Friends help for 12 weeks in nursing home

At only 16 and 17 years old, Shajan Dosky (left in the photo) and Aliya Faouzi are definitely not too young for volunteer work. They have rolled up their sleeves for 12 weeks at the nursing home Het Schouw. Doing what they love and gaining new experiences at the same time. These two young ladies show such dedication. Aliya: “This was truly an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

“We were old enough and thought: well, why not?”

Shajan: “We are very good friends and classmates, we are in the fifth grade at Hyperion Lyceum. We have wanted to do volunteer work for a long time because we like helping people. Now that we were old enough, we thought: Well, why not? At our school, there are activities you can sign up for. The Social Internship was also among them, so you go somewhere to do an internship or in our case, volunteer work. Our teacher referred us to Wendy from Vrijwilligers Centrale Amsterdam, she was going to find a place for us.”Aliya“When she arrived at Het Schouw, a nursing home for the elderly, we were immediately enthusiastic. It was close by and exactly what we wanted! We think elderly people are incredibly nice and we wanted to do something meaningful for them.”

How did you make an impact?

Aliya“We helped out once a week at the evening restaurant. For twelve weeks. We set the tables, served food, cleared everything up, and cleaned everything. There was also an elderly woman who was blind and unable to eat by herself, so we helped her by feeding her. At first, we were a bit scared of doing it wrong, but it was actually very enjoyable.”(text continues below photo)

Compliments and cards

Shajan“I really enjoyed getting to know the elderly and taking care of them. It was always very cozy there, and I went there with a lot of pleasure. Twice I received a handmade card from a resident. I found that so sweet and nice.”Aliya“I enjoyed being with people the most and spending my time wisely. During meals, everyone is naturally engaged in conversation, and residents often shared their life experiences, which was very enjoyable and interesting to hear. The residents also often thanked me and gave me compliments, which of course made everyone happy.”

Fall and rise again

Aliya“It has brought me a lot of experience and joy. And it has also made me think. Since I enjoyed this so much, I might want to work with the elderly in the future.”Shajan: “One time, one of the elderly individuals fell on the ground and I had to help him get back up. At first, I was scared because I didn’t know what to do. Then a nurse came and asked me for help. That’s when I learned how to assist an older person in getting up properly without causing them more pain. So now I can do that too. Through this volunteer work, I have mainly learned how to care for the elderly and how to help them. I would definitely like to do more volunteer work. It was a very beautiful experience, and I hope that next time I can work with the elderly again, but in a different department. Volunteer work is an ideal opportunity for me to gain more work experience.”Aliya“Yes, I am definitely planning to do volunteer work again. Especially because you feel so good afterwards and it is just a lot of fun. It is truly an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Volunteer tasks

Curious about the possibilities of volunteering? In our online job board, there are about 1000 fun and meaningful tasks in the city. For everyone’s talent and schedule.Search online or make an appointment with one of our mediators.Photos: Jackie Mulder
Text: Linda Slagter