Metta Touray was in South Africa last year, where she helped out at a children’s home for five months. Now she is a first-year history student at the UvA. She also reads to Nour for an hour and a half each week to help her with her language skills.
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School’s Cool ensures that they can give children who are starting high school a good start. Irma Vejzovic (21) is one of the volunteer mentors who visits her pupils once a week to help them with their schoolwork.
Hein Hoefnagels (76) still has both feet in society: He plays squash, bridge, volunteers as a bus driver for nursing homes, goes on bike rides with blind people, and much, much more. “My secret? Living as carefree as possible!”
“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.”
“At the age of 42, I had a stroke. Instead of being a manager in triple gray on the Zuidas, with a good salary, a new house, and a thick BMW, I spent two years in a rehabilitation clinic.”
“I give presentations about people with disabilities among other things, and I support clients of the MEE foundation. For me, this definitely brings meaning to life.”
You may pass by it on your bike: the coffee house of the Volksbond in Haarlemmerstraat. A shelter for the homeless. Martine volunteers here. “Being able to act decisively is a requirement.”

