Stefan Grünbaum is one of around 20 GIZ reintegration scouts spread across almost every state in Germany. They act as an interface between return counsellors in Germany and those working in the countries of origin.
Mr Grünbaum, how do you become a reintegration scout?
I qualified as a forest ranger, but I have worked for 15 years on behalf of various organisations in the emergency and transitional aid sector in Africa and Afghanistan. My family and I have lived in Guinea and Senegal, among other places. I've been acting as a reintegration scout for GIZ at the Zentralen Rückkehrberatung für Flüchtlinge (central return counselling centre for refugees) in northern Bavaria since spring 2018.
How exactly do you help people?
I mostly access the services provided by GIZ in the countries of origin. I then pass on the information provided by the advice centres – relating to job offers, assistance with filling in applications, starting a business, psychosocial counselling or finding accommodation – to the return counsellors. In some countries we provide temporary accommodation until an apartment has been found. As a scout focusing on Iraq, I also answer queries from other states in Germany about Iraq.