Working with Eldery People (GER-45)


Type: Health: Elderly - Country: Germany

Brief description and main aims

The aim is to take care of elderly people who are unable to live on their own due to their age, mental or physical disabilities. Old people who move into these homes are sometimes not able to take care of themselves independently any more. Some of them have kept most of their physical and mental abilities and only need help in a few respects. Others need a lot of care or they are confused and forget a lot of things that happened just recently or some time ago.

There are different areas of work: to assist them in their daily life, for example help in preparing meals and talk to them as well as to organise leisure time activities for them. 

 

Main Activities

Accompanying older people during their days, assisting them during mealtimes and keeping them company in their free time, e.g. escorting them to the supermarket or playing board games. The home also offers a lot of free time activities and workshops. 

Volunteer tasks

The volunteer is assisting the social team of the house. They are organizing workshops and events for the inhabitants, helping them during art class or during free time. Main task is to keep them company and listen. 

Volunteer requirements / Skills

The volunteer should be willing to work with elderly. Empathy and patience is required. 

Hosting Situation (Board and Lodging)

Usually projects with elderly people are residential projects but in some cases volunteers live in a host family and work in an elderly residence.

More Information

Working with elderly people generally is the opportunity to familiarise yourself with their past, their personal life stories, their perspectives about the world and their situation in our society. Generally, you should like to speak to old people and be a patient listener to them - then you can learn a lot. You should be aware that working with elderly people might mean assisting the professional stuff in everyday caring. 

Explore our projects world-wide

Explore our Projects Database and find placements among over 800 volunteering opportunities in 41 countries.

Long-term Projects

You can see all the projects on a country leaving the Project Type field empty and selecting a country.

Project Type:

Countries:

Short-term Projects

You can see all the projects on a country leaving the Project Type field empty and selecting a country.

Project Type:

Countries: