Inspiratie

Meedoen met Serve the City is hartstikke leuk. Lees hier ervaringen van vrijwilligers en projecleiders!

“Ik doe meer met Serve the City omdat ik op een praktische manier de stad kan dienen waarin ik woon. Voor mij is het één van de manieren om mijn Christelijke geloof te uiten. Je doet iets voor andere mensen, maar krijgt er ook iets voor terug.”
Marieke, vrijwilliger

“Serve the City verbindt je met andere mensen. Je trekt een dag of dagdeel met elkaar op. Je ervaart daarin heel veel plezier en dankbaarheid. Dat is het, kort samengevat.”
Maria, vrijwilliger

“Today, I’ve seen smiles on faces. And guess what, these smiles made me feel humble. You think that’s strange? I can tell you it isn’t. We encountered some really kind people, standing outside in the cold for hours. We just offered them coffee and a little chat. They were so glad that someone took the time to talk to them, that’s why they smiled so generously. They told us that they had no home and that they slept in the homeless shelter night after night.

Judy (not her real name) said she could sell papers for no longer than two hours maximum, then she felt so cold that she needed to go inside a shop to get warm. What bothered her more than the cold, was the fact that her child child lives far away from her with her parents in Bulgaria, because she cannot afford it to stay with her in the Netherlands. Life in Bulgaria isn’t easy she told, there’s a lot of poverty. She hopes that one day, she’ll get a residence permit to stay in the Netherlands and to get reunited with her child. In the mean time she keeps struggling in the cold, selling street papers which nobody wants, separated from her kid, hoping for a better life. At the time we left her, she begged us to soon visit her again.

And then, we met Josh (not his real name). He is in the Netherlands for over five years now, he didn’t understand us if we spoke to fast. If we would talk slowly, he pleaded. And so we did. He was so amazed that we took time to talk with him and that we offered him coffee. During our little chat his face was one big smile.

Iwan (not his real name) said he lived here and today, he still looked optimistic, although ten years passed by while waiting on a residence permit. Since he can’t get a job he has to sell street papers, day in day out. Still smiling, still hoping…
I wonder how I would be under such circumstances. I hope you now understand why in the beginning of my story, I said that I feel humble today.”
Monique

“Meedoen met Serve the City betekent dat je iemand anders iets geeft. Je geeft aandacht en tijd en daar verwacht je niets voor terug. Tegelijkertijd krijg je zo ontzettend veel: een glimlach op een gezicht, nieuwe vrienden, een knuffel. Serve the City geeft gewoon een goed gevoel! ”
Martijn, projectleider