The Neighborhood Mothers helping immigrant moms find their feet

Germany's ‘Neighborhood Mothers’ offer an invaluable service that helps immigrant parents integrate into life in the country.

Transcript

00:00Rania Shaban is a mother to a whole neighborhood of Berlin.

00:15For women from around the world who are new to Germany, like Lebanese mother of three Isra,

00:20adapting to life here can be tough.

00:22That's where neighborhood mothers come in.

00:24Tonight Rania is helping Isra get her eldest daughter ready to start school.

00:30I didn't have anything to help me.

00:33When I got married to the city, it made me feel a lot of relief in this country.

00:39Neighborhood mothers like Rania are paid by the city to help foster integration.

00:43The program began here in Berlin's Neukölln district in 2004.

00:48It's since been replicated across the capital and nationwide.

00:51After a chat about the German school system, it's off to the local library to borrow some books for the kids.

00:57To read is important.

00:59And many children cost them much money to buy books.

01:06And here you have a great choice, also in different countries.

01:10Central to Rania's role are her own experiences of the challenges of parenting and integration.

01:16When my parents came here, it didn't exist.

01:20It didn't exist.

01:21It didn't exist anymore than before.

01:23It feels like you were here in your own country.

01:27But I just learned she wanted toργate her new friends.

01:28I know she's not watching this.

01:29I mean, the fact that I am going to be taught that I'm never going to live on recomendable.

01:30I got to make an film for a couple minutes.

01:32And it doesn't actually mean that I'm both having

01:41so many mothers with her estándик out of college in açık words.

01:45And having a lot time, they didn't exist."

01:47Um, there it really was a terrible thing, you know.

01:49crocheted into people who love ways.