Day 16: Tuesday, June 23

We started the day at Kofoeds Skole in the outskirts of Copenhagen. It is a social institution that tries to help the socially excluded in Danish society. Anybody who needs help is welcome to attend the school, either to work or to gain new abilities by taking different classes. Social worker Mrs. Karin Larsen gave us a presentation of the fundamental ideas of the school as well as a tour of the school grounds. The school’s ideology is basically “help to self-help”. Not everybody fits into the Danish mainstream society; therefore you need an institution like Kofoeds Skole where there is room for everyone, said Mrs. Jensen.

The founder of the school, Hans Chr. Kofoed, came to Copenhagen as a young man in order to study theology, but when he witnessed the social inequality and feeling of despair among the homeless and socially excluded of Copenhagen, he started a social movement that could give the homeless people meaning in life. Today the school teaches 50 different subjects including a lot of creative classes. The school also provides the attendants with a social network so they will not feel alone. When people work at the school they earn ‘Kofoed dollars’ so they can buy food, soft drinks or perhaps get their clothes washed. The internal currency is made because the school does not want the attendants to spend the money on alcohol and also because people are not allowed to earn money while they are granted social benefits from the Danish state.

We took a tour of the grounds were we could see with our own eyes how people were taught different crafts and skills. A special workshop at Kofoeds Skole is the Greenlandic workshop. Here, homeless Greenlandic people are able to make traditional Greenlandic art crafts; e.g. the hunter’s kayak which is personalized to fit its owner perfectly. Kofoeds Skole also has workshops on subjects such as auto mechanics, wood shop, and glass. It seems that the ability to work or learn new skills plus the social network at Kofoeds Skole gives the attendants at the school a sense of purpose.

Kofoeds Skole is an example of a private organization that tries to take care of the people who are otherwise left alone and ‘outside’ the Danish welfare state.

After lunch, psychiatrist Preben Brandt (author of The City and Social Inequality) spoke to us about “social marginalization and its consequences in Danish society”. He illustrated for us the apparent correlation between life expectancy and income in different areas of Copenhagen, and asked us how it could be that there is such inequality and marginalization within a 10-kilometer block of a relatively wealthy, social welfare state such as Denmark. This sparked a stimulating discussion of the meaning of the terms “welfare state” and “marginalization.” Is the U.S. a welfare state? Is Denmark a welfare state in practice or just in name? Dr. Brandt posited that in the past 20-30 years, Denmark has become the latter; Denmark has strayed from the conception of a welfare state as a state for the common good and has effectively become a state geared to ensuring the welfare of the middle class. Today, NGOs have taken up the responsibility of addressing problems of social inequality—a role that Danish society had once charged to the state. Dr. Brandt’s lecture challenged us to critically examine our conceptions of—and our complicity in—the social constructions of “good” and “bad” that create marginalized populations in Danish (and American) society. The raised hands that remained after the allotted time for Dr. Brandt’s lecture had elapsed testified to the many thoughts he had stimulated with his interesting lecture.

Our next presenters introduced us to Muhabet—a drop-in center for mentally ill refugees and immigrants. Muhabet administrator Lise Poulsen explained that “muhabet” is understood among Middle Easterners as “togetherness”—a term that nicely captures the essence of this inspiring organization. Muhabet provides a haven of community for those who suffer double isolation in Danish society because they are both mentally ill and have a language and culture different from those of the hegemonic Danish society. Through a café-like setting that fosters a warm guest-host relationship between those who drop in and those who work/volunteer at Muhabet, the organization promotes intercultural dialogue on equal footing. Muhabet serves its guests a hot, home-cooked meal every afternoon and stimulates guests’ senses through music, laughter, and other nonverbal communication. In contrast to the double isolation and marginalization that society imposes upon refugees and immigrants with mental disorders, Muhabet offers a community that breaks this isolation and restores guests’ dignity through recognition by others. As one Muhabet guest has said: “Even God cannot stand loneliness—that’s why He created man.” Muhabet combats the debilitating loneliness that its guests face everyday, and through human contact, attention, and food, strives to give its guests a good day and a sense of dignity and respect.

Our day ended with a celebration of Sankt Hans Aften at Amager Strand. We grilled food on the beach and enjoyed each other’s company as the sun gradually set on the longest day of the year.

- Alex and Rune