A real life story from: Corbenic
I am Sonja, 19 years old, and I came to Corbenic from Germany in July 2020. At the beginning of my last year of school, I knew that I didn’t want to rush into studying but instead to take a gap year to gather work experience and find out if I want to continue working in the social sector in the future.
Weekly routine
I am a volunteer in Mullach House at Corbenic, and I enjoy working with the residents and my co-workers. My daily tasks are helping the residents with personal care, doing household chores, and supporting the residents in their workshops and free time.
I am in the Pottery workshop, which Mullach is assigned to, and I like it very much. We can make bowls, cups and basically anything else out of clay, paint our pottery, and draw on paper with the option to make it into a linoleum cut. These different activities make the workshop versatile and our workshop leader ensures that there is never a boring moment.
The usual free time activities like dancing and swimming haven’t taken place since the first lockdown, which is why I never got to see the normal Corbenic life. However, we still try to go out on Saturdays, even if it is just to Dunkeld for a walk and take-away hot chocolate.
Special memories
My highlights so far have been Corbenic’s very own Highland Games, the Advent Market, celebrating Christmas in the Community, and Burns Night.
A very special memory was celebrating my birthday in November when we had still been able to eat out with the House. It has been my first birthday away from home but nevertheless I felt at home.
Growing through new experiences
Naturally, I have encountered challenging situations which strained my patience and made me question my ability to cope under stress. Under these circumstances, I notice more than ever what a good team of staff and volunteers we are. We give each other support after incidents and it is much fun working together despite the arising challenges.
I like especially like working at Corbenic because the good relationship to my co-workers and seeing the residents happy are very rewarding.
Since I came to Corbenic, I have gained many new experiences, joyful and challenging but all of which made me grow. Now, half of my voluntary year at Corbenic is over and I am looking forward to the second half as I hope that the development of covid will allow me to travel more and to experience the normal life in Corbenic.
Sonja, 2021
