Sander is a language coach at MoMo education

Who are you and what do you do in your daily life?My name is Sander and I have been living on my own since I was 19^ofin Amsterdam, where I came to study Classical Languages. During my student years, I moved to De Pijp and I still live there. After this study, there were actually two options: to become a teacher in the classroom, or to pursue a career in science. It didn’t turn out to be either for me, I have worked in various places, my last job was at Refugee Work. I quit there to have time to take care of my sick friend. During the pandemic period, I lost two loved ones in a short time, and that was the beginning of a difficult period in which I was dealing with grief. During this time, I have been alone a lot.What makes you happy?I become very happy from meeting people, having conversations, and learning more about someone’s background and interests. That gives me satisfaction and energy.What is your motivation for doing volunteer work as a language coach at MoMo Education?I have been involved with language all my life and I enjoy helping people with Dutch. I had interviews with these organizations and ended up in the middle of a meeting. It felt good and pleasant right away. I immediately felt a connection with the people and the place, so I decided to stay. Here, people with many different backgrounds work, their level of Dutch varies, I teach them once a week to help them further with the Dutch language.What do you like most about it?That I have direct contact with people, that I see them grow and that what I do makes sense, I see them progress with their language. I also find it very enjoyable, afterwards I usually stick around to chat about current events or the countries where people come from. I become very happy from interacting with people.What does it bring you?Joy, that I am part of a group. I am happy and content and now look much more towards the future. Volunteering is a stepping stone to work for me, I now know that I enjoy teaching adults, that I love conversations, and don’t like sitting behind a computer.What is the most beautiful or important lesson you have learned in your life?In the past few years, I have discovered that I have been holding myself back by wanting to do things perfectly. Whereas, if you just start and try, you often find out that you know and can do much more than you thought. You surprise yourself. I am happy that I have this experience now. I now really enjoy the process, it is not immediately about a (perfect) end result. I look curiously at life and am curious about what is still in store for me.

Text: Dasha van Amsterdam

Photo: Sander

Interested in volunteering?

Check the current job vacancies on theJob Boardfrom Volunteer Center Amsterdam.

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