I’m Danita and I have finished my Master’s in Social Work from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, India. First and foremost, I chose Social Work as my profession because I’m passionate to work with differently abled people. So, during my course period, I had worked in various institutions in India who are working with differently abled people, where I have gained a lot of learning and have understood their lifestyle and the  difficulties they face in their day-to-day life. I have also taken extra miles to present research papers in various institutions across India about the problems faced by the differently abled community, with few solutions.

So, to improvise my personal and professional life, I choose to volunteer in the Weltwärts Programme, where I would gain knowledge and competencies to attain my goal. I firmly believe that Germany has a very wide stability over public welfare and social security programs, which serves as a model for other countries. The learnings acquired from this program will give me a different perspective. And this program would allow me to grow personally in an informal learning process through personal interaction, intercultural exchange and the transfer of knowledge and experience.

FSL India has conducted a 2-day pre-departure preparation seminar in which we were orientated about FSL’s programmes, about their partners, rules and duties as a volunteer in Germany, the importance of conflict management, time management, teamwork and many other topics which are helpful in personal and professional life. The team also guided us in our packing, and also gave a glimpse of the pros and cons of living in Germany.

The welcoming and orientation of volunteers from India, Namibia and Uganda was organised by the GRC team in Munster and Greven for 12 days. In these seminar days, we covered topics like conflict management, life in Germany, SDG, prevention of sexual harassment, empowerment, sensibility special needs, stereotypes, gender equality and various other topics. During the seminar days, we were divided into groups to prepare food for the whole team. We were able to exchange our knowledge, experiences and cultural differences by working in a team. On the last day of the seminar, the mentors from our project place took us to our accommodation and work places.

I live in an apartment in Billerbeck, about 20 kms away from my project location. Billerbeck is a small place away from the city life, and has a Church. I share an apartment with 4 other volunteers from Namibia and India. We have different project locations and different shift timings, so we cook our own meals, but during our vacation, we all cook together different food and experience various flavors. We invite volunteers from other locations to join us on vacations. Sometimes, we have friends visiting us in our apartment and it will elevate the living atmosphere. GRC has arranged German language classes near to our place of stay, for our convenience.

Stift Tilbeck is a service provider in the areas of assistance and support for differently abled people and elderly people. It operates appropriate facilities in different areas located near Munster. It provides differentiated forms of living, as well as job opportunities, day-structuring offers, which include vocational works, possibilities for leisure time activities, workshop jobs in the areas of assembly, lettershop and parcel delivery as well as tailoring, outsourced jobs in other areas and many more.

I work in a residential home of Stift Tilbeck St Matthäus Haus who have physically and mentally challenged people with conditions of autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy, intellectual disability, speech and language problems, schizophrenia, hypertension, behavioural problems and etc. There are 2 groups in my project centre. There are 8 people in the group that stays on the ground floor, and around 7 people on the first floor. My task is to assist them in their daily activities, engage them in their leisure time at their residence, and to be emotionally available.

Working in this project has given me immense job satisfaction. The people here are very kind to me and are very appreciative, so they call me Miss Perfectionist. The residents and staff love Indian food, so during my working weekends and in some evenings, I prepare Indian dishes for them. To see the happiness on their faces helps me in getting my charms back. I often use statements like ‘It doesn’t matter what work you’re doing but it matters with whom you are working’. In my personal and professional life, this is where I firmly realised and commit myself to work with persons with special needs. My character and personality suits such an environment, and I’m whelmed to fit myself in that life.

In the month of December, I traveled to Cologne for the major cultural centre in the Rhineland. During Christmas, I had a unique opportunity to celebrate Christmas with one of the ex-German volunteer’s family, where I was also treated as one of their family member, which made me so comfortable. I could see the family togetherness, the bonding they’d had for each other, and each of us individually did our part in preparing a wholesome Christmas meal. For New Year, we Billerbeck flatmates had invited other GRC volunteers and had a house party.

In the month of January, I travelled to Bochum and Dortmund to visit my Namibian friends and we went for a short tour around the place by cycling.

In the month of February, I went on a solo trip to Paris and Belgium. I believe life teaches you lessons when you explore things alone. And I also made it to the carnival in Munster, which was my first-time experience, and I really enjoyed the environment.

The places I traveled to and met different amazing people, I tend to connect with them easily. At my place of stay itself I have got a family who are from Sri Lanka. They treat me as one amongst them, and make me feel at home, there are no words to express the kindness and warmth I have experienced.

I would like to thank FSL India and my friends for identifying and helping me in an amazing opportunity to volunteer in Germany.