Testimonials
I am Ryan Richardson, a 22 year male student. I volunteer once a week at Mother of Peace. I do a variety of things there, just helping out with whatever is needed. Mostly I spend my time there playing with the kids.
Initially my intention in volunteering was that I could contribute something to the kids there and “give something back” to my community. However, since I have been going there it has become increasingly clear that I derive a huge benefit from going there. As is so often the case when doing work of an altruistic nature I think I get more out of it than the children do. I have so much fun whenever I go there and it is great to become involved in the lives of the children.
It is awesome to see the effect that one can have on the lives of the children. Most of the volunteers that come to Mother of Peace are female, so the children don’t have very many positive male role models. This is obviously a factor which is important in the development of any child, but the need for male role models is even more desperate in a society like ours where gender based violence and inequality are rife.
I am convinced that there is a lot of opportunity for men to make a huge impact in the lives of the children, both male and female, at Mother of Peace. From playing sports to just chatting about life, this is a great opportunity to contribute to the development of the kids, and I can promise that you will end up benefiting in a massive way!
Ryan Richardson
We are a family of 5: mom (Boukje), dad (Jeroen), Tessel (6 years), Maas (4 years) and Robbe (4 years). In the midst of our day to day lives in the Netherlands, we set aside our work and worries and spend time travelling in Southern Africa. As part of this journey we lived as volunteers at Mother of Peace for a month. Our experiences were unforgettable.
It was in fact the movie ‘The Bucket List’ that inspired us to volunteer at Mother of Peace. In this film, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson draw up a list of things they always wanted to try before they die (‘hit the bucket’). After watching this movie, we made our own list. Our one featured a wish to work with children less privileged than our own three kids. And it also included a plan to revisit Africa. Lucky enough, we could take sabbatical leave from our work and start working on our Bucket List. Be More (www.be-more.nl) helped us to find Mother of Peace. A children’s home that is a secure haven for the orphaned, sometimes abused children. A place that is well organised, providing all basic support and education.
Accepting a family as volunteers was both an experiment for MoP and for us. We felt welcome, happy and entirely safe during our stay at MoP. Staff and house mothers are carrying out their daily care for the children in admirable and dedicated ways. They deserve applause and all possible support. < /p>
At Mother of Peace, we plunged into a world so different than our own. Yet, so familiar. The children at MoP play, laugh, cry, learn and touch our harts. And our children joined them. This is how building bridges between cultures, races, countries starts.
Although we are definitely not an ideal family, we hope that our stay at MoP gave the children a sense of ‘regular’ family life – despite that fact that we are far from a perfect family! We participated in the volunteering work, but we particularly enjoyed the times talking and playing with the kids around our big outside kitchen table. Many of these kids asked if we would leave our kids behind at our departure. We didn’t. We had to leave our little and big friends behind with pain in our hearts. < /p>
Back home we realise once more that this experience is not only about ‘giving back’. In so many it has been a lesson, an inspiration, a time of building bridges. We can only wish that more families will have the chance to spend some time at MoP as well – or at least to support the great work that is carried out here.
