Cecilia Aguirre talks a lot. Despite her Spanish accent, she is easy to understand. We are in a small office at the Community Center de Buurtzaak.
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“I know deep down that I am a valuable woman. But doing volunteer work also makes me feel that way again. This way I can contribute to society, keep my social contacts up to date, and feel useful again. Yes, that brings me joy.”
Yvonne is a volunteer in the control room of the Animal Ambulance. “It is also great fun to be able to make people happy when their pet is found again.”
Anne Coos is a volunteer at ARTIS. She started as a visitor guide in the garden, then at Micropia, and now she is training for the ARTIS Planetarium: she could not have imagined it beforehand.
Eiga (47) has been visiting Mrs. Corrie (87) weekly for friendly home visits for the past two years. A warm bond has developed.
“To learn more than you learn at school. To speak the language better. Practice.” Majd (23) looks determined in his answer to why he was looking for volunteer work. “In Syria, I was studying to become a gym teacher. But then the war came. Now I have been here for a year and a half. I don’t want to sit at home, not take money for doing nothing.”
Since Titi Bouman has been a volunteer at Zuid voor Mekaar, she has regained her sense of self-worth.
Peter Smith changed course a few years ago, transforming from someone who complains a lot to a person who thinks in solutions. This led him to start caring about litter.

