Extensive used clothes business with collection boxes and shops
A ‘school’ in Berlin
But Humana is not recognised as a serious aid charity and
blacklisted by other German NGOs
ACTIVISTS TARGET HUMANA BOXES IN BERLIN
Humana boxes in Berlin have been stencilled with a warning about Amdi Petersen
Tvind activities in Germany
1 Companies
2 Shops & Warehouses
3 The House in Berlin-Mahlsdorf
4 Friends Forever
5 Media reports
6 Links
NEWS
2nd May 2010
Humana boxes are stencilled with the words ‘Who is Amdi Petersen?’
Activists have spray-painted Humana boxes in Berlin with a stencilled warning message, ‘Who is Amdi Peterson? Please read up BEFORE you contribute!’. This has nothing to do with Tvind Alert – but of course we are glad to see it is happening. Anonymous informants have sent us pictures of boxes bearing the graffito, which apparently started appearing in 2008. Humana cleans the boxes and attaches a note claiming the vandals are being prosecuted – but we have not been told of any prosecutions, and the stencils keep appearing. Keep us informed, guys!
18th September 2009
“We don’t want Humana in Berlin” – German aid agencies
All 70 organisations in an umbrella organisation called BER (“Berliner Entwicklungspolitischer Ratschlag”) have rejected an invitation to attend the opening of Humana’s new clothes sorting facility in Berlin. Humana intends to open the used clothes sorting facility in Hoppegarten/Berlin on September 21st.
At the heart of the NGOs’ criticism is that Humana presents itself as a development aid organisation, while the BER believes that they don’t have anything to do with classic development aid. “We don’t want Humana in Berlin”, says CEO Alexander Schudy.
According to the BER, Humana’s projects in Africa don’t have anything to do with serious development aid, as former volunteers say. In 2004 Humana (Germany) only transferred 57.000 Euro from Germany to Africa. Meanwhile Humana’s business is growing and growing. When a journalist confronted German chairwoman of Humana People-to-People e.V., Julia Breidenstein, during an interview on RadioEins with these allegations she just hung up the phone.
“We want a broad social alliance against Humana as it was with the Scientology headquarter in Berlin-Charlottenburg”, says Schudy referring to the protests against the opening of a new Scientology headquarter in the German capitol in January 2007.
Text of the BER statement (in German)
18th March 2009
Press article: Berliner Zeitung
“Afrika-Hilfe umsonst”.
Ehemalige Mitarbeiter werfen der Firma Humana Ausbeutung vor. Die Bundesregierung hat jetzt reagiert
von Frank Nordhausen
The article describes from a view of former volunteers Humana’s situation in Berlin – the way, the volunteers are used as “cheap resources”, confusing projects in Africa, questionable financial practices.
20th Feb 2009
German Government: Humana is ‘not serious’
The German Governments Federal Department for Economical and Development (BMZ) has just issued a statement declaring “Humana People to People Deutschland” not to be a serious organisation for development politics.
The German Government last year (2008) started a new programme called “Weltwärts” for young people between 18 and 28 years old to do volunteer work in developing countries – through serious German non-governmental organisations. Since then 193 organisations have applied to be part of that programme. 192 organisations have been recognised. Only one have got a NO from the Department – it’s Humana. BER, a Berlin-based umbrella-organisation for 70 development-NGO’s, has welcomed the German Governments decission. Humana applied in 2005 for membership in BER – but it was denied.
Several members of the German Green Party raised in name of the whole faction of “Bündnis 90/DIE GRÜNEN” critical questions about Humana in the German Parliament (Bundestag) in the time up to the decission to reject Humana from being part of the “Weltwärts”-programme.
The answer of the German government in full.
October 2008
Rheinland-Pfalz revokes Humana charity status
“HUMANA – Hilfe bei Kinderkrebs” (incorporated society) lost its legal capacity in Germany. The donation comission of the German province Rheinland-Pfalz revoked all legal capacities in October 2008. The incorporated society was closed by the comission! On top of that HUMANA is not allowed to collect clothes anymore in this area.
Tvind activities in Germany
Humana People to People Deutschland e.V.
http://www.humana-second-hand.de/
Humana spreaded a lot in Germany in the past years. While they closed some of their stores (e.g. in Erfurt) they opened a lot of spacious warehouses in Berlin. Humana now has 12 shops in Berlin, most of them very central. The biggest store is located at Franfurter Tor, a used clothes warehouse over four stories!
There are also lots of Humana bins in the area of Berlin.
Here’s a list of Humana shops in Germany:
- Berlin-Charlottenburg, Lewishamstraße 1, 10629 Berlin – 200 m2
- Berlin-Friedrichshain, Frankfurter Tor 3,10243 Berlin – used clothes on four levels, 2000 m2
- Berlin – Charlottenburg, Kantstr. 6, 10623 Berlin – 260 m2
- Berlin-Alexanderplatz, Alexanderstr. 7 / Ecke Otto Braun Str., 10178 Berlin – 1300 m2
- Berlin-Neukölln, Karl Marx Str. 13, 12043 Berlin – 250 m2
- Berlin-Wedding, Ostender Str. 1, 13353 Berlin
- Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg, Schönhauser Allee 90, 10439 Berlin – 300 m2
- Berlin-Schöneberg, Hauptstraße 147, 10827 Berlin – 150 m2
- Berlin-Schöneberg, Rheinstr. 44, 12161 Berlin
- Berlin-Spandau, Havelstr. 8-10, 13597 Berlin
- Berlin-Tempelhof, Tempelhofer Damm 148, 12099 Berlin – 200 m2
- Berlin-Tiergarten, Turmstraße 26, 10559 Berlin – 300 m2
- Dresden, Wilsdruffer Straße 7, 01067 Dresden – 300m2
- Köln, Hahnenstraße 55, 50667 Köln – 600 m2
- Hamburg, Große Bergstr. 166, 22767 Hamburg
- Leipzig, Universitätsstraße 20, 04109 Leipzig – 300 m2
3 The House in Berlin-Mahlsdorf
Humana bought (or rented) this former Deutsche Bahn guesthouse in around autumn 2008. It provides accomodation for the volunteers and for the leading Teacher Group members in Berlin. Some volunteers claimed that they were regarded as “cheap resources” as they had to renovate the house.
Come back soon for some pictures of the house and reports of former volunteers.
“Friends Forever” is selling “Master sculptors of Zimbabwe” at a very prominent location in Berlin: The “Art Center Berlin”. Friends Forever is a part of Tvind. Come back soon for more informations.
- “Afrika-Hile umsonst“, by Frank Nordhausen, Berliner Zeitung, March 19th 2009
- Press release of BER e.V., January 22th 2009, The BER (a Berlin-based top NGO) welcomes the decision of the German Government, not to accept Humana as a part of the “weltwärts”-Programm
- Humana in Berlin, January 2009, WDR (West Deutscher Rundfunk), TV report on Humana in Berlin, come back soon for an online stream
Please visit the homepage of our friend and supporter, Friedrich Griess, for his archive of press articles on Humana and Tvind in German.
- Miguel, former Tvind volunteer from Germany, describing hisself as “sect victim”
Do you have something to add? Have you been a former volunteer? Please contact us: feedback@tvindalert.com. Wir sprechen auch Deutsch
