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shoe repair shops became one of the centers of Arbeiter Wohlfahrt's activity.The sewing circles usually also distribute the used clothing that arrived fromabroad, they fit it to the need of the individual, make new things out of old,sometimes out of the smallest scraps of tissue. In these shops women and girlsreceive vocational instructions and learn to repair their and their family's seantywardrobe. In these centers, refugees from the East and returned prisoners of warreceive their first outfit, or have their soiled and worn old clothes repaired andcleaned. All this work is being carried out by voluntary helpers, and the same istrue concerning the shoe repair centers. In one district( Bremen) alone there are30 such sewing centers, and in the British and American zone together, there aremore than 1,000 sewing centers, plus an unspecified number of shoe repair shops.

These cleaning and repair centers are the prerequisite for other welfarework, such as help to families, babies, vocational guidance, neighborhood centers,health care where not only food, but clothing is needed as well. City or State. reliefis, due to the general situation, not in a position, to provide the necessary helpto those who need it, and the above mentioned centers have thus proved to be of aninvaluable assistance.

Therefore Arbeiter Wohlfahrt USA recently concentrated on sending thenecessary tools to these centers, such as clothing, yard material, sewing utensils,knitting wool, shoes, and shoe repair material. This kind of help has beenparticularly appreciated by Arbeiter Wohlfahrt abroad,

Guidance centers:

Another important branch of Arbeiter Wohlfahrt's relief activity are theirguidance centers. They have become so essential that in some rural parts" ambulant",or" flying" centers have been set up. Here clients receive the first adviceconcerning employment and other economic problems, here help is being given in thetremendous field of juvenile delinquency, assistance given to people of old age,the sick, to the refugees, and last not least to the returned prisoners of war. Theseguidance centers employ an impressive staff of trained social workers and nurses,assisted by a good mumber of voluntary hel pers.

Vacation and convalescence homes for children

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In the summer of 1947, in the land of Wuerttemberg- Baden alone, 12,500 childrenwere sent to vacation Sas, inspite of tremendous difficulties( part of the foodneeded for this purpose was provided from here). These children comprised: 1.thosewho are not included in the so- called Hoover feedings( children between 4 and 6 yearsof age); 2, children and adolescents whose state of health and undernourishment weresuch that additional help was medically required.- In Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover ,Northern Germany, the industrial areas of the Ruhr and in Berlin, Arbeiter Wohlfahrtis equally active in this field of child welfare and we also try to support thenumerous country-, mountain- and ocean- homes that have been established for thispurpose. Camps for youth groups, and summer schools for apprentices and other youngworkers mahly organized by the trade unions, belong in this same field of activity.