Bethel - Kolja enjoys his freedom on wheels

Kolja rides around on his bike

Bright sunshine and spring-like temperatures - it's the perfect cycling weather. Mikola F., who everyone calls "Kolja", thinks so too. He happily does his laps in front of Bethel's Haus Regenbogen. The 18-year-old has been living in the residential home for young people with mental and physical disabilities in the town of Bethel in Bielefeld since November 2022. "Hello!" he calls out cheerfully to visitors and waves. "Everyone likes Kolja. He's friendly to everyone and always in a good mood," says area manager Lisa Obergefell. This is by no means a matter of course, as the young man experienced the horrors of the Russian war of aggression at first hand.

Mikola F. was one of more than 100 young people with disabilities who fled from a children's home near Kiev to Bethel three years ago. Before the orphans could be evacuated, they had to seek shelter in a cellar due to bombing. They stayed there for five days together with their carers. Not all the children survived.

A woman in protective clothing carries a child clinging tightly to her out of an ambulance
End of a dramatic escape: In March 2022, the exhausted children in Bethel were warmly welcomed by staff and volunteers. Photo: Christian Weische

After a dramatic escape lasting several days, the Ukrainians arrived in Bielefeld at the end of March, frightened and exhausted. Among them was a group of severely disabled children who had been picked up from Poland in special transporters by units of the German Red Cross. The children found a temporary safe home in the Mamre and Ebenezer houses in the centre of the village. Bethel employees from various fields of aid, including nursing staff and paediatric intensive care doctors, as well as many volunteers, looked after the exhausted and traumatised refugees.

Kolja doesn't like talking about the war. The first New Year's Eve in Germany and training flights by jets scared him at first. But the cheerful young adult looks to the future and is happy about every step forward. Kolja is paralysed from the waist down. He did not have a wheelchair in Ukraine. He only moved around on his hands. "At Bethel, he got his first wheelchair of his own and was finally mobile," says Lisa Obergefell. He really enjoyed this new freedom. He was soon exploring the neighbourhood on his own. At the time, he was still living in Haus Mamre, but often visited the neighbouring Haus Regenbogen. The automatic sliding doors at the entrance particularly fascinated the curious youngster on his discovery tours, recalls the area manager.

Jan Hermann and Kolja with the bike
A great team: Jan Hermann accompanies Kolja on his cycle tours.

When the Ukrainian refugees were distributed to various Bethel facilities after a few months and the opportunity arose for Kolja to move permanently to Haus Regenbogen, everyone was delighted. The language differences were never a problem. "Kolja "texted" to us in Ukrainian. We didn't understand him, but that didn't stop him," says Lisa Obergefell with a laugh. In everyday life at Haus Regenbogen, language doesn't play such a big role; it's much more important to get on well with each other. The 18-year-old, who attends the Mamre Patmos special school in Bethel, now understands and speaks German so well that he answers people who speak to him in his native language in German as a matter of course.

"Kolja asks a lot of questions and wants to know a lot, so he quickly learnt our language," says Jan Hermann. The childminder is often out and about with him in the double Kettcar in the village. The bright Ukrainian particularly enjoys these tours. Wherever possible, the “Regenbogen” employee tries to give Kolja an insight. "We've already been to the post office or the laundry because Kolja was curious to see what they do there."

Kolja's reflection in the rear-view mirror of the bike

For a fortnight now, Kolja has had a tricycle with arm drive and motorised assistance, financed by donations. He is delighted with his new ride, as it gives him a little more freedom. Previously, a carer had to push the Kettcar or ride with him. From now on, almost nothing stands in the way of little independent excursions into the countryside. However, Kolja still needs to become a little more roadworthy before he is really ready. "We are currently practising stopping at entrances and exits and manoeuvring," reports Jan Hermann. As if on cue, Kolja turns his hand crank and shouts excitedly: "Let's go!"

Text: Christina Heitkämper | Picture: Matthias Cremer

This story simply told

Kolja lived in a home for children with disabilities in Ukraine. When Russia attacked the country, the carers fled to Germany with the children. He now lives in the Haus Regenbogen in Bielefeld-Bethel. The 18-year-old feels very much at home there. His favourite thing to do is explore the town on his new bike.

Would you like to find out more?

    Contact

    Bethel.regional
    Haus Regenbogen

    Quellenhofweg 75
    33617 Bielefeld

    Lisa Obergefell
    Area management

    0521 144-2897
    lisa.obergefell(at)bethel.de

    To the website of the centre

    Offers & services

    Haus Regenbogen is aimed at adolescents and young adults aged 6 to 18 with a learning or mental disability, also in combination with additional support needs due to a mental disability, epilepsy or autism, challenging behaviour with intensive curative education needs. The aim is to provide the young people with expert support based on their individual support needs and to help them develop a self-determined and independent outlook on life.

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For people with disabilities

Bethel offers suitable forms of living and care for people with disabilities in many places. This includes not only good care, but also socialising, which makes life more enjoyable. Meaningful work is also important: the Bethel workshops offer a wide range of different activities.

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