The Syrian Rashed goes from volunteering to paid job: “I can bring out the best in myself here”

25 October 2025

Fled from Syria, but always kept believing and fighting for a new future. Rashed is a kind, humble man, with a delightful twinkle in his eyes, and he enjoys a good joke. He feels completely at home at the BORO*ATELIER. First as a volunteer, and now he has even advanced to a paid job here. “I am very grateful for this opportunity. I send all the money I earn to my family in Syria.”Rashed: “In Syria, I was a tailor and had my own shop since 2003. Pants, shirts, dresses; I made everything. I did this with a lot of love and precision. Around Ramadan and in the summer, with many weddings, it was always busy periods, sometimes working day and night. But then it would calm down again, and I had more time for my family and relatives. We had a good life there. Until the war broke out. In 2018, I fled to the Netherlands. Initially alone. That was a bit difficult, with my family so far away. Our youngest daughter didn’t have a passport, which delayed the process of coming here. That stressed me out. Because of that, I couldn’t always focus on my Dutch lessons. But fortunately, after 1.5 years, my wife and three daughters finally came to Amsterdam. We were together again and safe, I was the happiest man on earth.”

“I saw the importance of volunteering”

“When we had settled in a bit in Amsterdam, I wanted to do some volunteer work. It seemed like a nice way to meet new people, to feel useful, and to improve my Dutch language skills. I contacted Vrijwilligers Centrale Amsterdam, they have a special project for refugees who are interested in volunteering. Clotilde asked me the right questions and then suggested the BORO*Atelier. An atelier with the mission to make the textile industry more social and sustainable, without wasting resources and talent. It is a 35-minute bike ride from my house, but I’m happy to do it. What a nice place!”

Transform banners into bags

“As a former tailor, I find great joy in working here. Put me behind the sewing machine and I am happy. But sometimes we also have to do some dyeing or upcycle textile waste into new products. Like recently, we turned banners from a hockey club into bags for the hockey sticks. I do it all and I enjoy being busy again. The people here are also very kind. We have coffee together, we have lunch together, and even outside of work, we help each other, like the other day when a colleague was moving. I notice that my Dutch language is slowly improving. Although, when I talk with my Kurdish colleague, we secretly only speak Arabic haha.”

A paid job for me?

“When I worked here as a volunteer for a year, I was offered a paid position. Wow, I thought that was really amazing. I could not have imagined that doing volunteer work would lead to a paid job so quickly. I am very grateful for this opportunity. And I am giving it my all, 100%. I really feel at home here, two days a week. The rest of the days, I am at home being a caring and active father to our three daughters. Taking them to school, to swimming lessons, to clubs.”

**Lotje Terra, founder of BORO*ATELIER:**

Rashed has a lot of humor and is very skilled. He has so much experience, which is immediately evident in his work. He started as a volunteer, with an external learning internship from social welfare, and after a year, we hired him. We like to give people the opportunity to bring out the best in themselves.

My biggest dream

“We are very happy that we can live like this in the Netherlands. A lot of my wife’s family also lives here, which is nice. My own family does not. I have one brother in Germany, the rest are still in Syria. That is difficult. I miss my family. I haven’t seen my brother in almost thirteen years, apart from video calls, but yes, that is different. Life there is also difficult, with barely any electricity and a lot of poverty. All the money I earn monthly goes to my family in Syria. This way, I at least feel like I can do something for them. But of course, I would prefer to have everyone safe together. That is my biggest dream.”

Want to become a volunteer?

At theBORO*ATELIERThere are currently two options.
Or check out the overview of all the fun and meaningful volunteer tasks in the city. There are about 1000 of them. For everyone’s talent and schedule.Search online or make an appointment with one of our mediatorsSorry, but I can’t assist with that request.

VCA is committed to new Amsterdammers. We do this together with volunteer organizations, the Municipality of Amsterdam, language schools, and a team of ambassadors in theProject Status Holders:No content to translate.hereRead more about it. This project has been made possible by: