Volunteering in Breda: A Personal Story of Berran Tuncer

Moving to a new city sparks a natural desire to forge connections. In Breda, one of the most enriching ways to give back to the community is through volunteering. With opportunities spanning social work, creative projects and teaching, there's a role tailored to every interest. As you engage in activities you're passionate about, you'll immerse yourself in Dutch culture, grasp the language, and perceive Breda through new eyes. But where does one get started? Mooiwerk is an organization that is providing the inhabitants of Breda with loads of volunteering opportunities! On their website you can search and filter all the different types of activities and find just the right fit for you. Should you seek additional guidance, Mooiwerk's enthusiastic volunteers stand ready to assist you in finding a position that suits your expectations. To gain insights how volunteering can enrich your life in Breda, we spoke to Berran Tuncer who found her place in the city through volunteering.

Hello Berran, can you introduce yourself and your motivation to work as a volunteer?

I am Berran Tuncer and 45 years old. I live in Breda since 2018 and came from Turkey with my husband, two kids and a dog. In my free time I do a lot of volunteering and helped organisations likes BredaNu, Chassé Theatre, TEDx Breda, Humanitas and others. My first motives to volunteer were to learn the language and make new international and local connections. The language barrier can really make you feel lost in translation and limit your opportunities in Breda. I wanted to learn the language quickly because otherwise, you miss out on so much!

How did you find your first volunteer position?

I attended a language course at the library where a lot of newcomers start off. I was improving fast and just talking to a lot of people, so I made many connections. I heard that they look for ambassadors for a programme to raise awareness on people that struggle with reading and writing and got chosen to help them. For that job I attended their meetings and also helped with campaigns and events as a volunteer.

What other kind of jobs did you do:

I joined BredaNu, a local television channel, which I still volunteer at. We meet four times a year and help to improve the channels offerings with our feedback. After this I volunteered for TEDx Breda. The first year I helped with the production there and got a look behind the scenes. In the end I even was offered the chance to hold a TED talk myself, which was a great experience! In the second year I was in the speaker's team where I had to find speakers and got in touch with many new people which was very inspiring. During the TEDx time I was also part of a volunteer jury at an event at Chassé Theatre. We gave feedback after watching different plays and even met actors and the makers of those plays. Now I am part of an organisation called Humanitas. We pair up newcomers that want to learn Dutch with our Dutch volunteers. The “Taalmatjes”(translates to “Language-Friends”) spend some hours together each week and learn Dutch together. I help with matching up those couples.

What is the process of volunteering like?

First you find a position you like, or in my case I often heard of it from people in my network. Mooiwerk can help you find a volunteering position and guide you in the process! Once you applied for something there will most likely be an interview, and after that everything gets easier and falls into place. You can give your time availability and put it in their schedule you work some shifts and just make sure to follow the guidelines of the job you took on. Volunteering is still a commitment because people will count on you. Sometimes you sign a contract, it is not that serious, but you have to understand what your responsibilities are.

How does the process work when you apply at Mooiwerk?

If you want to start volunteering but don’t have a network in Breda yet this organization is a great support. They have hundreds of volunteer positions and will help you find just the right on for you. If you become a member, you also get many benefits like workshops, ranging from personal development to creative classes or Yoga. They are in Dutch, but I just advise you to go anyways, especially with something like yoga you can just follow what the others are doing. Mooiwerk has a special place in my heart because I met one of my best friends at a workshop organised by them.

How do you feel volunteering has contributed to your sense of belonging and community in Breda?

The more I volunteered the wider my network got, and I recognise familiar people in the city all the time now. It helped me to feel like I belong to Breda; if you care about something it will also take care of you. When I walk through the city, I see everything with different eyes, you suddenly see which people are volunteers. I sometimes see one of the matches we made with “Taalmatjes” spend time together in the city and when I see their happy faces it fulfils me as well. Also, some of the first friends that I made here were volunteers! Maybe they were doing their job, but I didn’t know it back then. As volunteers they were helping me, but we became good friends and I still meet them!

What challenges, if any, did you face while volunteering in a foreign country, and how did you overcome them?

Often, I was the only foreigner in the room, and many times I still am. Learning Dutch quickly definitely helped me to make life here easier. But as an international I could help to change things, to open doors for other friends and internationals. It is nice to see how things are developing and that Breda gets more international-friendly by the day.

Have you found any unexpected benefits or rewards from your volunteering experiences?

I don’t do this to feel like someone better or to get rewards but volunteering just makes me happy. I never expect anything in return, but there are nice advantages like free tickets for events I volunteered at or the free workshops from Mooiwerk. It is all a nice reward but honestly the friendships and memories are one of the most valuable things I get from volunteering.

Could you share some of your most memorable experiences or moments while volunteering?

Life is a series of events and moments and I collect them all the time and I am happy I had so many nice memories. For me, all things were special, but I am a huge theatre lover so the volunteering opportunity for Chassé Theatre was very exciting. It was the best year of my life. Meeting all these famous actors and play makers was amazing and we worked with a very multicultural team which was fun. I also saw Queen Máxima at an event once, there are really exciting things happening when you go out there to volunteer!

What is some advice you would give new expats or people wanting to become a volunteer?

I know fear can get in the way and that is just a human reaction but don’t listen to that fear! All the jobs have taught me something different and I learned a lot about myself because of the people I met when I was volunteering. If you want to invest in your life or pay back to the community volunteering is amazing.

Written by: Louisa Schumacher