My first volunteering experience

I am Dóra Göncző, 24 years old; just a few days after joining the Foundation, I already had the opportunity to take part in a volunteering job here in Hungary: with Taita, we held a handicraft workshop with games and competitions for the kiddies of the Pilis Gyermekotthon (Pilis Children’s Home) in Terény

I was very happy about this event, since I am a big fan of children, and always got on well with them. The idea that considering their age, they are mentally and physically a bit backward, as well as the fact that the most of them grow up without parents, scared me a bit at first, but I like challenges, so I registered immediately.

The night before, I could hardly sleep; I had a lot of questions fomenting in me. How will I find common ground with them, what feelings will this event trigger in me, how open are these kids toward a stranger, while already having a host of traumas... When we arrived at Terény, the children were only just having their breakfast – some of them still in their pyjamas – but they were clearly excited about us arriving; they came up to introduce themselves and welcome us. Alex the 11-year-old Autistic kid jumped right onto our necks. After this, thankfully, all my anxieties went right out the window.

After everyone was done grooming, the playful and funny quiz-competitions for that morning started. With the exception of a few people, everybody duly contributed to the program; we also tried to involve the teenagers, with rather more success than otherwise. ? Everybody appeared to greatly enjoy it; they laughed a lot, and obviously grew tired, too. In order to relax, we entered the house with them where some of them had their lunch; there were some who wanted to play ball or card games with us, and in the meantime, we were preparing for the afternoon’s handicraft workshop. From colourful cardboard and paper sheets, they had the chance to make dreamcatchers, rain sticks and similar creative things.

When the time came for us to leave, many of them said goodbye with a hug and a few kind words; they were visibly thankful, having had a truly great time. On our way home, we were of the very same opinion, having closed the day tired but feeling good. During the following days and weeks, I had a host of emotions inside me, the most important probably being that when visiting such a place as where orphans live, who are at the same time mentally handicapped, and who had not become the residents of a home due to their own decisions, one can experience how much more difficult their childhood is, that they have their partial boundaries, a feeling of tension and at the same time, freedom can be detected in them. Despite this, I left with a huge experience: it was absolutely not physically taxing, and if we managed to make only one child’s day more beautiful, it was already absolutely worth it.

Why Taita?

As for my interest for Africa, that has always been present, but only began to really engross me when during one of the world music festivals at Lake Balaton, I got acquainted with a famous singer-musician from Senegal, as well as the other members of his band. They were all very sociable and friendly, so I ventured to query them a bit about where they came from: they also told about their culture. Arriving home from the festival, I began searching in the community media for African groups: that’s how I found the Taita Foundation. I duly emailed them that I’d be interested in their activity and I’d like to get to know more about their oeuvre. I got a very detailed and accurate description, as well as a volunteering job offer, which was their workshop at Terény...