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VOICES November 2025
Hello and welcome to the November edition of VOICES, This month, we sadly say goodbye to two long-term volunteers at VCS.I’m Cassandre, also a long-termer, and watching volunteers leave is always bittersweet, especially Terry and Chloe, the last ones from when I first arrived.In this editorial, they share their final thoughts and reflections, offering us…
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Why you shouldn’t buy an electric car
Rising pollution, dwindling fossil fuels, and higher vehicle costs. When you look at it from this perspective, electric cars seem like a logical choice but if we examine it deeply, we see that it is not actually like that. Cost of electricity Although electricity is often perceived as a clean and sustainable source of energy,…
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This body is a spacious house
There is room for joy –sometimes a living room, spiraled and alive with houseplants,sometimes a garden with an empty bench. There is room for grief –sometimes in a basement,sometimes on a chair by the window. There is room for anger –sometimes in a closet under the stairs,sometimes at a kitchen table. There is room for…
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When The Spark Leaves You
For the first time in months, something that I kind of dreaded before coming here finally happened. That is not having the motivation to write an article. It’s not so much that I don’t have ideas of what I can write about, as I have a list with a few ideas that I collected over…
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Not too late
The last wavesHave fled the shoreInto a thousand dropletsDissolved, crumbledAgainst neighboring coasts They aren’t goneThey aren’t driedDensed in namelessSaltsBitter or tasteless They existThey gulpThey slitherBeneath newborn raysIn shifting lights They reflectAnother shard of sunScorchinglyThe very same sun…Perhaps it’s not too late Jona Cenameri
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Reclaiming home
When my mom told me she was filing the documents to become a German citizen, my first thought was “Finally!”. For a second, I felt the triumphant sensation that inevitably follows winning a long-running argument. But although I had been trying for years to convince my mom of assuming German citizenship, it soon occurred to…
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A Path Toward Freedom of Thought
Some things in life move us so deeply that they change the way we see the world. They shake our perspective, make us pause, and invite us to breathe differently. For me, that moment came with a book: “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. This book is not just a piece of writing. It…
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From the sound system to global stages
How do you create the rap genre? You first have to create the hip-hop movement. And how do you create the Hip-Hop movement? Poverty, drugs, and the Afro-Caribbean community. Now you have Hip-Hop. End of the article, see you in the next VOICES edition. I’m joking. Let’s be more serious. It was the desire to…
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Women’s challenges portrayed on stage
Throughout history, women were often silenced. Yet the stage gave them a way to speak, to protest, and to resist. The theatre stage is more than entertainment. It shows hidden problems, social pressures, and unspoken dreams. Particularly for women, it became a place of rebellion. When they could not join public debates, they found their…
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Discovering and embracing the spirit of the community
Volunteering in Olde Vechte for two months was similar to immersing oneself in a vibrant mosaic of culture and community. Each day brings new experiences, allowing me to connect deeply with the locals and contribute meaningfully to various projects. The time I spent there will stay with me for the rest of my life, as…
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Brajchino: Where Silence Speaks of the Future
Ten days, four countries, one shared idea – young people becoming ambassadors of the rural spirit. The “Rural Youth Ambassadors” project took us to Brajchino, a village that at first glance seems frozen in time, yet quietly holds answers for the future. Brajchino welcomed us with stone paths and houses carrying the weight of generations.…
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