Easier rail travel from Leipzig station for children and persons with reduced mobility

"Because of my work, I often meet elderly persons who have problems travelling alone. The accompaniment service proposed by Caritasverband applies to all the rail companies of the region, and is therefore a genuine breakthrough for the mobility of disadvantaged persons."

Kerstin Gohla

The nonprofit Caritasverband Leipzig, created in the interwar years, is one of the largest nonprofits active in Leipzig and its environs. With a large number of different projects (employment, home care, reception center, kindergarten, residence and others), it pursues its charitable objectives in the areas of counseling and support for disadvantaged persons, such as long-term jobless, handicapped persons, the elderly, single-parent adults and children.

New accompaniment arrangements for children and persons with reduced mobility

Today, Caritasverband Leipzig is the organization leading the Mission of Leipzig station, which has been active for 130 years. The station Mission is a place of first contact, information and a relay for all travelers who need help. The station Mission currently gives work to three persons full-time and cooperates with a score of volunteers. One of the challenges today is mobility for everyone, whether children travelling alone (separation/divorce) or persons with reduced mobility. Since 2004, a project called "Kids on Tour" already provides accompaniment for children in the train on the route between Leipzig and Frankfurt/Main. But to respond to growing demand, the station Mission wishes to propose a volunteer accompaniment service beyond the "Kids on Tour" project, for persons with reduced mobility and for children, on train trips in the environs of Leipzig to Berlin, Dresden, Chemnitz, Erfurt and Magdeburg.

This initiative ideally matches the criteria of the Veolia Foundation, because it is aimed at supporting persons with reduced mobility, thereby facilitating their integration in everyday life. The Foundation will take charge of the uniforms of the volunteers and their equipment, and also for providing the inherent communication tools.