden:

college voltaire

FAQ:

can you pick up instruments?

yes...But its much better if you bring them here, for obvious reasons: I would rather teach than run all over Berlin.

what should I bring when I come to deliver the instrument?

photographic ID, a passport is good.

what exactly happens the instrument I donate?

it gets sold to a "refugee". The money goes to college voltarie, where we invest it

in something music related: most likely a concert, and/or the buying of more musical facilities for the people staying here (reparation of instruments, new instruments, u.s.w…..or even the moving of a piano….

Its important to sell it because donations are not what these people need. If they literally cannot spend any money the instrument can be given to them.

how to I trace whats going on ?

its really up to you to get involved. If you donate an instrument, feel free to call here anytime and ask about whats going on.

who are you, and why should I care?

my name is Simon, I love music, and people. Get involved. I have just put a "Berliner Freiwilligen pass certificate" on my website, which I received as official recognition from the government of the stuff I have done. Have a look, if it helps in your decision.

can I send instruments by post?

Yes.

HERE IS SOME BACKGROUND ABOUT THIS PROJECT

I have been volunteering In a refugee center in Reinickendorf (north Berlin) since May 2015. I go there once a week, and teach guitar.

So far it has been a really interesting experience. The refugees are mainly from Syria, Afghanistan, Romania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia, Iran, and Iraq.

My basic philosophy is that people should be welcomed with open arms into any country. So its great to be a part of that welcoming process. Music is something I can do, so it feels positive to go there and contribute as best I can.

I just teach guitar to anyone who wants to learn. I have also done some keyboard there. I have managed to get guitars and a keyboard for the centre. Although language barriers exist, and I don't speak any of the languages, usually it isn't a problem when we get down to the basics of learning the instrument. Sometimes it has been easier when they speak some English and German.

I've taught about sixty different people so far: men, women and children.

Usually I teach about 10 to 15 people in the day, mostly individual lessons but sometimes in small groups.

These photographs here are from 5th November 2015:

Luis, Jetmen, Zeja from Albania, and Yovan...cant remember where he is from!

This is Slobodan on the left !!

This is Dmitri (:

Tamim

Yovan, Zoran, Radi, Christian

Christian.

Micky.