[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This is a guest blog post by Sarah Seidel, an Applied Psychology student from the Netherlands, who is an intern at U-turn working together with our “Life Change” Occupational Therapy team.
Why intern for a Homeless organisation?
Last year back in the Netherlands, we were given a special course project: I had to realise the wish of a homeless man without resorting to simply giving him money. The homeless gentleman I worked with had asked for photos of the different places he had lived in the Netherlands. His conviction was that these photos could help him to overcome a past situation in his life.
This project was for me a starting point of making contact with homeless to get a better understanding of why someone becomes homeless, and to understand the difficulties in making real “u-turn” in one’s life. U-turn is making a real difference to the homeless in South Africa, through its work-based relapse prevention and skills development programme.
My role at U-turn
Applied Psychology is the use of psychological methods and science to solve practical problems in different fields. My knowledge can help others have a better life.
While homelessness and poverty, can be overwhelming but there is always benefit in giving yourself and your abilities to solving the problem. At U-turn I’ve helped develop training programs, facilitated Life Skills training and every week I coach our formerly homeless clients on the programme.
I feel encouraged by immediate appreciation and feedback from our clients. It’s very much a case of what you see is what you get – there’s much joy derived from the work and so I work hard to achieve progress in the programme.
The essentials in life
Now working with the homeless and formerly homeless at U-turn, I go back to the routes and basics of life. Frequently I ask myself the following question: What does a human being really need?
Meeting all of these different people with different circumstances and life situations, I feel a conviction that the simple things in life are most important for a good life taking responsibility for one’s own life, spending time with people that make you happy, or having a safe place to live.
Through my work with U-turn I have also come to appreciate the simple things, like how safe and good my home is back in the Netherlands.
In the words of Keanu Reeves: ‘The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way.’
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” style=”dashed” accent_color=”#84bd00″ css=”.vc_custom_1559031285508{padding-top: 50px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1559030564049{padding-top: 50px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_column_text]Become a Skills Investor
Join U-turn in providing over 1 400 service lessons every month (including parenting, money management, IT, English and literacy). Each lesson costs R250 per group.
All donations support a skills development and rehabilitation programme for over 1,000 people living on the streets. Help get South Africa working.
About U-turn
All of U-turn Homeless Ministries work is underwritten by God’s love and grace. We assist people from all walks of life and faith, and we do not discriminate.
Over 21 years, we have crafted a reliable pathway to employment for homeless people in Cape Town. Our phased programme starts with basic needs services, continues on to drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and culminates in sheltered work based training that nurtures an individual’s resilience through vocational skills, occupational therapy and development of self-belief and dignity through God’s Word.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
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