"It's nice to pass something on"

At village hall the Nije Skalm in Stiens, a group meets every week to learn to sew. Under the guidance of five volunteers, they learn how a sewing machine works and how to make or repair simple things.

Martje was the first volunteer to start the group. "I saw a call from Amaryllis in the newspaper. I used to sew myself. Now I am retired and was looking for something I could do. I once trained as a teacher, so everything fell into place. It's nice to be able to pass something on." The group now consists of seven participants and five volunteer leaders. "That many leaders is also necessary, because often you have to help people one-on-one. Many participants are of Eritrean origin and cannot yet speak Dutch very well. That takes more time."

This group is now finished. After the summer, there will be room for a new group. "We only really teach them the basic skills," Martje explains. "We don't want to take customers away from professional cutters who give advanced sewing courses. After all, this is free." The group has made a pincushion, a bag and an apron, and a large blanket of letters hangs in dbieb.

Tjitske, a social worker at Amaryllis, helped set up the group. "We have a language group here in the Nije Skalm every week for people who want to learn Dutch," she says. "There were a few participants there who wanted to learn to sew. We started working with that request. We arranged a space in consultation with the Nije Skalm and we put an ad in the newspaper for volunteers and sewing machines. We soon got a couple of sewing machines and Martje responded as the first volunteer."

Amaryllis can help set up an initiative where residents can meet or develop something. "In one initiative, we don't have to do much because the volunteers are very active, like Martje," Tjitske explains. "We do keep in touch, but we don't have to do anything else. In other initiatives, we are involved for longer, because, for example, a volunteer stops and a new one has to be found. We can help with that from Amaryllis. We ourselves are also in the Nije Skalm, in the middle of all the initiatives." So there are coffee mornings, game afternoons and crafts cafes. This does not only apply to the Nije Skalm. Things are organised in all community and village halls where everyone is welcome. Be sure to drop in!

In this case, Amaryllis has helped find volunteers to guide the group, the Nije Skalm offers a space, sewing machines come from the villagers and are checked and repaired by Repair Café Stiens, Plaatselijk Belang Stiens has given a sum of money to buy materials such as pins and other tools.

The volunteers come from all over. "I live in a neighbourhood where a lot of widows live," Martje explains. "A few of them heard I was doing this and hooked up. It's also a nice social moment for them every week. Another volunteer was once in the Skalm and caught a conversation about the sewing group and also joined." "The last volunteer ran at Amaryllis," adds Tjitske. "She was sitting at home and wanted to do something for others again. So this weekly moment is very important not only for the participants, but also for the volunteers."