We got this! Take care of each other
As you will see in my previous blog could read I started volunteering last week at Erasmus Hospital on the Covid ward.
Helping hand in Covid department
From my 15e year of life until the end of my studies I worked in a hospital in Arnhem. For 6 years I worked there all weekends and almost all vacations and I always loved it. I worked in just about every department, including the outpatient clinic, first aid as well as various patient departments. I remember starting out in cleaning, but soon I was asked to run a food and beverage department. The job was then called Food Assistant and it was a job that was right up my alley. Not that I hated cleaning, because there too you had nice patient contact, but now I could really take care of people. Even then I discovered that I love taking care of people. Making people, (even if only for a moment) happy with a friendly smile, a pat on the back or a few warm words. That is what actually still makes me very happy, at goMICE in a very different way, but apparently it is in my heart. Putting a smile on patients' faces and making family members happy with a chat in a pleasant and warm way. That gave me great satisfaction. That I didn't become a nurse or doctor is actually special, because care was and is pretty much what I like.
And now I am back at the hospital. Again I was able to give people a heart to heart and speak to or accompany visitors. Furthermore, I was able to help the nurses here and there with some tasks. I went home with a good feeling. I had been able to really mean something again. What is also great to experience is that the Red Cross really has a very good image. Everyone wants to ask you something and trusts you to answer them. People easily approach you and when you tell them that you are working as a volunteer for this beautiful organization. You immediately get very nice and warm reactions. I was proud to walk around in this striking uniform and hope to be able to do this for a long time to come.
Completion of training in Mediation
So since last year I didn't have to or couldn't travel for business, I was left with about 1/3 of my time. After all normally I was on the plane an average of four times a month on inspection or to accompany a trip. So, in addition to volunteering at Erasmus Hospital, last year I also started studying Mediation. I hope to finish this around the summer with a number of exams, after which I can start working as a MFN registered mediator for parties who can no longer come to an agreement.
People often think of mediation as divorce, but mediation is used much more broadly and increasingly frequently. For example, judges are increasingly sending parties back to try mediation before the judge has to make a ruling. Mediators are also widely used in the business world and through the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. As a mediator, I would like to focus on the latter two. After all, I have had a lot of contact with these types of conflicts in my career and this is possibly where my strengths lie the most. Of course I will also make myself available for other types of mediation such as divorces etc. where people would like to use me as a mediator.
Around May/June my website for mediation will go on air and I hope to help people to get back into conversation with each other, because that is the core task within mediation: To teach people to communicate with each other again without arguing, so that they can look for solutions themselves to solve the conflict. Mediation, by the way, is definitely not therapy. There are relationship therapists and psychologists for that. Mediation is usually the penultimate station toward a judge. With mediation, you may still be able to separate by mutual agreement in which both your interests have a place. The judge, on the other hand, will make a ruling in the event of a conflict and usually it is always worse for one party. And then mediation is worth a try and can be used for both business and private matters. Meanwhile, I have also almost been trained as a neighborhood mediator and from next week I will put my first mediation sessions (neighborhood mediation) into practice.
Curious about more of our social and community actions? Read here about Business Travel Consultant Marieke's experience at the Food Bank.
Travel Well
Anita van Maanen
Managing Director
