"Jesetzlos ävver nit hätzlos" - that was the motto of our Children's Village in this carnival season. The highlight was on Saturday, when we walked with a large group in the local procession - all dressed up as Robin Hood.

I love that: you walk so close to the people, the place isn't that big, so you meet a lot of acquaintances and you don't just throw stuff into the crowd, you really make contact with the people on the sidelines. We couldn't throw much this time anyway because we had less litter than last year, which was a shame. But all the more I thought about who I was going to give something to. Of course, only to those who were dressed up and shouted "Alaaf" or "Kamelle". You have to bring a little commitment and enthusiasm. And then there was one criterion that became very important to me personally: when I saw children leaving things on the floor, I thought they probably already had more than enough and didn't need to get anything more from me.

However, I have also experienced the opposite - and surprisingly often: old people who bent down even for small sweets. I was happy to give them some of my limited supplies. This led to nice encounters, and I became more and more aware of the old people on the sidelines. The little ones got kilograms of candy, often just silently held up their bags, but in between stood again and again especially old women, who actually seemed to be happy about the Kamelle, too. Do we overlook them otherwise? Now, in any case, I met many of them. In the parish charity, we are always thinking about how we should confront poverty among the elderly - but it hides itself well.

Regardless of material poverty, the elderly in particular were so happy to receive a friendly greeting and look. Well, and that's not so difficult, it can be arranged.