My experience walking with the blind people turned out to be a joyful one. The morning started with some uncertainty, as I didn’t know how to approach the walk by itself and of course the blind people. Having zero experience and feeling nervous, how could I become helpful to them in the most “reliable” way possible? Fortunately, before going on that walk, the volunteers received some valuable and helpful advice from Nadja and Iva, who works at the association for the blind SMŽ. I was still a bit stressed out, but I had more knowledge, and the blind people were eager to walk in our company and go to the park in Petrinja. The volunteers all got assigned a person they would walk with and enjoy the company of. Radmila, the person I got paired with, is a very kind and knowledgeable lady who had interesting things to share. To my surprise, she spoke some English and we were able to communicate to some extent. But she also knew some French, my native language, again to my surprise. She might have sensed that I was feeling slightly nervous, and as a result she made sure to reassure me. We were usually first in line, leading the way for the others. When we went to the park, she was very curious about everything and wanted to physically touch, and feel the materials. Iva was here to help her do that safely and Nadja told everyone about the history of the park and the many parts composing it. It warmed my heart to see such genuine interest and joy at the idea of discovering those parts. This morning ended by going for a coffee, where a few stories and good, funny jokes were told. By the end, my uncertainty was gone, and so was my stress. I would really enjoy going on a walk with them again, or doing activities together, and of course being paired with the same person. Pokazalo se da je moje iskustvo šetnje sa slijepim osobama bilo radosno. Jutro je započelo neizvjesnošću, jer nisam znao kako sam pristupiti šetnji i naravno slijepcima. Imajući nula iskustva i osjećajući se nervozno, kako bih im mogao biti od pomoći na najpouzdaniji mogući način? Srećom, prije nego što su krenuli u tu šetnju, volonteri su dobili nekoliko vrijednih i korisnih savjeta od Nadje i Ive, koja radi u Udruzi slijepih SMŽ. Još uvijek sam bio pomalo pod stresom, ali imao sam više znanja, a slijepi ljudi bili su željni prošetati u našem društvu i otići u park u Petrinji. Svi volonteri dobili su osobu s kojom bi hodali i uživali u društvu. Radmila, osoba s kojom sam se spario, vrlo je draga i upućena dama koja je imala zanimljive stvari za dijeljenje. Na moje iznenađenje, govorila je nešto engleskog i mogli smo donekle komunicirati. Ali znala je i francuski, moj materinji jezik, opet na moje iznenađenje. Mogla je naslutiti da se osjećam lagano nervozno, i kao rezultat toga pobrinula se da me razuvjeri. Obično smo bili prvi u redu, vodeći put za ostale. Kad smo otišli u park, bila je jako znatiželjna zbog svega i željela je fizički dodirnuti i osjetiti materijale. Iva je bila ovdje kako bi joj pomogla da to učini sigurno, a Nadja je svima ispričala o povijesti parka i mnogim dijelovima koji ga čine. Zagrijalo me srce kad sam vidio tako iskreno zanimanje i radost pri ideji otkrivanja tih dijelova. Jutro je završilo odlaskom na kavu, gdje je ispričano nekoliko priča i dobrih, smiješnih šala. Na kraju je nestala moja neizvjesnost, a nestao je i stres. Zaista bih uživao u ponovnoj šetnji s njima ili zajedničkom obavljanju aktivnosti i, naravno, u paru s istom osobom.  

Sadržaj ovog članka isključiva je odgovornost Udruge IKS.

Projekt “volonterIKS ” financira Ministarstvo za demografiju, obitelj, mlade i socijalnu politiku.