The faces behind ... our volunteers

"I just want to assist others. Somehow I feel it's a duty. First I supported a boy who struggled with mental problems and had trouble getting out of his words. Now I'm there for someone who has difficulty connecting. Both times with the goal of moving forward through small steps. Sometimes I provide insight or thought, often I am a listening ear. But always and above all, I am a friend. The feeling you get in return can't be compared to anything. There is little like seeing your buddy make strides."

"After retiring, I wanted to continue using my knowledge and energy to help people and society. I realized that I have been very lucky in life, and that this is not the case for everyone. An information evening about volunteering brought me to the ABC, now part of the Regenboog. I taught Dutch to all kinds of women: young, old, graduated, illiterate, with and without children. What they had in common was that they had not yet found their way in Amsterdam society. I learn a lot about other customs and beliefs and have become milder and more tolerant. But also more despondent about everything that can go wrong in a human life and how difficult it is then to get back on my feet."

"Before, I spontaneously took care of a homeless man in the neighborhood. But I noticed that as a private one-pitter I am not fully equipped to help someone like that structurally. So we ended up at a Regenboog walk-in centre. Recently I saw him again. He was in much better, almost good spirits. I thought: maybe I can do better under the wings of such an organization. As a volunteer you are well supported and work with a coordinator who has a lot of knowledge and experience and gives practical, useful tips. I am now helping a fifty-eight-year-old woman who has had MS for some time and was looking for help in sorting out her finances. She, too, is now much more cheerful."

"Assisting people can have a big impact. I experienced that myself when I grew up in a mediocre neighborhood in Amsterdam-Noord and attended a school that was poorly regarded. There were two people around me who motivated me and showed me what was possible. Without them I would never have gone to college. Also in the sector where I work, healthcare, you see that the quality of life improves by really paying attention to each other. I am now a buddy of a twenty-three-year-old woman who is struggling with mental health problems. She is there for everyone, but is afraid to ask for help herself. Together we have created a place where she can talk things through without judgement.

"It is very special to be a part of someone's life. I help a woman in her forties who is dealing with psychological and addiction problems. I get a lot in return. Volunteering helps me put things into perspective. I look at some of my own problems differently now. It also makes me feel good to be able to do something for someone, even if it's only an hour a week."

"We all get stuck sometimes, where it can be of added value to talk about it with someone outside your own environment. I have time and have always wanted to help people. On the one hand by offering a listening ear. On the other hand by supporting here and there in gaining insights and extending a helping hand. The goal is for someone to gain more self-confidence and thus become more self-reliant. I am currently counseling a mother in her mid-forties from Amsterdam-Noord who is depressed. We are already seeing improvements, even though we have only just become buddies."

Text: Nicolline van der Spek I Photography: privately owned interviewees