From BZ/dpa
Roland Kaiser (71) distributed food to the needy in Cottbus on Friday – with a suit and apron.
“My son helped out here for a week,” said the pop singer. As a teenager, he learned a lot about life. His own childhood was marked by poverty but was happy, Kaiser said.
According to the Cottbuser Tafel, his foster mother, who raised him alone, worked as a cleaning lady. He survived as a telegram messenger until he was able to make a living from music.
The socially committed 71-year-old is not in the second largest city in Brandenburg for the first time. He has a long personal connection to the Cottbus food bank: since 2010 he has been an honorary ambassador for the Albert-Schweitzer-Familienwerk Brandenburg eV and since 2015 he has been a patron of the Cottbus food bank, which the non-profit organization maintains.
The cheerful, prominent guest asked for an apron before the meal was served. “I’m not an apron wearer, I’m an apron hunter,” Kaiser joked. Then he distributed fruit, bread and vegetables, among other things.
“That’s a realization you gain in life: that if you’re as lucky as I am, you feel like you have to give something back to society,” says the artist.
Kai Noack, Managing Director of the Albert Schweitzer Family Works in Brandenburg, to which the panel belongs, said: “Visiting a panel is not a highlight for people.” The topic is still associated with shame. Volunteers can hardly keep up when it comes to caring for those in need.
Christian Kipper (l), Managing Director Deutsche Fernsehlotterie GmbH, hands over a donation to the Cottbuser Tafel in the amount of 440,000 euros to Roland Kaiser (M) and Kai Noack (r), Managing Director Albert-Schweitzer-Familienwerk Brandenburg Photo: picture alliance/dpa
The Tafel are becoming more popular, also due to the increased cost of living, according to Noack. For a long time now, only Hartz IV recipients have come. Pensioners, single parents, students and the long-term ill are also among the needy.
On Friday, the German television lottery handed over EUR 440,000 to the Tafel as support. They are already planned, reported Noack. Among other things, refrigerated vehicles and refrigerators were bought to preserve the food. But the money is also used for children’s trips and a thank you for the volunteers.