May 2017: IBO Netherlands turns 60! A great time to organize a reunion. Only we didn't want just any reunion; of course it had to be an IBO experience, with old and new volunteers and a job for a good cause.
Today we are at the Winckelsteegh in Nijmegen with a large group of volunteers of all ages. Winckelsteegh is an organization where people with severe intellectual disabilities live, work, learn and live. The large group is divided into smaller 'job' groups. Our jobs range from planting a flower garden to storytelling and from painting nails to cleaning the stables. A few handy men repair the special multi-man bicycles, students from the neighborhood visit the residential groups as part of their social internship, a mother and daughter paint the picnic table and a board member of IBO works up a sweat in the garden. It is a sunny day!
After the lunch break, everyone changes jobs. The residents of the Winckelsteegh can participate in various activities, such as listening to a story, being pampered with a hand massage, making and listening to music or taking a walk with a volunteer through the beautiful, wooded grounds. Other volunteers now ensure that the riding school on the site is completely cleaned up and that the new flower garden is finished today.
At the end of the afternoon we conclude with a drink and a speech by the IBO board. Everyone can look back with satisfaction on a beautiful, useful and very enjoyable day.