Attitudes and Experiences of Volunteers in the Field

Back to: Working with Refugees and Asylum Seekers

When asking volunteers why they work for the integration of refugees you will find a wide range of answers.

Practical insights

We asked volunteers about their personal motivation for volunteering ourselves. Here is what they said.

In the survey of the German federal Ministry of Family Affairs more than 80 percent said that they enjoyed their work.

Many volunteers reported positive and fulfilling experiences: Thankfulness and recognition of the ones they support, new learning perspectives, making new friends and the impression that their work makes an impact and improves social reality.

A remarkable number of interviewees said that they were very touched by the hard experiences of the migrants and that they now feel more gratitude for their own lives and the relatively minor dimensions of their own troubles.

This work makes you less egoistic and more tolerant. The shattering fates of the refugees open your eyes and make you more sensitive for your own wealth and the pettiness of your own problems.¹

Many helpers feel enriched by encountering people with a different cultural background.

It is great for me to work with refugees, to learn from their culture and to see and reflect my own culture though their eyes.²

1. Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (2017). Engagement in der Flüchtlingshilfe. Ergebnisbericht einer Untersuchung des Instituts für Demoskopie Allensbach.
2. Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (2017). Engagement in der Flüchtlingshilfe. Ergebnisbericht einer Untersuchung des Instituts für Demoskopie Allensbach.