The flu got the best of me and therefore I was unable to see the Rasoul´s for more than two weeks. I was back on track now and finding a German course for Helz that would offer certificates was on top of my to-do list. So far she was was visiting the open German classes offered by Autonomes Kollektiv. You will find more information by clicking on the link or checking under "Pages". However this course was not optimal for her. The goal was to get her certified in German so that she could pursue her education. Helz is a smart, young woman and I wanted to support her as good as possible.
I had spoke to the ÖIF ( the Austrian Integration Fonds) months ago. This organization, I was told, would offer grants up to 750 Euros per certified course. Back then when I wanted to apply for Helz, all the spots were taken and I was asked to apply on January 20th.
I had set up an appointment for Helz with Berlitz , an established school that offers premium language training, for a placement test and also to get a cost estimate in written that one needs to apply for the grants.
Helz was thrilled about the school. It is located in the inner city, classes are taught in small groups and the staff is professional and friendly.
Because Berlitz is a prime language school, the costs of the course were a bit higher than what would be covered by the grants. But I told Helz that I am postive that I could raise that money with the help of social media. We were both very, very excited.
The next day, I met Helz as early as 7am at Stephansplatz. It was very early and Helz overslept a little bit which was no issue at all as I usually include a little time cushion just in case. We were on our way to the ÖIF to apply for the grants.
We even managed to arrive a little too early and found ourselves in front of closed doors. A few minutes later, the office opened yet no one was there but the cleaning lady. We walked through the empty halls and I asked the lady where the employees were and she assured me that someone would arrive any minute.
Helz and I sat down in the waiting area. An employee arrived a few minutes later and asked us how he could help so I told him that we had come to apply for the grants. I had all the necessary documents on me and when I handed them out, he looked at me and said that Helz was not eligible for grants.
My jaw dropped. I told the man that I have been waiting months to apply for this grant and that I had spoken more than once to employees from this very same institution. I had explained that Helz had no positive asylum status yet but that she was a white card holder and therefore permitted to reside in Vienna yet I was told that it would be no problem at all and that Helz was indeed eligible for the grants.
The employee listened to me and suggested I should wait for another person to come in who knew more about it. So we waited a little longer, I was fuming and Helz I believe could tell from my face. We finally got to see the employee who was in charge of all of these. We sat down and I started once more to explain what had happened. And he too told me that Helz was not eligible for the grants. As soon as she would get her aslyum granted, she could apply.
I was utterly disappointed. That process could take months if not years at this point. He was kind enough to show us online courses that are for free as well as suggesting German courses in house. These courses were free of charge, however without certificates and on top of it, they would only take place if a mimum amount of persons would participate. That was absolutely not what I had come to achieve for Helz.
We left and I tried to explain to Helz as good as possible with the help of Google Translate, what just happened. Bad news are even harder to translate. She however is so humble and strong, she didn´t show any disappointment. On the contrary, she smiled at me and said it is OK. "No problem".
I set up a conference call for the very same night with Suzi in Cologne who would translate, Shamse and me to explain the situation.
There was huge lack of information. This information was scattered all over the web yet there was not one website that would gather them all. This was not the first and definitely not the last time that an employee from an organization was not aware of rules and regulations. It was big problem that on the long run costs money and time.
So please check out under "Pages" the German courses that apply to your asylum status. Double and triple check. I try my best to update it as often as possible.
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