The New Apostolic Church operates child care facilities in a number of countries. In some areas, the Church even runs retirement homes. The multigenerational project Good Hope in Oberhausen is a combination of the two, and it is celebrating its fifth anniversary.
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Oliver Rütten
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Oliver Rütten
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Photo: Oliver Rütten
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Photo: Oliver Rütten
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Oliver Rütten
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Photo: Oliver Rütten
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Oliver Rütten
“A highlight in the social sector” was how the mayor, Elisabeth Albrecht-Mainz, described the complex in Oberhausen (Germany). Prior to this, about one hundred guests had been given a look back at the beginnings of this project, which offers living space for young and old alike.
Meeting place for the generations
“Good Hope”, so the name, is primarily a facility that caters to seniors. The assisted living centre is designed for about 80 residents, who are organized into seven domestic groups of ten to twelve individuals each, who share a large kitchen and a common area.
Included in the centre is a residential complex with four buildings, each with 15 individual apartments of varying sizes for singles, couples, or families of all ages.
And finally, Good Hope is a place for families at whose heart is a day-care centre that offers professional care for 55 children, aged four months to six years. The centre also offers a wide range of services, assistance, and events for parents living in the area.
Beginnings and development
The New Apostolic Church North Rhine-Westphalia invested about 22 million euros into the project. Initial planning started in 2005, construction four years later. In October 2011, then, the senior and family centre was inaugurated.
The District Church is not entirely inexperienced with running such a facility. Already in 1998 it opened an assisted living and care facility in Fröndenberg, called “House Löhnbachtal”.
The facility in Oberhausen has proven itself too. In audits by the national health service, whose results are published by the health insurance fund, the facility always receives very good marks. And the day-care centre has even been awarded a prize by the Association of German Choirs for its musical activities.
On the occasion of the festivities marking its fifth anniversary, District Apostle Rainer Storck summed things up as follows: “We have grown together and will continue to develop together.”