Service- "Zupa na Plantach" and making sandwiches (experience+project)

17/10/24

This experience aimed to help the people experiencing homelessness in Krakow, by providing them with essential items and food. I learned about homelessness in this city and how it affects over a thousand of people. The reason people experience homelessness in Krakow is because of broken family relations, loss of a job, evacuation from their home or addiction issues. The organization started in 2016, in which they aimed to also create a meaningful relationship with people experiencing homelessness, as they are often excluded and ignored. Hence, the organization started providing the people with soup every Sunday of the month, and every week, they give them essential items, like clothes, clean sheets, and hygiene products. Every week the organization gathers volunteers and they make around 30-50 sandwiches. On 17/10/24 I had the pleasure to volunteer as well. Before starting, we had to inform ourselves about homelessness in Krkaow and the organization "Zupa an Plantach".We were split into groups, each with a different task. For example, some people had to wash and peel the vegetables, some had to put the ingredients into the sandwiches and others wrapped them. I was the one cutting the bread and spreading butter on it. I enjoyed this part though I struggled a bit at the beginning as the butter was still hard and difficult to spread. We also had to work relatively fast as there were a lot of sandwiches to make in little time, so this taught me to be more productive. After I finished this part, I helped decorate the wrappings of the sandwiches by writing kind messages like "Have a good day" and making drawings. This part was really fun as it made the experience more personal and it felt that though I did not meet the people experiencing homelessness, I indirectly had a positive and meaningful impact on them. This is because it made it clearer that the sandwiches were made with effort and appreciation. 

An important ethical factor was to keep everything sanitary to avoid contracting pathogens to the people eating the sandwiches. We washed our hands before starting and wore disposable rubber gloves to avoid contamination. 

This experience made me open-minded and caring, as I had to put myself in someone else's shoes, to understand what the people experiencing homelessness are going through, and help them. Moreover, it made me a communicator as I had to talk with my team and with the volunteers to determine what everyone was doing. Finally, it made me knowledgeable and an inquirer as I found out a lot of information on homelessness.





Unfortunately, due to legal reasons, I was not able to continue participating in the project. However, I am starting to work on a different project with a different organization that also aims to help people experiencing homelessness. This is important to me as I believe that everyone should be treated kindly and receive basic needs, like food and affection, no matter their economic situation or background. It is essential to support others as it is not always possible to know what someone is going through. 

Approval questions for the new project
  • I chose to participate in this project because I like helping people in need and I think it is crucial that everyone feels appreciated
  • The project will help me be caring, open-minded and a communicator as I work with others
  • Ms Ula is my supervisor
  • My goal is to support people experiencing homelessness and provide them with fresh food
  • The location is at the school
  • It is on Fridays during lunchtime. I hope to work on this project until March.

Comments

  1. ula_od19 January 2025 at 02:52

    Good to read your reflection on this project. The Learner Profile trait "principled" comes through stronly in your comments, along with the Learning Outcome of undertaking new challenges.

    ReplyDelete

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