The Pestalozzi Village for Children and Adolescents: A Safe Place

Pestalozzi Children`s Village – Facts

The Pestalozzi Children’s and Adolescent’s Village („Pestalozzi Kinder- und Jugenddorf“) offers a home to children and adolescents in social distress. They are supported according to their individual needs. Starting from kindergarten, continuing on to school and then apprenticeship they experience a holistic education of “head” (school), “heart” (family group environment) and “hand”(apprenticeship) in the sense of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi who gave our organisation it’s name.
1947
The Children’s Village (“Das Kinderdorf”) was founded by Dr. Erich Fischer and Adalbert Graf von Keyserlingk as the first Children’s Village in Germany.
FAMILIES
One couple, six children and a house: the family groups offer children a safe place to be and accompany them in their development, when the birth parents are not able to look after them. Individual therapies help them to deal with and integrate traumatic experiences. Thus children and adolescents are accompanied in the best possible manner on their way to becoming independent adults.
150
children and adolescents live in 26 family groups.
500
employees work in the Children’s Village and its‘ businesses.
3300
children and young people have been cared for in the Children‘s Village since it was founded.

SCHOOLS
The state-approved Dr. Erich-Fischer-Schule combines two types of school: the special needs educational center offers primary and secondary education for children aiming to regain a foothold in daily school routine. The year-long program of the Sonderberufsfachschule aims to help adolescents attain a finishing school qualification as well as gain a professional orientation.
BUSINESSES
Nine businesses, such as our carpentry or our agricultural holding, provide the Childrens’ Village with their services and products. Additionally these are sold on the market. Our food production is organic. We offer training occupations – predominantly for adolescents with special needs, who can complete a training (“Fachpraktiker Ausbildung”) with reduced theoretical requirements.
2022
a forest kindergarten was opened in addition to the existing kindergarten – the „Waldwichtel“.