An Initiative of the African Christians in Berlin and Brandenburg

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2014 in the subject African Studies - Miscellaneous, University of Göttingen, course: Intercultural Theology, language: English, abstract: This is a qualitative research carried out in a Christian organization known as the African Christian Council of Berlin and Brandenburg (RACIBB) and it is a product of narrative description and explanation of the life experiences' and perceptions of the informants. The research has used migration and religion trajectories; the two trajectories are deemed appropriate for the study because of the nature of the organization (RACIBB). It is an organization founded by the people and for the people with African migrant backgrounds and at the same time operates as a faith-based organization although not in the manner it serves the people. Migratory movement has often resulted into formation of macrostructures, according to Adogame, macrostructures are the informal social networks developed by the migrants to assist them in adjusting to the migration and settlement e.g. the informal networks can be family or community ties (the community can be religious, cultural, ethnic and social ties). As realised during the study some of these macrostructures are later developed to formal Organizations under the state law of the host country. One of the advantages when founded within the perimeters of the law is that the organization is free to implement its activities and can apply for financial assistance from any funding institution. Most of the migrant founded organizations like RACIBB are multi-functional by nature depending on the needs of the members hence their functions can be categorised as follows: Ethno-solidarity, Ethno-cultural, Ethno-specific religious and Ethno-specific political Diaspora activities. Ethno-solidarity activities aim at addressing social and integration issues among its members, for example, it provides members with the information about the host country; what is expected of them and what they can do to live comfortably in the host society.