From BVS Volunteer Heather at Quaker Cottage in Belfast, N. Ireland...
(she's the second one from the right in this photo, taken during a trip to Donegal with other BVSers volunteering in N. Ireland.)
"What I really love about volunteering at Quaker Cottage is that no two days are quite the same, and that the work is varied. You could peel potatoes, ice a birthday cake, push a pram, change a nappy, play in the sand box, drive a mini-bus, sing silly songs, play a game of Snap, vacuum and mop the afterschools room, and take out the garbage all in the same day. With that said, none of those tasks alone is mentally exhausting work (quite the contrary really), but I really do find working at Quakers to be quite stimulating, particularly when trying to figure out how to “turn” a negative situation around with children or just thinking about how to encourage children’s overall development (cognitive, social, emotional, and communication) within the context of what we do in the playroom every day. And I think that Ann and Grant are so full of wisdom, and Sharon and Phil have such a great way of interacting with the children, that there is a lot to be learned in a year at Quaker Cottage through observation and conversation with them."
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