Topper Thea
More than half of Rotterdam seniors feel lonely. That is why Buurtwerk ensures that Rotterdam residents aged 75 and older are offered a home visit in Prins Alexander. Thea is one of the toppers who do the home visits. She goes out once a week and means something to her environment. "This way I can give something back to society, I have always had it so good!", she says.
This way I can give something back to society, I myself have always had it so good!
"Once a week I visit people over 75 in Rotterdam. We make home visits on the basis of a questionnaire. By means of this questionnaire we find out what is going well, and whether there are points where the elderly help could We always take a big bag with leaflets with us.The elderly can find more information in these leaflets about all kinds of support that are offered, and about activities that are organized in the neighbourhood.
But the home visits are more than conducting a questionnaire. They often lead to a pleasant conversation. It also happens that the elderly are so happy with their place of residence that they proudly give a tour.
Not everyone needs help, there are people who still arrange everything themselves and indicate that we can come back in a few years. But we notice that it brings many people something. Many are not aware of all kinds of support and activities within the neighbourhood. They then benefit a lot from the information we give them. Also, many people are shy about a chat, and are very happy that we are so interested in them. We notice that people suddenly ask us their questions, while they hadn't asked for help before. It is an accessible way to indicate their requests for help.
I'm learning so many new things about my own neighborhood!
It also brings me a lot. Doing this volunteer work makes me feel like I'm doing more than just acting within my own circle. I think it is very important to go outside and do something for my environment. This way I can give something back to society, I myself have always had it so good. I find it very enriching. In this way I automatically meet a lot of new people, and all these people have their own stories about the neighbourhood. Many people have lived there for a long time. During my home visits, I learn so many new things about my own neighborhood!"
Would you also like to make a home visit to people over 75? Take a look at all the home visit help questions here.
Busy at Renske
Busy at Renske Hey, I'm Renske, 32 years old and full-time working in the IT sector. Officially I come from the east of the country, but six months ago I moved to beautiful Rotterdam. Although I used to come to the city regularly, I am an avid Feyenoord player and can therefore regularly be found in De Kuip, this is different from living there. I wanted to get to know the city as a 'RotterdammerT'. People often think that in Rotterdam no one says hello or no one knows each other. I live in South and have to say that people are really wrong about this. Rotterdammers are very helpful and act normal. I love it! Because I wanted to get to know the special things in Rotterdam, I googled around. That's how I ended up at Zorgzaam010. I have volunteered many times in the past. For example, I was the founder of a foundation. Unfortunately I couldn't give this more the attention it deserved. It took a lot of time and that in addition to a 40-hour work week. Still I wanted to contribute something. For me it is important that it really adds something. Not only for others, but also for myself. Because then you will enjoy it and you won't stop after a few weeks. I wanted to get to know autism in a different way And there it was, a vacancy of the Rotterdam Autisten Soos; 'Coordinating supervisor Soosavonden'. My 'sugar child' Sterre (now 7 years old) has autism. She is the daughter of my best friend, but to her I am "aunt Renske". I got to know autism through her, but that was also the only measure for me. I wanted to get to know it in a different way and my attention was immediately drawn. So I quickly wrote a message to the author of the vacancy; Paul! I received a response fairly quickly and although combining it with my job might be a challenge, I was immediately invited to come and watch for an evening. I came by during a Bingo evening and immediately found a click. The visitors of the Soos responded well to me and I really enjoyed doing it! At the moment I have already been able to organize 3 evenings together with the other volunteers and attend a meeting of steering group members where, among other things, the planning is discussed. Are we going to organize a music evening? Will it be an evening about the history of Rotterdam? Or let's have a speaker come and talk about 'autism and friendships'? Although I don't really have time for big jobs anymore, I decided to let my account exist. I was then approached by Kika if I wanted to help with the Run 4Kika once. And I did. On Sunday I did the registration and distribution of the T-shirts. It wasn't rocket science, but you do become very aware of what you are committed to during such a day. Especially if parents with very sick children come to register. The fact that you contribute to this good cause is of course a super nice feeling! And if other fun one-off jobs come along, I'll definitely be there again! At least I still have my notifications on and will keep an eye on it all Share these stories and inspire others to help too! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Whatsapp Forward
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