Volunteering: Alaa Esber strengthens the Pinneberg Tafel!

In Germany, around 29 million people voluntarily and free of charge for the common good, as the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Home reports. This corresponds to about 40 percent of the population, including children and adolescents up to 14 years, according to a study by the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth.

Alaa Esber, a 33-year-old Syrian, has been living in Germany for a year and is a volunteer at Pinneberger Tafel . Esber, who has learned in Syria that there is no volunteering there, emphasizes the importance of the German language for integration. He has already reached the B1 level and is preparing for the B2 exam.

voluntary work at the Pinneberger Tafel

Esber works in the catering trade and supports the board as a passenger by picking up food from supermarkets and acting as a translator if necessary. It is in use one to two days a month for four to five hours and not only helps with the distribution of food, but also wants to improve his language skills through his commitment and achieve positive effects on his job search.

The Pinneberger Tafel currently supplies around 560 households with food and has registered around 1000 customers. Around 150 households are supported at the output dates, which take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Michael Schmidt, the chairman of the table, reports on stable figures, which could change depending on the global situation. Around 95 percent of customers are foreign citizens, while only 5 percent are German fellow citizens.

The table, which was founded in 2003 by the Luther church community and the association of vocational training in the housewife association, is now independent and distributed that are donated by supermarkets and grocery stores. It is pointed out that the table does not offer full care, but would like to help people in need in situations in which support is necessary.