“Volunteering has been a kind of therapy for me”

Nassira is also active as a volunteer at SEZO. She is dedicated to helping Amsterdammers with various questions during the WegWijsSalon of Buurtteam Amsterdam Nieuw-West. In this interview, she explains what volunteering means to her. “I have truly become a different person.”

The road to volunteering

“I worked for a long time as a care coordinator in home care. Whenever I visited someone’s home, everyone would always come with bags full of papers. Before I knew it, I was in the ‘rescuer role’. I didn’t realize how heavy the work actually was. At one point, I became depressed. I got a burnout and couldn’t do anything anymore. I felt useless, as if I didn’t belong to society, even though I’m not someone who sits at home and does nothing. Something was gnawing at me. A reintegration agency referred me to SEZO to see if I could do volunteer work there. I immediately contacted them and made an appointment. Because I had been stuck in my own loneliness for six years, I was very nervous for the interview. I wondered if they would accept me, if I was good enough. But they asked me what I was doing the next day at nine o’clock. And the next day, I started.”

Asking the right questions

“The WegWijsSalon of the neighborhood team is a low-threshold drop-in consultation hour where residents of Amsterdam come in with all kinds of questions. This ranges from applying for a DigID code, explaining letters, requesting provisions to making arrangements. Sometimes someone just needs a listening ear. By asking the right questions, there is often much more going on than just the question someone comes in with. I start the process and finish it if possible. If not, I refer it to a colleague with more authority. Because as a volunteer, I am competent but not authorized.”

I have become a different person

“I have been doing volunteer work for over seven years now and I still remember that on the first day I was very enthusiastic but also very nervous. I was afraid of not being accepted. However, I was warmly welcomed and immediately found it very enjoyable. When I started shadowing, I also noticed that I could easily answer the questions. After a month, I was given more responsibility and was allowed to work on my own, and since then I have never left. I enjoy going there, I like to help the people of Amsterdam, and it gives me a lot of satisfaction. I have enhanced my communication skills and self-confidence there. Volunteer work has been a kind of therapy for me. A way to find myself again. It gave me confidence that people believed in me again. I have truly become a different person.”

My experiences are my strength

“At the Volunteer Academy, I am following the training to become an experiential expert. At one point, we had to write down pivotal moments in our lives, and I already had fifteen moments. Through falling and getting back up so many times, I had learned to deal with setbacks. I am now 47 years old and a single mother of five children. Because of that, I have been through a lot. I can now use these experiences as strength because I have processed them and recovered. I notice that my story is inspiring for people and gives them confidence that things will be alright.”

The most remarkable thing I have experienced in my volunteer work

“One person has always stayed with me. I visited a single mother with four or five children, all teenagers older than fifteen. At that time, I was also doing volunteer work at SEZO helping people with their administration at home, and I sat with her at a table full of papers and letters. At the same time, there was a lot happening around us: two children were arguing, the doorbell rang. That mother was completely stressed out next to me. At one point, I recognized a look on her face: ‘I’m full, I can’t take this anymore.’ I put down my papers, leaned back, and listened to what she had to say for at least an hour. I notice that people from Amsterdam quickly accept something from me. People often appreciate it when I have conversations with them in Arabic or Berber, they feel heard in their own language.”

I just want more

“I would like to learn a lot more. I have already taken many training courses at the Volunteer Academy. For example, about debt assistance, being a buddy, working with personal experiences, and domestic violence. This is truly enriching for myself but also for society. I would like to further develop myself within the neighborhood team. After obtaining my diploma as a peer specialist, I would prefer to study law to become a social counselor. I find it fascinating to see how colleagues do that work. Then I think: ‘I can do that too, it’s never too late.’ A world has opened up for me and I only want more.

Oh, and recently I also obtained my swimming diploma. I had never dared to dream of it. Since then, I have even more confidence in myself. Everything you dream of, things you think you can’t do, you can. I am now working towards my next swimming diploma.”This is a non-translatable text.

Want to become a volunteer?

Would you like to volunteer at the WegWijsSalon of Buurtteam Amsterdam Nieuw-West? Please contact us atvrijwilligers@sezo.nl.

Inour online job boardYou’ll find 1001 possibilities.Or come by one of our consultations without any obligation.Interview: Mirtele Snabilie
Photo: Mark RammersNon-breaking space