How did you start volunteering?
All my life I have said: “The day I stop working, I want to do voluntary work”. Due to back problems, this came sooner than expected.
Although I was already familiar with the hospital through my wife and children who worked here, I never imagined during my heyday that I would end up volunteering here.
Nevertheless, after a month, I signed up at this hospital and was able to start volunteering in the hair salon a short time later. At first, I found it a bit strange, but it clicked right away. And I'm still here. Actually, I can't give a definitive answer to the question “why am I doing this here?”, but I still enjoy it just as much.
What exactly does your assignment entail? Wat doe je het liefst?
I'm responsible for the patient transfers from and to the hairdresser's and sometimes assist with the newspaper round. On Tuesday mornings, I help with the breakfast buffet and fry bacon and omelettes at one of the hospital's geriatric wards. During the COVID-19 period I volunteerd at the hospital's to-and-from desk. Everything they asked for and everything I could do, I have already done here.
I get a lot of satisfaction from talking to patients: take them out of their daily routine for a while, reminisce ...
I love everything about my volunteer work, but I especially love social contact with staff and patients. I get a lot of satisfaction from conversations with them: take them out of their daily routine for a while, talk to them, reminisce ...
What drives you to keep going?
The love and respect for everything that lives. I need to have people around me, I wouldn't 'work' on a desert island. I would describe myself as a herd animal.
What I also find important and inspiring, is that people are equal here. Because when you're ill, it doesn't matter whether your rich or highly educated.
As a volunteer, I am fully accepted here, both by patients and staff. I feel part of a team, and that feels good.
What has been your best experience as a volunteer so far?
During the Christmas period, I go around the geriatric patients' rooms dressed as Father Christmas. It took me by surprise to seen what it does to patients. The first time I was afraid everyone would laugh, but it turned out to be one of the most emotional moments I have experienced in years. I could see how patients reminisced about fond memories from their childhood. It touched me to be able to give patients a small moment of enjoyment, without having to think about their illness.
We, people, don't always realise how grateful we should be with the possibilities and chances we get.
Do you take certain aspects of your volunteer work into your daily life?
We, people, don't realise how grateful we should be with all the possibilities and chances we get. Actually, it would be good for everyone to do a month of voluntary work in a hospital, to realise how lucky we all are.
How do you want to make a difference for patients through your volunteer work?
I want to be a small added value for people, just by being there. Even though time is sometimes short and a long conversation is not always possible, I still try to really be there in that limited time.
The difference can be in the little things: a visit from santa, a nice breakfast, a haircut, getting away from the room for a while, or just a listening ear.
Do you have a motto in life?
‘Have a positive outlook on life and take it as it comes.’