Hello everyone,
Our names are Lina and Maya and we are happy to say that we’re the new Volunteers here at the Hope House. Let me introduce you to Lina: she is 20 years old, lives in the breathtaking German city of Munich and graduated last year from high school. She has been socially engaged by working as a volunteer in a refugee shelter in her hometown in the past and is still ongoing, thus making a significant contribution to the integration and support of refugees. This is also why she decided to do a voluntary service which includes working with children. When she found out about the Hope House, she knew immediately, that this was exactly what she has been looking for. In her free time, she loves to be creative by painting, playing music (guitar, piano & singing) and meeting her friends.
Now a few words about myself, my name is Maya Rebecca, I’m 19 years old and have graduated last year as well. I live in a city in the South of Germany, which is called „Nürtingen“, it is about 40km away from Stuttgart. For the last two years I have been active as the leader of the citys youth council. The youth council members are representatives of the young people in the city. Besides, I like to crochet, try new things (as teaching myself the piano) and play handball. There are many reasons why I’m excited about being here, but two of them are very important for me: First of all working with children and young people, which I find very interesting and secondly, my connection to India. As my father was born in Vellore and raised in Bengaluru, I have always had a strong connection to India. By living here for the next six months, I’m more than happy to experience the country, the culture and the people now from a different perspective than from vacation.
We arrived at Chennai airport early in the morning of March 7th and were kindly picked up by Ruby Nakka and Lili (previous volunteer), who brought us to our home for the next six months: the Hope House. Lina and I were positively impressed by the girls welcoming us, as they were so affectionate, friendly and open about welcoming us to their home. In the next couple of days we were shown around the property, were introduced to the staff members working here and got the chance to get to know the girls better. Lili has been a big help to us, as she showed us and explained to us how things work here. We already started working with the babies from the adoption agency and the girls on Friday. It surely was and still is exhausting for us to work 8 hours a day, as we are not used to working with children for such a high amount of time. However, we definitely are noticing a change in the right direction.
During our first week here, we also had the opportunity to explore the local area a bit. We visited some of the nearby stores, sampled the delicious local cuisine, took our first bus ride (which was very exciting for us) and also visited Vellore. The people we have met so far have been incredibly welcoming and we are looking forward to immersing ourselves in the local culture even more over the coming months.
One thing that has really stood out to us during our time here is the sense of community that exists within the Hope House. Everyone here, from the staff to the girls, works together towards a common goal of providing a loving environment for all. It is truly inspiring to see the dedication and passion that everyone brings to their work every day.
Overall, our experience at the Hope House so far has been incredibly rewarding. We are grateful for the opportunity to be here and are excited to see what the rest of our time here will bring.
Arrival at Chennai airport Our first bus ride Lina and I