My name is Oscar Montero and I am a student of the technical degree in Social Integration in Spain, during the last months I have done my internship in the Don Bosco Rijswick Foundation through the ERASMUS+ programme, and now that I have finished this stage I would like to tell a little bit about my experience through this writing.
To be honest, I didn’t choose Rijswick or even the Netherlands out of any particular interest in the country or the city, it was because of a set of coincidences that I ended up here, and honestly, I couldn’t be happier that I did.
It is always difficult to start somewhere new, and even more so if it is, as in my case, in another country. However, one of the things I value the most, is the support they have given me at all times, always present and willing to help me or solve any doubt, even when it was not related to the internship.
And I suppose that this is one of the things that most characterises this place, its closeness to people, the ease with which you feel included, the way in which they give you the opportunity to be part of everything… Of course, as long as the will accompanies, it could not be in any other way than starting from the desire of each person, the desire to participate, to want to get involved and to want to be part of something so beautiful and big…
When I arrived here I had no expectations about what the following months would bring, and I think that is why I end my experience in the best possible way, having met some of the wonderful people that make up this place, having experienced moments that I have enjoyed very much, and above all having learned a lot, having learned from the children, from the volunteers, from other interns and from the workers of this place.
I don’t know if this is a place where everyone feels comfortable, but I am sure that it is a place where everyone is welcome, where no one is judged, where diversity is accepted and valued, and where you can feel at home. This place aims to be a safe space for children and young people in Rijswick and Den Haag, a meeting place, a place to share, a space that is suitable for everyone, and I really believe that they achieve this daily.
I would really like this place to be much better known, because it has a huge potential to help children and young people. During these months I have had the chance to participate, design and dynamise activities for one of the groups I am most passionate about working with, children. And although I’ve had the opportunity to participate in different workshops and activities, what I’m most proud of is having been able to teach and educate through something that they enjoy so much, like playing. The limit when it comes to creating different games or scenarios to educate children is as far as the imagination goes.
It is a place that fortunately has wonderful facilities, some of them being: the theatre, having a large space for outdoor activities, kitchens for workshops, a room with various materials for crafts, a room with a multitude of costumes, elements and makeup for the settings, various multipurpose classrooms or even warehouses for the great diversity of play materials among other things.
However, what gives this place its special shine is not its facilities or resources, it is the people who make it up. From the people who pass through here briefly like me, to the volunteers and workers who have been here since they themselves were the children being cared for.
And if in the end the majority of people who pass through here feel this place as a home to come back to… I think, that everything can be more than said.
