I am Elke. .

I love early mornings, the crisp cold winter air, the crunch of snow under my feet, cross-country skiing through untouched landscapes.

I love the scent of ripe quinces and opening peonies. I love sleeping in the open air, without a tent. I love the cold shower in the morning because it makes me clear.

I love swimming in the river and in the sea. I love my camera and I love to go exploring with it. I love self-portraits. I love plants in their diversity and healing properties. I love Africa and its inhabitants. I love trying and learning something new to feed my exploratory spirit.

I love my freedom.

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When my husband and I got to know each other, it was already very late for us to have a child together. Earlier, in our previously lived lives, neither of us had wanted to have children. So everything was ok for us the way it was.

Then, in 2015, when many refugees reached Germany, an accommodation for 250 people was built near us.

At that time, we had just returned from our trip through Iran. Everywhere there, we met hospitable and open people who invited us to eat and celebrate with them. Since I had traveled a lot before and can only ever remember warm, helpful and intense encounters, the time had come for me to give something back. It was simply important to me, a matter of the heart.

From the moment the decision was made, we both went to the camp every weekend to help. A lot of people came to our alternative German lessons that we came up with. We took them for walks, showed them the new surroundings, invited them to our home and learned their personal stories.

There was also a ping-pong table at the camp, which was incredibly popular and always besieged. There were usually ten boys jumping around it. At the end there were often two left - my husband and someone named Edward with a charming gap in his teeth and a big laugh who had a very special style of hitting the ball.

And then there was this one special evening at our house. Specialties from Afghanistan and Eritrea were cooked. The first photo we took together shows my husband and Eddy standing close together chopping vegetables. It looks like they have known each other for half an eternity. That was the beginning of our story.