Experiences of one full-time volunteer in the UK
Our work as volunteers is to listen to people with direct experience of poverty and to build projects together. We do individual and family support work and also feed our knowledge into the policy process and campaigns.
One project I have been involved in is the Doorstep Library in South London. This involves going to lend and read books to young children, and so help to improve their access to books, educational opportunities, and to get to know the community as a whole. I feel that I have been pushed to learn a lot about the people here, to learn new skills, particularly how to be sensitive to people who are excluded and very different from myself. I enjoy engaging with people and finding that people experiencing poverty and exclusion have a lot to teach us.
I think that this is what being a volunteer challenges you to do: to reflect on who you are, what you believe in and can do, and how you can create a future with others who are experiencing the debilitating effects of poverty."
Full-Time volunteer, UK
