Dear volunteer,
Thank
you for coming here to Chaaria in order to participate in our service. We would
like to help you accustom to the new reality and provide you with some
indications.
We are
a religious community of Brothers working for the sake of the poor.
There
is also a community of Sisters with us who help us in our charity service.
General
workers, nurses, cooks and watchmen are employed by the mission in order to
assist the inmates in various sectors.
The
daily activities of the community are concentrated on prayer and service, which
entirely fill most of the days.
If
you wish, you can share with us some moments of prayer: 6.30 Morning Prayer, 6.50
Holy Mass in the nearby parish or in our Chapel, 19.30 Vespers.
Every
Sunday, as well as on Solemnities, there is a Mass at 7 a.m. in the parish or
at 9 a.m. in the laundry of the hospital for the people who are interested.
Of
course it is not compulsory to attend any prayer and we respect the personal
opinion on faith of each and everyone. At the same time we humbly request to be
respected in what we believe and practice.
The
volunteers usually eat their meals in a separate room. This is in order to
provide them with more freedom, as well as to allow some time for the Brothers
to discuss the everyday issues of the community.
However,
we have supper together on Sundays and when greeting the volunteers going back to
their countries after they finish the service in Chaaria.
As we all share the space in
the same house, we ask you to always keep open the channel of communication
with the Brothers:
Whenever
in doubts, feel free to ask them.
We propose some indications
in order to assure mutual respect:
1.
You will be given
a timetable for your service. For example, the surgeons are going to have a
different timetable compared to the nurses, and the volunteers working in the “Buoni
Figli” Center will follow the daily schedule of the boys.
2.
So as to avoid
unexpected unpleasant events in the everyday work, we ask you to respect the
schedule of your timetable. We usually expect the volunteers to work from Monday
to Friday, and Saturday until 2 p.m., but of course we do not put limitations
to the generosity of the volunteers who wish to work longer and even in the
week ends. At night we will call only the people who avail themselves
personally.
3.
Volunteers
working in hospital, or anybody else interested, may attend weekly lectures on
tropical diseases for the staff of the hospital. The content of these lectures
(every Thursday, 8.00 a.m., in the out-patient department of the hospital)
refers to our local conditions and available treatments.
4.
Apart from the TV
you have in the apartment, you can use the TV of the Brothers, but, being the
community room of the Brothers, we kindly ask you to inform when you plan to
use it in the evening: some Brothers non working in hospital may watch the news
after supper.
5.
If you want to
wash your clothes, you can use the laundry of the Brothers, where you’ll find
all the necessary devices. The washing machine is only for personal use. Any
uniform you use in the hospital must be washed in the laundry of the hospital
(for obvious hygienic reasons).
6.
If you’d like to
take a picture or film to the patients in the hospital, first talk to the
Brothers about it. Do not film nor take pictures of the patients without
previously having talked to the Brothers. The people are very sensitive to it
and they feel their privacy has been infringed whenever a photo is taken
without their consent.
7.
Usually every
Sunday the volunteers can go out. On Saturdays, in the afternoon, the
volunteers may also arrange some trip.
8.
If you’re
interested in outings to game parks, we can help you find an agency which
organizes them for tourists. If you want
to rent a car to be taken to Meru or elsewhere, we can help you find one..
9.
You can take a
walk outside of the hospital whenever you want, but please inform one of the
Brothers when you go out. We prefer you to be back in the mission before dark,
because of security concerns.
10. Do not give
money, clothes or other gifts to the patients or other individuals before
talking it over with one of the Brothers. If you’d like to give alms to the
poor, we will arrange it in a way it goes to the most in need.
The
water from the taps of the mission is not drinkable. We ask you to use the
bottles with boiled water which you can find in the fridge. But remember that
every drop of water is precious. When you can, remember to put off the lights
and the water heater (electricity is very expensive).
Remember
to give your tickets to Bro Giancarlo at least 1 week before your going back to
Italy, because from Kenya it is compulsory to confirm the return flight.
Once
again we thank you for being here with us in Chaaria. We wish you a fruitful
experience in the professional, human and spiritual dimension.
The
community of Chaaria
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