How to make a difference

Hey guys,

look, what I’ve found:

And please comment! What do you think about it?

Love

I went to the Caribbean…

Hey guys,

I’ve told you a lot about the work I do – but: it is not only work I do (fortunately! )

Last week we had a great Summerparty in the KHT that is celebrated every year. There’s always a motto that has to be chosen  and this time it was…*tadatataaataaataaaa* THE CARIBBEAN! Sound nice, hu? Well, you guys, it was !

I want to tell you everything about it – there’s just one thing that’s bugging me, I had no camera there and all the people who took pictures have not given them to me yet… Please forgive me, I’ll try to make it as vivid as possible and add the real pictures later!

Here goes!

The KHT possesses a beautiful garden at the back of the building – there is a round place of meadow, framed by a little river with tiny bridges and nice flowers and trees. So romantic! Allocated inside of this garden we’ve built up stands with different titles and tasks, that I will present to you later on. Every stand was individually decorated – that is to say, there were huge colourful flowers attached to the tents, big, individually painted signs that told you about the stand you were about to visit and moreover each stand was decorated individually of course!

We had festoons everywhere, palm trees, hammocks and moreover everybody dressed up according to the theme!

Then we had a little program, that is to say:

The Interview

Hey guys,

here it comes: the much longed for, incredible and exclusive interview, I’ve promised you:

(to all the English-speaking people out there: below you can find the whole interview translated – special service, just fo you )

Lilly:  Hey Caro, thank you for taking the time to realize this interview. Maybe you could start introducing yourself?

Caro: Of course. My name is Caro, I’m 20 years old and from Berlin. At the moment I’m realizing my Voluntary Year of Social Service in the Kaspar-Hauser-Therapeutikum in Berlin – I work in the ceramics department there.

L: Nice! And what exactly are you doing in the sheltered workshop?

C: Well, I supervise and accompany mentally, corporally and psychologically challenged people while working in the sheltered workshop. I guide them concerning the working processes and also therapeutical treatments – that is to say music therapy, art therapy, dance therapy, and all these measures that exist…

L: Sounds great! How do you like working in the social sector? Do you see advantages and disadvantages?

Two catchy articles and an announcement!

Hey guys,

I’ve found two articles you might like (unfortunately one of them is in German.. sorry!). It’s about the helper’s syndrome – I’ve wondered recently if people who volunteer suffer from that (including me), but I’m not sure – it is considered an addiction and I personally do not see myself being addicted to volunteering but hey – I think it’s worth reading and thinking about it! Thoughts?

Moreover I’d like to make an announcement: Next week you will be able to watch a first-class-video! I’ve got to interview a charming girl who works in the social sector and she is going to give you an exclusive insight on what one needs to work there, what pros and cons there are, and so much more…  So hang on!

Looking forward to it!

Love

What about YOU?

Can this even be important for my career?

Hey guys,

I’ve found some articles about how important contributing can be for your career and what rewards there might be in your job – sounds interesting, he? Until now I’ve found one in English:

The Independent – A Helping Hand

And some in German:

Article – HR-departments prefer students who do voluntary work

ZEIT-Article

I hope you’ll like it

Love

This job can be tough

Hey guys,

Now I have told you some basic things about my work and voluntary work in general. But one aspect is still missing, that I consider very important. This job is indeed fun and enjoyable, but you also have to deal with situations one is not usually used to. Sometimes things happen that make me feel very emotional and I would like to tell you about one of these situations I’ve experienced.

One day, one of the group members suffers from epilepsy (this is very common by the way, but in her case, it is quite severe) and was not feeling very well. She complained about her hands hurting, and her body not being under her control. Moreover she was frightened of what could happen and got nearly hysterical.

Some interesting links

Hey guys,

while surfing round the internet, I’ve found some links you might consider quite interesting I think/hope

They’re dealing with the topic of voluntary work (surprise surprise ) in an international context:

• UN Volunteers Online
• International Student Volunteers
• Volunteer abroad

Moreover for those of you who would prefer to participate in Germany, I’ve found the following:

• Intermediation of voluntary work in Germany
• Civil Academy

So maybe you check out some of these sites and tell me what you think about them?! Or you can tell me more links – I mean, this is just a little excerpt of sites I’ve found, so feel free to add some more

Love

Voluntary Work – what is this all about?!

Hey guys,

you may wonder what all this writing of mine about me contributing to society is about. I mean, I fully understand that questions like

• Why should I do this? or
• What is in there for me? or
• Why is this even important?

pop into your head automatically – beyond question they popped into mine one day and I’d like to try to answer some of them.

Let’s start!

I’ve prepared a small summary of the -to me- most important Pro and Con points:

PRO

• feels good helping others
• you use your time in a senseful way
• you learn a lot about yourself
• you learn to appreciate life and all the small thing we’re likely to forget
• you widen your horizon
• you can build up new strengths (as e.g. patience, empathy, compassion, …)

CON

• time intense
• not easy work (psychological burden)
• unpaid

Moreover I’d like to mention, that there is a lack of personell in the social sector, as financial means are scarce. That is why they are dependant on people like us – we can change something, make conditions better for people who really need our help and make a difference!

What do you think? Could you add more aspects to the Pro/Con outline? Do you have any other cogitations?

Please share your thoughts with us and comment!

Love

Pro	Con
good feeling helping others	time intense
use your time for sth. senseful	not easy
you learn a lot not only about others but also about yourself	stressful
lebens chätzen	emotionally
	need to be patient, einfühlsam

A short movie that makes you think and wonder…

Hey guys,

I want to share a movie with you. It’s done by film-students and when I watched it – by coincidence by the way- I knew, that what I wanted to do was right and important.

It touched me deeply: Short Movie “12. Etage”

Unfortunately, it is in German – but hey: maybe it’s a good training for you international guys No, just kidding: if there is the need, I would post a short summary in English. Just comment on this and it’ll be done in no time

Thoughts on the movie? Please comment!

Sleep well,

Lilly