Nathalie, volunteer nurse
”An early morning, I am on my way to work as a nurse in Denmark. The birds are singing, and the first spring flowers are peeping out. I go to the ward where I work and look around, and for the first time I really notice all the full cupboards with all kinds of mecical equipment, which we are so privileged to have at our disposal at all Danish hospitals. It is nice and clean here, and we are all dressed in white laboratory coats.
At the same time I look back at my days as a nurse in India, where I started my days filling my backpack with the most essential medical equipment for treating children i the slum areas. In India it is not singing birds or beautiful flowers you notice, when you leave the house in the morning. It is one slum area after the other, with houses built of trash, children in all ages running bare feet in all kinds of weather and grown-ups bathing in rivers and sewage trying to wash off yesterdays hard and dirty job.”
Amanda, volunteer in Kolkata
”I am sitting in my cosy apartment eating breakfast of a rather expensive bowl. I am looking over Copenhagen - beautiful Copenhagen. At the pavement in front of me, there is a small family. A happy couple with their brandnew luxury pram. It has it all. It has a lot of smart functions, and completely packed with baby equipment of the best quality. Inside the pram, among pillows and duvets, is a small well-nourished baby. Completely unaware of how lucky he is. He has a mom and dad, who loves each other, and not least - they love him. They have chosen each other and they have chosen him. He is a genuine wished-for child and for them a huge blessing.
Watching this, I cannot help thinking of my friend in India. She is 17 years old, and lives on Sealdah Station and are soon to become a mother of two. Everyday she has a bad conscience, that she is not able to take care of her daughter, who is nearly one year old. Her biggest wish for the future, is one day to be able to afford a small slum house, where she can live with her husband and soon two children.”
Claudia, volunteer in Kolkata
“One of the questions I was asked the most, after getting home from India where I was a volunteer at Gadens Børn, was: “How was it?”
No matter how hard I tried to describe my experiences and feelings as a volunteer for family and friends, it has been very difficult to give an authentic description others can relate to, and understand. It is hard to describe the smell of the really humid heat, the more than hundreds of people at Sealdah Station and the feeling I got when I was welcomed by the most lovely children, just waiting for Gadens Børns volunteers to come to the train station.
I is now almost 9 months since I got home - and I realised that there is no words to describe my experience.
Though, there is one word, that keeps coming up in my mind, and that is LOVE. The strongest and most descriptive word I can think of. And the best word to describe my life as a volunteer at Gadens Børn in Kolkata.”
Tanja, volunteer in Kolkata
”My stay in Kolkata has changed me as a human being. It was hard, it was rough, it was fantastic and it was so life-affirming. It can not be described with words. Every day I miss coming to the train station, where the sweetest children came running towards me, screaming “AUNTIE”. Often when I lie in my nice and soft bed, I think about our children in India, sleeping on the hard asphalt. It is so hard to come back to our luxury life in Scandinavia, while knowing the children there, still sleep at the train station and in the slum.
The reason, why I chose to be a volunteer for Gadens Børn, was that I could see all the love in this work, and it has been indescribably to be part of. All that love I have been given and have given back to these fantastic children. It is a huge trust, that has been built up to Pia and Gadens Børns team through the years. It is so important that the children knows that we will always be there for them. I often look back at pictures and videos of them and I relive the memories. I have also skyped with the children a few times, where they ask; “AUNTIE, YOU COME BACK"?”. And YES, I definately (100 %) must to go back to see my children.”
Astrid, volunteer in Kolkata
In stead of writing about her experience while stationed in Kolkata with Gadens Børn, Astrid has chosen to make a video diary.
Here she tells about the thoughts she had both before and during her stay in India. It can help you understand the experience that awaits you, if you choose to join our team and become a volunteer at Gadens Børn.