Farida volunteers at Dundee International Women's Centre. She helps people with their language skills so that they can acess computing groups, undertake their driving theory test as well as attend English for Urdu speakers classes.She volunteers 2 days a week. Farida came to us to find out how she could get involvedin something and in her own words said that "coming to the Volunteer Centre to get advice and support gave me more confidence to get involved in volunteering as I had been thinking about it for a while. I did not know how to get involved but once I had come into the Volunteer Centre I was volunteering within 2 weeks."

Can you describe a day in your volunteering life?

Everyday is different and I am involved in many different things at the Centre. I work with people of all ages who are in different situations and need different types of support. I support people with their learning by helping them to read,understand and work through their workbooks for computing or their theory driving test.

Do you have to be a particular kind of person to volunteer?

"I think you have to be thoughtful to another persons feelings and needs. It depends upon what you have experienced and then you can offer empathy and support to another person."  

Do you feel your volunteering makes a difference to others?

 “Yes of course, they find somebody to talk to and help them. A volunteer is someone who has time for them and support them in achieving their goals.”

And finally, what do you personally get out of volunteering?

" Inner satisfaction because I help other people. I would definitely recommend it to other people and suggest that everyone tries it at some point in their life. When I get thanks from a person I have helped, I tell them to do the same thing and help others now that their life has changed they can then go on and help change someone else's life."

 Farida was interviewed for Volunteer Stories on 10/10/06 by Wendy Sutherland, Information Worker