The Hänsel+Gretel Foundation –
informing, recognizing, acting

Since its establishment in 1997, the Hänsel + Gretel Foundation has been initiating and supporting projects which deal especially with child protection. “We offer abused children direct help whilst working on improving the general position of children in society, giving them dignity and voice. Families, parents, teachers and others in education as well as the police, the judiciary and medical doctors are also being supported in their work by the foundation's network.”

“O Hansel, O Hansel”
On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, the Hänsel + Gretel Foundation staged a performance of Grimms' fairytale “Hänsel and Gretel” for children between 6 and 12 years of age to inform them about the dangers of child abuse. In the performance, which departs from the Grimms' story in important elements, Hänsel and Gretel find themselves driven from home and left alone in the forest. Then a stranger appears and promises to fulfil all their wishes. Hänsel and Gretel cannot resist the temptation and give themselves into the stranger's power. But, as in the Grimms' story, in the end they manage to escape the stranger's power and to overcome him, thanks to Gretel's vigilance and with the help of their friends.

In an interactive conclusion, the story is then backed up to the point where the stranger tries to get Hänsel and Gretel into his power. Now children from the audience can come up on the stage and show how they would react. In this way, the children watching the performance learn creative solutions in a playful way. They learn how to recognize dangers and how to protect themselves.

 

More information (in English) about the Foundation and its work can be found under
http://www.haensel-gretel.de/haenselundgretel/wEnglisch/stiftung/
index.php?navid=1.