The association Servitus sends young people for a one-year service

Ten young people from Germany will come this year to different parts of the Czech Republic. One girl will go to Brno and help in the Caritas day center Líšeň and in the 'Assisted Living' project in Zábrdovice. Another one will do her volunteer work in the Jewish Community in Brno, where she will visit seniors at home and at the nursing home 'Bethanien'. Others will go to the memorial sites Terezín and Lidice or help with the work with Roma in Ostrava and Český Brod and others again will go to Olomouc, České Budějovice or other locations. The majority of the new volunteers have just finished secondary education and come, before enrolling in university, for one year to the Czech Republic. They are willing to work for food and pocket money wherever it is needed.

The volunteers have finished an introduction and information course as well as some hours of Czech classes. They introduced themselves to the audience in Czech. Stanislava Śimuniová of the association Servitus coordinates their work and prepares other meetings for them during their year as volunteers. Chairman Martin Řeháček welcomed all volunteers. "In a time where many think primarily about money, you give a year of your life as a gift to volunteer service. I respect that very much. Of course, you also get something in return, something that cannot be bought.", he said. Řeháček also highlighted the interest of young people regarding the life of previous generations. Some volunteers will visit people who have survived concentration camps. “Going abroad, getting to grips with a foreign language and mentality, even more so if you come to help here, is all very tiring. I wish you, that this year in the Czech Republic will positively influence your future lives.” added the chairman.

Servitus

is an organization that was founded by representatives of different Christian churches and Jewish communities in the Czech Republic with the aim to develop a volunteer service. The organization provides Czech and foreign volunteers for projects in the Czech Republic and Czech volunteers in projects of partner organizations abroad. It also prepares them before their service and supports them during their deployment which takes place mainly in projects by Christian churches, Jewish communities or organizations associated with those. Servitus was founded in 2003 and works closely together with the German organization 'Action Reconciliation Service for Peace' (ASF, www.asf-ev.de), which is concerned with questions regarding reconciliation, learning from the past, overcoming of Nazism and other totalitarian regimes and the crimes committed by them. Servitus celebrates its 10^th anniversary in April 2013 in České Budějovice with the presence of representatives of its partner organizations. More under www.servitus.cz.

Daniela Ženatá