A glimpse into each other’s world

Photos: Stuart Scott viaproject ZoomlabHello.Young people who roll up their sleeves without hesitation. A delight for every teacher to watch. They proudly watched as their own second-year students got to work at the residential care center Het Schouw.On the morning of Wednesday, April 6th, the students of Hogelant College in Amsterdam Noord are participating in the Social Internship. Within a relatively short period of time, students get to contribute to a lovely morning for the visitors of the residential care center Het Schouw. Besides being a nursing home, Het Schouw is also a meeting place for local residents. The seniors who have come on this Wednesday morning are in for a nice time. They start by having a cup of coffee together while the students are being prepared for what’s to come.

Elise Stegenga, activities coordinator at Het Schouw and co-organizer of this morning, warmly welcomes everyone and explains what the plan is. Almost all visitors of Het Schouw use a walker. Naturally, these walkers get dirty and need to be cleaned. Unfortunately, the seniors are unable to do this themselves, so the boys will be taking care of this task this morning.

The girls also have a fun task. They get to paint the nails of the female visitors.

It was so nice to see how happy the elderly were when getting their nails done.

Priscilla, 14 years

The group gets right to work. Initially, there are questioning looks towards the teachers, but eventually, the students take the initiative themselves. Some of the girls set up the necessary items on the table and invite the visitors to sit down. Once everyone is settled, the interaction goes smoothly. They first discuss which colors are suitable, and soon they engage in small talk. One lady shares that she participated in a walker race last year and had a lot of fun. The student asks in between painting if she won. Unfortunately, she did not.

Our people enjoyed it, and the students were very kind to the visitors.

Activities coordinator at Het Schouw

The boys outside are also having fun. Despite the jokes, they work hard, and the walkers end up looking spotless. The seniors can now bring their walkers back inside looking fresh. Mission accomplished.

Meanwhile, inside, the nail painting and conversations continue peacefully. One of the students finishes painting quickly and on their own initiative asks the lady if she would like to take a walk outside. They continue chatting outside and even make plans to come back for another chat and stroll.

The social internship at Het Schouw was the highlight of the week.

Teacher

This morning showed initiative, teamwork, a glimpse into each other’s worlds. Physically demanding work was done gratefully. For all parties involved, this social internship was more than successful!No content to translate.