A real life story from: Newton Dee
How would you describe being a volunteer in one sentence? Someone asked me that question and I really tried to find a proper answer but the only thing I could say was “yeah it was great”. I thought about it a lot afterwards and I think the problem why I couldn’t describe it in one sentence was that the work in Newton Dee has so many different faces.
Community life is amazing
I´m Jakob, 19 years old, and I volunteered in Newton Dee for 10 months, starting in August 2020. I came to Newton Dee in very difficult times because of a lot of COVID-19 restrictions but for me it wasn’t an option not to do the volunteering.
I always wanted to try out social work to get new impressions in life and start something completely new which I didn’t know already. On the internet I searched for ages and finally found organisations that send people in different countries to volunteer there, the way I imagined it, even when the description doesn’t really tell you everything about the life in this community.
The concept of actually living together and supporting each other instead of having a workspace where you go, do your work and leave again, sounded just amazing so I decided that I really want this experience. Helping others in this context of a community where everyone helps each other and appreciates the work others do is amazing.
Finding my second family
Starting with being quarantined I built my family. I got to know other co-workers and the house-coordinators and when I finally started working in my house I knew it was going to be a great year. Everyone welcomed me so warmly and after a few months when we where all sitting together in the living room the thought came up, that this is my second family now.
That’s why it also didn’t always feel like work even when you´re busy six days a week, basically the whole day. Also, the great community of volunteers made my year so special. I got to know all these wonderful and individual personalities which also found places in my heart. Because we all lived so close together we knew each other so well that we could help each other very well, also dealing with problems and supporting each other where we could.
Together with the time in the workshops, where I could become creative and help the villagers in another way then in the houses, there was a great balance between working in the house, in the workshop and spending time with other volunteers, even when its just a quick chat in between.
I think the decision to come to Newton Dee was the best decision I made so far in my life because I got to know so many people who helped me finding myself and made this year so amazing.
Jakob Kaufhold
