Trampoline House is welcoming everyone, and children are most welcome. Child care is offered in the house for all the parents coming in the house with children.
Arqam, 21, has been doing an internship as Trampoline House's Child Care Coordinator during the spring of 2018. Photo: Eden Girma
By Eden Girma, volunteer and parent in Trampoline House
The house is open four times a week: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday for women's club. Child care is available all those days. Playing outside, going to a museum, picnic or playing ball.
The child carers guide the children to do activities while their parents are working, learning languages, attends counseling, going to the doctor or just relaxing with a cup of coffee or tea.
The parents and the child carers have a good, trustful relation, and they can share the children’s difficulties to solve them together.
The child care coordinator's name is Arqam, he is 21 years old. During the spring of 2018, he has been doing an internship as Child Care Coordinator in Trampoline House.
I was interviewing him about his job experience before and now in Trampoline House. My question is: What was your work before you came to Trampoline House?
Arqam says: “I had a child care experience during my work at an after school club in the UK. I was doing activities with children when they came back from school. The ages from 5 up to 16. All of them were citizens in the UK.”
Did you know about Trampoline House before you applied for voluntary work?
“I actually didn't know about Trampoline House, when I searched for the internship, I just saw it and asked to work with IT or child care. So I got accepted to be the Child Care Coordinator.”
He continues: “I'm very happy to be here. Because the kids here are so sweet. I learned a lot about asylum seekers and refugees. How life is different between us. But we are all in Denmark. The kids with citizenship got all that is needed, but not children who are growing up in the camps. I'm just sorry they don't have the same rights as Danish citizens. Also, they don't have the same opportunity, freedom, house, food, generally normal life,” Arqam answers with emotion.
Arqam did not know about kids’ lives in the camps before he started his internship in Trampoline House. He also didn’t know about the families’ struggle to raise their children in the camps, or how different refugee life is compared with the lives of citizens. “So Trampoline House also gives an education about life in the camp.” Arqam says that in Trampoline House, we all have a good friendly community, and that we learn about each other.
One thing for him as a child carer is that he wishes for all kids to have a right to be treated equally. He also says every child is needed. The Government must think and change the system, no matter if their parents do not get a residence permit.
Arqam says “I love kids. My experience helps me more to work with the kids coming from asylum camps. I hope the system will be changed and all kids get a better education and a good life, and that all asylum children should be able to go to ordinary school.”∎
Join our child care team
You can also become part of Trampoline House's child care team or other volunteer teams that we have – click here to read more about volunteering in Trampoline House.
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