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Faces of the Solidary Basic Income

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Image: SenIAS, Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

Who are the people who have found a new job with the Solidary Basic Income? The series “Faces of the SBI” answers this question. From June 2021 to April 2022, we presented one employee of the program on our website every month. Eleven different people report on their origins, give us insights into their life and tell stories how they ended up in unemployment. We find out how their life has changed with the SBI, what the job looks like and what they wish for in the future.

The interviews and texts in the “Faces of the SBU” series were created by Katrin Rohnstock from Rohnstock Biographies. Ina Schoenenburg from the OSTKREUZ agency took the photos.

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Image: Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

He Guides the Drivers

Klaus Meier works as a social taxi guide.
Normally, employers are the ones who post vacant positions with Solidary Basic Income. Taxi driver and all-rounder Klaus Meier created his own position – with a convincing concept.

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Image: Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

Settled at Last – A Safe Haven in a Senior Community Center

Margit Domann works in the field of Visiting and Care Services at a municipal community center.
The collapse of the German Democratic Republic meant an abrupt and radical change for Margit Domann: she lost her job and from that moment on, her life stayed precarious. It took years for her to find a reassuring perspective – a position with Solidary Basic Income at a municipal community center.

Mario Katsch

Image: Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

A Better Life Thanks to SGE

Mario Katsch works as a neighborhood runner at „berlinwohnen Hausmeister“.
They say fortune favors the hard-working. In light of modern employment histories like that of Mario Katsch, this old adage sounds like a mockery. Becoming a father, and making time for his child, was just one of the reasons why it took him a long time to find his way back to working life after a long phase of unemployment; something he only managed with the help of the Solidary Basic Income project and a position at a subsidiary of housing association GESOBAU.

Katharina Schlee

Image: Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

The Way Out Leads to Neukölln

Katharina Schlee works as a cultural organization assistant at the Neukölln Culture Network.
Katharina Schlee had wanted to make art all her life, but her life kept getting in the way. She wound up out of work in Berlin, and a job in the cultural field seemed nothing more than a dream – until she found work via the Solidary Basic Income project.

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Image: Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

A Permanent Position Thanks to Solidary Basic Income

Michael Schmidt works as a city guide within the Solidary Basic Income.
Even intelligent people with many talents can fall on hard times, something Michael Schmidt experienced firsthand. But he found his way back to his ambition and gained a foothold in regular employment via a position within the Solidary Basic Income project.

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Image: Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

A Cosmopolitan for the “Children at the Palace”

Nada Iraki works as daycare center assistant at One World Kinder.
Despite speaking three languages and holding a degree in business management, Nada Iraki received no response to her numerous applications. She can’t quite explain the fact to this day, but she is glad that an SGE position finally brought this situation to an end.

Rainer-Fabiano Fagundes

Image: Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

Experts for Train Lines and Platforms

Rainer-Fabiano Fagundes works as Mobility Assistant within the SGE Project.
Rainer-Fabiano Fagundes knows most of Berlin’s stations like the back of his hand, including tactile paving, elevator details, and the geography of the escalators. As part of his SGE position, he makes sure people can get where they want to go using public transport, despite having reduced mobility.

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Image: Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

Dream Job at a Petting Zoo

Andrea Lange works in the Environmental Education and Information field within the SGE project.
Many a long-term unemployed person in Germany gets the chills when they hear the word “measure.” Andrea Lange, born in 1972, is no exception, and with good reason. It took employment within the Solidary Basic Income project to put an end to years of back and forth that gave her a lot of experience but no permanent position.

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Image: Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

From the Havel to the Müggelspree

Peter Eisermann works as a school organization assistant at Flatow Secondary School.
Peter Eisermann, born in 1966, is a little tired of starting over. He has done a lot of things in his life, but nothing lasted. Something that may now change, thanks to a Solidary Basic Income position at an elite school of sports in Köpenick.

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Image: Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

Nobody is born homeless

Caroline Meister works as a guide for homeless people on the Karuna Task Force.
Caroline Meister, born in 1974, experienced first-hand what it means to not have anywhere to go. Today, she can draw on this biographical background to help people without homes throughout Berlin in her role as a guide for homeless people on the Karuna Task Force.n.

Abdul Rahim Nagibulla

Image: Ina Schoenenburg/OSTKREUZ

A Lot Lost, A Lot Gained

Abdul Rahim Nagibulla works for housing association WBM as a neighborhood assistant.
He is not one to give up. Abdul Rahim Nagibulla, born in 1987, worked for the German Armed Forces in Afghanistan, in constant fear of being murdered by the native population for doing so. He has been in Germany since 2009; his application for asylum was quickly approved. Today, he is very glad to finally have a long-term perspective as an SGE employee thanks to the Solidary Basic Income project.

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