The Start with a Friend (SwaF) association has set itself the goal of helping to create an inclusive society in which all people have equal rights and social participation - regardless of their origin. That immigration is understood as an opportunity and diversity, and that this creates new impulses for social coexistence and successful integration in education and work, which brings economic benefits.

Why me?

I am white, privileged, my son is grown up, I wanted to spend my time meaningfully and give back to society. To be honest, I had reservations and wanted to overcome them. At first, I volunteered at the food bank for refugees from Ukraine.

Why now?

I am convinced that the geopolitical situation will cause many more refugees to come to our country because they have to leave their country due to war or a lack of food. Even if we close our eyes to it, it will happen.

How did I get involved with SwaF?

After I joined Erste Digital in September 2022, I received an email from Time Bank a short time later. You could also donate something other than money. This made me curious and after a short research I signed up for SwaF on the volunteer platform.

What do I do at SwaF?

I take care of the blog and help to give people a platform. People from the refugee community and from the team. I write the stories that people tell me about their lives, their flight, friendships, culture and religion.
This should also help to make the association better known, attract new sponsors to the association or encourage companies to organise CSR events with the SwaF association.

Every single encounter is a gift. There are negative stories in the (social) media about refugees. I have only experienced beautiful moments so far. SwaF is not about the poor refugees, but about making friends. It's about having a good time together and talking to each other instead of about each other. We organise sporting events, go hiking together, cook together and party together - at eye level! The 5th anniversary celebration took place just last weekend. It was a celebration of friendship and peace, despite the fact that the geopolitical situation in the Middle East was of course very much in the spotlight, we danced and celebrated together.
 

Author: Elisabeth Petracs