Who we are

BANDAS started counselling school children who experience discrimination and carrying out anti-discrimination work for children in schools in April 2021. 

What we do 

BANDAS works in three areas

1) Counselling, our most important task. We counsel school children from year five who experience discrimination at school. Children living in Cologne or the surrounding area can seek advice at our counselling centre. You can contact us by phone or email. We also have an online counselling service, which you can use anonymously.

2) Education and training. Our workshops, meetings and lectures on discrimination in schools are aimed at school pupils, teachers, principals, social workers, preschool teachers, support staff, students and other stakeholders.

3) Public outreach. We want to raise awareness about discrimination, support those who are affected by it and encourage people to actively campaign against discrimination themselves.

How we work

Our counselling work at BANDAS is all about supporting children who have experienced racism and other forms of discrimination at school. The children are the focus of our services. You can come on your own or bring someone with you – whatever you prefer. 

BANDAS’s counselling services are free of charge and partial. By partial we mean that the counsellors are on your side. They respect your experiences and act in your best interests. We do not represent the wishes or demands of other persons (e.g. teachers, classmates, parents).

If you prefer, consultations can be carried out anonymously. You can use our online platform or call us without giving us your name.

Even if counselling is given personally and you tell us your name, our service is always strictly confidential. This means we do not share any information if you do not wish us to do so. Everything remains between you and your counsellor. This is also why we take data protection seriously and why we use secure software. If, however, you want to personally take action against discrimination, we are glad to help you!

Counselling can be offered in one or more sessions. Further action can follow if you wish. We focus on you and your needs: What do you want? What is good for you? What do you hope to achieve and what do you want to fight against? How can you help yourself and where might you need support? Who can we help you? We work together to find answers to these questions!

Contact details

bandas@awo-mittelrhein.de