the Becker family on their daily walk
it's finally a chance to get out of
their cramped third-floor apartment
Nicole Becker and her five children
share 70 square meters of living space
since the schools and daycare centers
have closed they're staying at home
assisting a notice the space is pretty
crowded a three bedroom apartment with
five children it's stressful and crowded
it's just you're allowed to of course
much has changed for the family since
the corona virus pandemic began Nicole
Becker must now go to the supermarket
more often to buy food for lunch
her children normally get free lunch at
school and daycare hardly affordable for
their unemployed mother well not you me
all scoff I now have more expenses that
I otherwise wouldn't have it's
financially problematic since I have to
dip into my savings there are hundreds
of thousands of families like the
Becker's in Germany two million children
depend on basic welfare the Federation
of welfare associations says their
suffering is worsened by the current
crisis children can't eat free meals at
school anymore that was vital for poor
families there are more than 900 food
banks in Germany and half of them are
closed now the poor are hit hard by this
dense bujji a charity called dr chia is
now trying to support the becker family
with food deliveries the group had to
shut down at soup kitchen and childcare
facilities due to the pandemic but is
finding new ways to help people
including grocery deliveries when you
have no one to turn to no hope then of
course you feel all alone even if you
live with several family members that's
why we're here to listen and will linger
at the doorstep a little bit longer
Nicole Becker gets foods delivered twice
a week she and her children appreciate
the support
Jasha they really helped me a lot I can
always go to them if I need something
Nicole Becker hopes that the food
deliveries will continue in the weeks
ahead it's the only way she and her
children can get by welcome to our home
which is now also the home office the
home school and the home kindergarten
this is my husband Nick working in
what's supposed to be a bedroom this is
Charlie who's almost 10 and usually
found slogging it out at the kitchen
table with his mountain of homework and
this is three year old Cecilia known as
Cece who is the one member of the family
thriving in this new reality we live in
an apartment in Berlin right next to a
rather beautiful church but we don't
have access to a garden or even a
balcony so at times things can feel a
little bit claustrophobic no you can't
Lanta fun in Erica's mom stop one two
three four she put you over to watch for
me everyone has to help out around the
flat well I say help no but there are
also some fun things about having to
stay home every morning Cece can meet
her kindergarten friends and teachers
online and because we can't go outside
much we try to do some exercise
inside each day we've even done a
reenactment of the fairy tale Little Red
Riding Hood well it does help having a
designer as a husband
even if he did make me play the old
grandmother look I'm not gonna pretend
that this is all easy it isn't but what
we are trying to do is to appreciate
what we do have which is each other we
hold this service in the name of the
Father the Son and the Holy Ghost our
men what at first sight seems to be a
normal Sunday service is anything but
colognes epifanio's Church is empty in
Germany Sunday services and mass are no
longer allowed because of the danger of
churchgoers infecting each other so
instead for the first time ever the
sermon is being delivered online and
life in all the years that I have worked
as Minister I have never experienced
that we as a community were not allowed
to come together or to hold services
it's not a good feeling but the internet
offers us a way to join in the service
of the Lord without being physically
present because we can livestream and I
believe that God's blessing will somehow
make it through the doors
yeah devotion of you - tea - increasing
pita bottle me is one of over 100 online
followers more than are usually present
at Sunday services at first it was a bit
odd because they had to get used to the
fact that the rest of the church
community was not there and to see Otis
the central figure and this way I was
able to concentrate more on her sermon
and catch a lot of details that I might
otherwise not have noticed the concept
of online religious services is trending
due to coronavirus more and more German
churches are turning to the Internet I
like to believe that things - the corona
crisis we are building a new
infrastructure once people have tested
it out it will be easier for them to
stream the Sunday services in the future
or maybe the church will offer something
else online and they will find it
perfectly natural to take part I'm
especially worried about older people
who live alone and don't have a social
support system for them a 24 hour day is
a very very long time
we'll see the effects of this overtime
from Z as a alone on a field of X long
gone does but your home country will see
a rise in dementia and depression
demesne to named depression or as we do
so it's very important that we reach out
to these people now Jamison are openness
forgotten thovex in two dimensional and
the interpolation aeration digital
services are just one way of combating
the crisis they may have been created in
a time of need but they may soon become
the norm