It’s kind of discouraging that there are so
many available BVS projects here in Europe and so few BVS volunteers! I know I
moan about this regularly and there are obviously many factors for the situation.
But right now I’m very happy to have welcomed Julia Schmidt (going to a new
placement in Osijek, Croatia).
Last month we welcomed Andrew Kurtz (for Quaker Cottage in Belfast), Stephanie Barras (for OKC Abrasevic in Mostar), and Megan Haggerty (to a new placement, Enable, in Co Armagh, Northern Ireland).
And a year ago, Kirsten
Stopher (for the new project ACAPE in Esteville, France) and Hannah Monroe (for L’Arche Belfast):
And of course Margaret Hughes, who arrived at the L'Arche Community in Cork over a year ago!
Here's a recent comment from BVSer Kirsten Stopher who works at the Association Centre Abbé Pierre Emmaüs in Esteville, France:
Today when looking over my notebook after spending the day in a workshop I realized that my life is definitely a mixture of English and French. One line in my notes reads "better than hier and moins bien que demain". Some of the best things in life come from mixtures :)
I arrived in Belfast on Saturday and met my housemates. Straightaway, we went to Tesco to buy food. First of all, we were driving on the left side of the road, and I was a bit disoriented. Secondly, I didn't have any idea what brands of food Tesco sold, so I pretty much wandered and randomly grabbed food off of shelves. And I'm paying in pounds...I don't know how much that is, so I look at things and think, "Hmm, that looks cheap!" Sunday rolls around, and I head to a Quaker meeting. I have never experienced a church service quite like it, but I was intrigued. If you don't know what they are like, do some research on your own. They have an interesting way of doing things. Finally, Monday has arrived, and I head into work. Here's a typical day: clean and sort, tea time, drive the buses out to pick up the wee ones and their mums, play with the toddlers and the babies, sing, feed everyone, play some more, drive everyone home, clean and sort, tea time and scarf down some lunch, drive buses out to pick up afterschoolers, play play play, snack time, play again, drive everyone home, clean and sort, and sprinkle in some arts and crafts and planning for upcoming events. WHEW! There are so many children, and because different kids come throughout the week, I'm still scrambling to remember everyone's names! But each day I learn something new about the work I'm doing, and each day gets a bit easier. P.S. (added by Samantha Carwile) - You forgot to mention that you held a 3 day old baby and drove the minibus up the mountain in the same day!
Here's a recent post from Katarina Eller at the Brot und Rosen Community in Hamburg, Germany: I would probably write more blogs if I thought my life was interesting enough, but actually my days mostly consist of cleaning, chopping vegetables, and food shopping. Our day begins with devotions in the chapel, with a simple prayer-song-Bible-reading-silence-song-prayer model.... Like a sandwich, or an Oreo cookie. Almost all of the songs come from the Taize movement. (You know you live at Brot & Rosen when most of the songs stuck in your head are in Latin.) Sometime after breakfast and light cleaning or email-checking, I might start with lunch prep. Leftovers from the night before are warmed up, and some type of salad is made. More often than not, it is a green salad. My favorite part of lunch prep is making the salad dressing (I never want to buy premade salad dressing ever again). And the worst is washing the salad. It is usually donated to us from an organic food store and can be very earth-filled and/or sometimes tiny-insect-infested. It can be the case that there is no green salad. But not to worry, other variations are possible! Carrot salad with grated carrots and apples, and oranges with oil and lemon juice for example; or red beet salad with chopped onions, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, and caraway seeds. Or Chicory salad with apples, oranges, bananas and a yogurt, lemon, curry dressing.
I usually don’t cook dinner. Dinner is very intimidating. Often around 15 people show up, and the children don’t eat anything that might contain nutrition for healthy development. So I leave dinner to the professionals (unless of course they’re not around), and chop vegetables for them. We may be unofficially part of what is called the Slow Food Movement (correct me if I’m wrong). Since I’ve been here, I have made/or experienced the making of: salad dressing, bread, jelly, orange juice, tomato sauce, pralines, mixed drinks, pizza, vegan chocolate, vegan cheese, mashed potatoes, African chili salsa, guacamole, fufu European style, applesauce etc. I’m not gonna lie, one of my initial thoughts during my very first week at B & R was: uh-oh. Yeah, sometimes I still feel like that, but it’s all good, that’s why I live in community, so other people can take over when they see me start on a crazy culinary maneuver.
It is my job to buy everything that is not donated by the food bank, organic food store, or ordered from said store. So, a large portion of my shopping includes cooking oil, lemons, noodles, tomato sauce, and toilet paper. Sometimes I have to make more than one trip, even though I use a rolling shopping-hamper-thingy. (I don’t know what we call them, but they are all over Germany.) And sometimes the cashier is like, “Oh it’s you again!” and I think “ Yeah, because if you only had a wheely cart and two little chicken-bone arms you’d be back again too.” Then there’s the whole discussion of what we should buy fair-trade, regional, and organic. And, if organic tomato sauce from who knows where is worth the price, or even really organic, and whether it’s better to buy organic sugar or the normal sugar that says on the package that it’s made in northern Germany from sugar beets but is probably not organic etc. As usual with Brot& Rosen, as soon as I ask a question as to what I should buy, I get eight different answers. So as usual with Brot& Rosen, I just do whatever I want to. That’s Christian Anarchy for you!
This is yesterday's comment from BVSer Kirsten Stopher who works at the Association-Centre Abbé Pierre Emmaüs in Esteville, France:
Today I gathered some of the heberge to help me clean the chalet because it is being rented this weekend. One of the men who is physically handicapped and walks with a cane asked me if there were things he could come and help us do. I honestly could not think of anything that would be easy for him to do but I told him he could come along with us if he wanted.
When we got into the chalet I listed off the things I needed to have done and told everyone to choose what they wanted and get to it. To my surprise, each and every person found something they could do. When we took a break to come back to the house to eat lunch I overheard the man who walks with the cane proudly telling my coworkers the things he did to help us in the chalet. He didn't do much but he did what he could and he was included in the group. That is the spirit of Emmaüs :)
Ligeia Smith, former Berlin BVSer, wrote about volunteering on her blog "Bounding Over Our Steps" (Here's the link in case it doesn't copy very well here:
Let’s face it, travel can be expensive! Remote locations such as Antarctica or places like Tibet, where in order to get a visa you must sign up for an expensive tour, are extreme examples of costly vacations.
There is a better way…
Traveling does not have to drain your bank account. Consider the more affordable (and arguably the more rewarding) option of volunteering. Such opportunities range in type of service, from working with disenfranchised peoples to technical support for an NGO, and vary in length of time commitment, from a week to a month to years.
So often, the only way to sign up for volunteer support is to go through agencies who charge exorbitant prices and, of course, take a large cut for arranging visas, flights and accommodation. There are a few exceptions, however. A small number of places will charge either nothing or a nominal fee, that often is actually a donation to the NGO. Here are a few organizations we’d like to recommend (in no particular order): 1) The Peace Corps: This can be a great way to travel and reach out to non-vacation spots around the world. A background in city planning, agriculture or healthcare, for example, can go a long way here in helping communities set up a water system or educating people about diseases. These are just to name a few. All applicants must be US citizens (and at least 18 years old) and the application process takes anywhere from 6 to 12 months so you will need to plan ahead. For more information, including the location and type of projects and the application process, check out their website at: http://www.peacecorps.gov/
2) United Nations: Many of the positions offered require specialized skills, including leadership and project management, providing the unique opportunity to travel the world and volunteer based on one’s professional career. Peruse their website and find out if you have what they are looking for: http://www.unv.org/how-to-volunteer.html
3) Action Reconciliation Service for Peace: ARSP is a German-run NGO that began in the 1950s by a group that felt the need to “set a sign of atonement for the Nazi era”. The volunteer projects available with ARSP involve working with disenfranchised groups directly affected by the Nazis. These groups include mentally-challenged people, Jewish communities, Sinti and Roma and LGBT communities. German citizens can volunteer in twelve various countries, mostly in Europe but also including Israel, Russia and the United States. In addition, citizens of those countries, respectively, can also volunteer in Germany. For further information, check out their websites:
4) Brethren Volunteer Service: For those of you who might not know, “Brethren” is one of the three peace churches (the others are Quaker and Mennonite) whose members are exempt from military service in the case of a draft, because pacifism is at the root of their ideologies. You do not need to be Brethren to apply to volunteer with BVS and there will be no attempt made by the organization to convert you. Their mission is “Sharing God’s love through acts of service, by advocating justice, working for peace, serving human needs, and caring for creation.” Project placement is worldwide with most of their assignments in the United States, Europe, as well as Central and South America.
I did a year of volunteer service with BVS and chose my project in Berlin, Germany. I worked in the office of the Aktion Suehnezeichen Freidensdienste (ARSP headquarters). This also allowed me to volunteer with the Judische Gemeinde (Jewish Community) visiting Jewish elderly, most of whom were Holocaust victims. I encourage you to browse their website for additional information: http://www.brethren.org/bvs/
Are you too old too volunteer?
You are never too old to volunteer. Princeton in Asia has a program just for seniors. Often some of these positions are paid to help offset ongoing costs you may have at home. Check out if there is the perfect project for you at: http://piaweb.princeton.edu/
Where have you volunteered? What projects do you recommend?
It’s kind of discouraging that there are so
many available BVS projects here in Europe and so few BVS volunteers! I know I
moan about this regularly and there are obviously many factors for the situation.
But right now I’m very happy to have welcomed Julia Schmidt (going to a new
placement in Osijek, Croatia). 
