Thoughts are free—and may they remain so for a lifetime! Daycare and school for children of business travelers celebrate a summer festival at the start of the school year

This time, there was plenty to celebrate: Six children were welcomed to the start of the school year along with their families. Students who had successfully completed their Hauptschule or Realschule diplomas were honored, and new students were warmly welcomed.

Even from a distance, the learning and daycare vans shone in the sun. The newly designed daycare vans were particularly eye-catching. Their colorful paint jobs were created during this year’s Wäldchestag as part of a charity project by toy manufacturer Mattel, in collaboration with children of business travelers and EVIM staff.

Everyone eventually gathered under the tents surrounding the large cedar tree: families, some of whom had traveled long distances from their current locations; long-time supporters; guests from the Hessian Ministry of Culture, Education, and Opportunities; and members of the Lions Club Wiesbaden-Kurpark, which has supported the educational programs for many years. The management team of EVIM Bildung and EVIM CEO Matthias Loyal also joined in the celebration.

Theresa Saup, team leader of the daycare center for children of professional travelers, and Benita Masuch from the extended school administration team led the program. Both educational programs provided live music together with Stefan Metz (saxophone, guitar, and vocals) and Julia Zart (guitar and vocals).

Small soap bubbles, big ideas

In his devotional, Pastor Matthias Loyal spoke about something that affects every child and every adult: the freedom to be oneself. No one can read another person’s thoughts—and that’s a good thing. Thoughts are the island, the last protected space where every person is allowed to be completely at peace with themselves.

In keeping with this theme, soap bubbles floated above the tables: light as a feather, sparkling, and free. These were small moments of joy, which Pastor Loyal linked to a wish for the children: “Hold on to your ‘I am me.’” Every person has a right to their own life and their own thoughts. Children must be encouraged and protected in this regard. And addressing the adults, he quoted Hannah Arendt’s powerful words: “No one has the right to obey.”

Just how much this freedom is tied to a reliable education became very clear that afternoon.

When Personal Experience Breeds Trust

Susanne Kaiser-Fischer had traveled 140 kilometers with her family from the festival grounds in Lauterbach. She knows the school for children of business travelers from two perspectives: She was once a student there herself, and today her children attend EVIM’s educational programs. Her son Kennedy is nine years old and a student at the school; her two-year-old son Bentley will attend the daycare center for children of professional travelers in the future.

Susanne Kaiser-Fischer still remembers her own elementary school days before the mobile school program was introduced: frequent school changes, a constant stream of new teachers and classmates—and endless questions about a life that was organized differently from that of most other children. “When the school for children of professional travelers finally opened, it was a real relief for me,” she says. Her grades improved, and many things became easier.

Today, she sees firsthand with her own children what continuity can achieve: “The children are doing better; they have the same teachers and stay in the same environment.” While the family goes about their work and travels from fairground to fairground, their education, in a sense, travels with them.

And sometimes, reliability even manifests itself in a very personal constant: “Mr. Ohl was my teacher; he’s my oldest son’s teacher, and he might even be my youngest son’s teacher one day,” says Susanne Kaiser-Fischer with a smile.

You could really feel the special atmosphere: For one afternoon, the mobile homes come to a standstill, and people who otherwise live and work scattered across many different places come together. Some have known each other for decades; others have just joined the group. And when it’s time to say goodbye again at the end, something remains: a community that travels along with them. (hk)