Founder
This agency grew out of our own life.
Melanie Matl is the mother of three children, one of them a child with a disability. From her own experience of how valuable support in everyday family life can be, Besondere Sterne was born — an au pair agency for families who need more than placement alone.
Melanie
There is a story behind every person
- Three children, one with a disability
- A household helper was not affordable
- The search itself was the real problem
There is a story behind every person. Mine has so far been anything but ordinary. The birth and diagnosis of a rare genetic disorder in my daughter Sophia — the eldest of my three children — turned my life completely upside down. Constant stress, countless doctor's appointments, forms, applications, sleepless nights and always having to be one hundred per cent ready: over the years this took so much energy that I could barely be there for myself and the rest of my family. On top of that, my daughter with a disability grew increasingly sad because she had no friends to play with.
I knew I should get support. For my own sake, for my children, and above all because I needed to find a friend for my daughter Sophia — a playmate who would accompany her to leisure activities and so enable her to take part in community life.
It quickly became clear that the number of hours needed for household help and childcare on site was not affordable. That is how I came up with the idea of looking for an au pair. But finding an au pair willing to care for a child with a disability proved more than difficult. …
Newspapers, magazines and podcasts have reported on this path as well — you can read them in the press overview (in German).
Team
A whole team stands behind Besondere Sterne
From the first consultation through selection and preparation of our au pairs to support after their arrival, various people at Besondere Sterne work hand in hand. Our office and phone team, our coaches for preparation in the home country and the live calls in Germany, as well as our international partner agencies, accompany families and au pairs through the different phases of placement.
What unites us is a shared goal: to reliably support families with children with and without a disability in everyday life through well-prepared au pairs.
"We believe that a well-prepared au pair can be a valuable relief in everyday life for families with children with a disability. That is why a whole team works at Besondere Sterne."
Children's book
Die Reise der besonderen Sterne
Six little stars come to Earth in the bodies of children with a disability. Their task: to convince people how unique everyone is.
- Who it is forChildren aged four and up.
- What it isA story about feelings, meant to make you think and change.
Contact
Talk to us
A short conversation is enough to see whether an au pair is right for you.