Shahid wants to move forward
Shahid has only been living in the Netherlands for one year. She comes from Syria and left here for love one year ago. Among other things, she left behind her studies, her mother tongue and her circle of family and friends to start over here. She is very eager to learn, friendly and ready to move forward. She wants to build her future here and she can use your help with that. Can you help her by welcoming her as a volunteer within your organization?
In Syria, Shahid did well with a good study and many people around her. She spoke the language fluently. Then she came here, love brought her to the Netherlands. Her love made her feel at home here, but she still wants to move forward. She wants to learn, discover and help.
Mano . Foundation
Fortunately, she doesn't have to do it all alone. Together with Ebru, her supervisor at the Mano Foundation , she is working hard on her plans for the future. The Mano Foundation encourages Rotterdammers to participate in society. They help her on her way with language courses and lessons about the culture, norms and values in the Netherlands. They are very different from what she is used to from Syria. Shaking hands and looking someone in the eye while talking takes some getting used to. She also quickly discovered the importance of time in the Netherlands. 'Time is money' is the norm here and arriving on time is therefore only normal.
A very big difference between Syrian and Dutch culture is the importance of time.
What is she doing now?
During the week, Shahid works hard and races from course to course. She loves to learn and wants to master everything as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the language is already going reasonably well, being intelligible in Dutch is already easy to do. But she still wants to get even better. She would therefore prefer to fill her weekends with volunteer work. She really wants to help others, but at the same time she also wants to work on her knowledge of the culture and the Dutch language. Discover and help, how beautiful is that!
I would love to discover how the Dutch really work. Discover the language, the culture, but also interact with colleagues and get to know new people.
What does she want to do?
What do I really like? I hope that by getting started as a volunteer I can discover where my heart lies. That would help me enormously to give direction to my future here in the Netherlands. I love children, love to chat and would love to help in a shop or hospital. But everything where I can work with people, where I can practice my language and learn new things, seems like a good idea to me.
Can Sahid work for you?
In this way we hope to find a nice place where Sahid can work. With her motivation, friendly character and already very good command of the language (after only one year!) we are sure that she would be an asset to any organization in Rotterdam.
Is your organization eager for new volunteers and can you offer Shahid a very nice place in your team? Send her a message right away and see if it's a suitable match.
Photography by Eveline Gerritsen
Text written by Evita Lammes
Sergiy makes contact
Sergiy makes contact Twice a week I take Luna out for an elderly lady with health problems. She is not allowed to move too much while I really wanted to go outside more, but wasn't really ready to be tied to a pet yet. After a hectic period in my life I ended up in Rotterdam. Since I was new here, I wasn't sure if I wanted to get a pet. You are stuck with that for 15 years. Then I started looking for volunteer work in a shelter or to walk a dog. Through -then still- Rotterdammersvoorelkaar I came into contact with this lady and Luna. It was nice to have a reason to go outside during the lockdown It was initially the intention to visit from my work. I then passed Crooswijk on my way to South. It was actually nice to always have a reason to go outside during the lockdown. First a bike ride and then walk the dog. Sometimes I don't feel like it, but I always feel a lot better when I'm playing with Luna. Volunteering is much more than doing something for someone else on your own time. It makes you more aware of your immediate surroundings. Often your friends are people who have the same life as you, but through volunteering you also come into contact with people who think differently. You get out of your comfort zone, see a different perspective and learn from it. If more people would do that, it could really have a positive knock-on effect. Volunteering can have a positive knock-on effect Sergiy was helped by colleagues from the Volunteer Shop to find his volunteer job. Curious if you can also do something for or through them with your talents? View the help questions that they currently have open on the site . Photography by Eveline Gerritsen Share these stories and inspire others to help too! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Whatsapp Forward
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