Portrait of the month: Loredana, social worker in our street outreach program “Prânzul de Noapte” (January 2019)

How did you discover Emmaüs?

Honestly, I haven’t known the Emmaüs Foundation for a long time. I used to walk by the store and the community, but I never asked myself what was happening there. I discovered Emmaüs on the day i found the job offer for a social worker position. I found out the story and the goals of the association on Internet.

What is your role at Emmaüs ? What’s your daily program?

I was hired as a social worker for the maraude program. I help people who live in the streets of Iași. Every day I go on the streets to give them a hot meal and the clothes they need to go through winter.

What are the usual steps to prepare a maraude?

In the morning, we buy the food, some days I also prepare some clothes for the people we assist. In the afternoon, we make sandwiches, tea, cook some eggs and the soup.

Do you see any differences between what you learned at the University and what you do during your work?

The difference is that I didn’t study a lot the situation of homeless people. I understood that the Romanian’s social care policies don’t really care about them.

What do you think about your work? And about the Emmaüs’s foundation in general terms?

I’m really happy with what i’m doing. Sincerely, it was hard at the beginning, but I consider that I get used to it really fast and now I know what the people in street need. Beside the fact that food is the most important need, they also need someone to talk with. A lot of them tell me about what happened, and what is happening now in their lives. Emmaüs did a wonderful job for those people. At Iași, they’re so few associations that do the same.

If you could, what would you change in your work?

If i could change something… I need more volunteers to help me. It shall be more external volunteers who can understand the needs of these peoples.

Thanks you Loredana, we wish you a good continuation with the maraudes!