Evaluation Report (6.10-13.11.’14)
Volunteering at ZOL-Jaszkotle, Poland
Therapy TAPAS association
The contact, before the stay, with the members of TAPAS (Luc and Agnieszka) went very well. The communication was positive and constructive. I had enough information to plan my travel and to prepare myself for the work in the rehabilitation center.
Stay at Jaszkotle
The stay in the center was very comfortable. The room was nice, the bathroom and dining room had everything I needed. In case of the food I felt I was getting spoiled! The meals were well prepared and satisfying. The portions were definately big enough! I also got extra’s every week like yoghurt, different kinds of meat/cheese, biscuits, cake,… The kitchen staff was very sweet and friendly.
Another positive point is the public transport: there are regular busses tot Wroclaw and back.
The only thing I would have liked is the ability to use a laundry machine.
Work at Jaszkotle
Working with the children
Iam so gratefull that I got the opportunity to gain experience in this setting. I hadn’t worked a lot with children with developmental problems before. After working here, I feel stronger as an OT within this goalgroup. I got the chance and space to build and execute my ideas.
Working together with other disciplines
Due to the language barrier the collaboration with other disciplines didn’t go as fluent, but everybody tried to make themselves understandable. This made me feel appreciated and welcome. After the the six weeks, I felt that my band with the caregivers and therapist had grown stronger.
Working with the students
Working together with the Belgian and Polish students was very interesting and informative. I could reflect with them upon their functioning, my own functioning and the possibilities of occupational therapy within the center.
Difficulties and opportunities for occupational therapy
In my opinion there are a lot of possibilities for OT within the center. We would be able to intervene in all occupational performance area’s: school/learn, leisure, ADL. Every child is different and therefore it is so important to work client centered. Setting up personal goals in collaboration with the child and other disciplines.
As OT’s we can make the difference by not only achieving these goals in a therapy session, but by implementing them in the daily lives of the children.
I think that the caregivers/therapists have little knowledge of occupational therapy. This will have to grow. The fact that there is no actual interdisciplinary teamwork in the center will make this very difficult. On short term I think the work with the students/volunteers is very useful for the development of occupational therapy within the center. On longer term I think it would be necessary to have an OT work permanently, because the students only come for a short period and that makes it very hard/challenging to change something.
Conclusion
I have had a wonderful time at Jaszkotle. I have learned a lot and got many opportunities to develop my skills as an OT but also to develop on personal area. In these weeks I have felt so welcome and I am so glad to have get to know more of the Polish culture. I hope that my work has been valuable and that I can come back in the future!
I feel the TAPAS-love! Thank you!
Merel Thijs.