Social Day of SUMIDA flexible connections GmbH
On Friday, 12 May 2023, we did our bit for people in the region. In two groups, we used the day to swap our regular work to support people who are dependent on help from others.
One group was at the Tafel in Radeberg and checked food, sorted it, portioned it, put it in the display and then helped with the distribution. The food bank in Radeberg has 14 volunteer members and says it is the only food bank in Germany that also serves food on Saturdays. People with very low incomes come to the Tafel to provide themselves and their relatives living in the household with food for their daily needs. To do so, they have to disclose their financial means and apply for an authorisation to shop on site. At the Tafel, there is fruit and vegetables, bread and rolls, dairy products and eggs. Sausage and fish are available only rarely and in small quantities. It was particularly impressive that the first pick-up people were already there before 8 am to wait for the distribution starting at 1 pm. On this Friday, about 60 people were there for collection. Fortunately, we were able to fill all the bags abundantly and see people off into the weekend with a smile. Many thanks again to Diana Lehmann, Holger Viehof, Jörg Gottschlich and Franziska Schäfer.
The second group was involved in the Kleinwachau Epilepsy Centre. With about 600 employees and over 100 years of history, the main goal of this facility is to reintegrate residents into daily life. Here, there is a new nursing station with day care, where the residents organise their own lives as much as possible. This includes, for example, participation in the Paralympics. Another part of the facility is the nursing home with particularly severe cases. These residents need intensive care and can no longer move, care for or feed themselves on their own. On this day, we planted flowers in the residents' garden together with the residents of the different wards, served food, accompanied the daily routine and gave the nursing staff small handouts. Particularly impressive was the size of the facility, the good staffing, but also the amount of work that is necessary to care for the residents. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Sylvia Marx, Eva Fischer, Petra Berndt, Jan Körbitz, Oliver Triebe, Roy Kremtz and Sabine Pelz for their commitment.
