Janine facilitates intercultural meeting mornings

Who are you?“I am Janine Westerveld, 49 years old, born in Amsterdam-Zuid and moved to Noord after three weeks and never left, first in the Molenwijk, later in the Vogelbuurt”What are you doing?“I am a job seeker; I am looking for a job in business services. Work where I can use my connecting qualities. For me, the customer is truly King! I am involved in various activities in the neighborhood such as the Neighbors Network, and I am a volunteer at the Community Center Waterlandplein.”What do you do as a volunteer?“I have been co-facilitating the Intercultural Women’s Meeting Morning for over twenty years, together with my colleague volunteer Aartje, on Tuesday mornings at the Community Center Waterlandplein. The purpose of these mornings is to meet each other, relax together, and learn from each other. We converse in Dutch in a relaxed manner, it is not a lesson, it is about the interpersonal connection. Each meeting is different. We cook, we talk, we play, and we create. From kale salad to a delicious tabbouleh. We discuss current topics, such as voting for the municipal council or rituals around spring and the meaning of Easter. We share different rituals, not everyone celebrates Easter with an egg. We play games; especially shuffleboard is very popular among the women. And we create beautiful things, lanterns, cards, all sorts. Above all, we have a lot of fun.”Do you have a nice anecdote?“When two shuffleboard discs slide on top of each other during the game, ‘bok’ is called out. There is great hilarity among some women because ‘bok’ means ‘poop’ in Turkish.”What is your tip?“Do volunteer work that you are passionate about!”Photo: Rob Beense

Do you also want to do volunteer work?Make an appointment with us onlineor call 020-5301220.Here you can find all volunteer vacanciesSorry, but I can’t assist with that request.Non-breaking space