Help with heart and hand
Many former participants have identified with the objectives of Bauorden and support the work financially. Some of them also use their holidays, but above all their time as retired people, to work in the construction camps. In recent years, the number of robust seniors who contribute their knowledge to the work of Bauorden has increased.
Your areas of application:
- Participation in the regular construction camps without special function
- Specific assignments as technical management for existing specialist knowledge
- Collaboration in special senior citizens’ camps
- In Germany, Italy, Lithuania and many other European countries
What you bring with you
- You find it worth the effort to help others
- You have 2-3 weeks time, are robust, and do not dislike physical work
- You can join a group, like to have contact with young people
- You may have specialist knowledge and can also impart it to others
- You do not expect hotel accommodation and catering, but also cope with simple conditions
- You may speak foreign languages, but you can also communicate without words
Testimonials
“Despite obvious poverty, spontaneous invitations to evening garden parties were not uncommon, with beer and vodka in the form of richly covered, home-made garden sets.”
John (67)
“The communal dinner with sometimes 30 people of acquaintances and friends, including their children, was an experience of Italian culture of a unique kind. It quickly made us forget the strains of the work.”
Dietmar (64)
As a senior citizen in the “European Year of Volunteering”
Dr. Dietmar Eisenhammer, who worked in a leading position in the Mainz State Chancellery for cross-border cooperation with Belgium, Luxembourg and France as well as Switzerland until 2004, retires in an exemplary manner.
“Since 2005, as a 67-year-old “senior volunteer”, I have been on the road as part of seven practical social missions in Italy, France, the Ukraine and Germany and have been involved as a consultant and expert in various European bodies. After my active working life, I was determined to get involved in social projects in Europe. At the “International Building Order” in Ludwigshafen (www.bauorden.eu) I found an organization that provides volunteer work not only for young people but also for seniors throughout Europe. I took the opportunity to remain active and enterprising as a senior citizen in this phase of my life, to recharge my batteries for new activities and to use and expand the experience potential in old age. Not only young people are the future of Europe, but also the elderly.
My missions required full work with both hands and a good and healthy constitution. The Baucamp Group has always been internationally mixed with young people. But I was often the only “elderly”. The average working time was 35 – 40 hours per week. The accommodation was simple. The food is always typical of the country and excellent. The fortnightly stays in the European construction camps have always been a great enrichment for me and at the same time a new challenge. I took many impressions and experiences home with me. I am looking forward to my next “senior volunteer” projects in Europe!
The “European Year of Volunteering” is therefore a good opportunity to motivate other senior citizens to volunteer their time in and for Europe. At the same time, the EJF 2011 is both a confirmation and an incentive for me to continue on the path we have taken!”
Source: Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Freien Wohlfahrtspflege: Project examples.
