Friday 8 th august

Sorting and loading..

This friday started with a poring rain. Biking 2 kilometers for work wasn´t possible, so we got picked with cars. Outdoor planned work for the day had to be canselled and we all worked indoors sorting and bailing.

Responibel for the kitchen were Agata and Jan. They served a delicious gulachsoup for lunch.

People in this island seems to be willing to give away lots of things. 27 000 inhabitants in the hole island and almost 50% living in Mariehamn comes in an endless line to fill in our layer.

Todys work is mostly sorting and bailing. Nico, weights all the bags before sorting books, electricity and textiles.

My work is sorting cloths in boxes; male, women, children, textiles, toys and for the shop only the very best quality.

I find a lot of boxes about 80 centimetres long and with a lid. In Finland and Åland the government gives every newborn child this box with diapers and babycloths for the first month.

It is even possible to use it as a bed for the baby.

Most of the things are being bailed to be sent to Poland and other projekt Emmaus Åland works with. Evelina is here bailing the small bailes and Steve is making the big ones together with René.

This afternoon we went to visit two other projekts;

The building material projekt and the Katapult.

The building material projekt is a projekt for longterm, unemployd people.

They are taking care of and selling recycled building matierial given from people or from houses that should be torn down.

Katapult is a projekt for young people without

work and fed up with school. They are working

with furnichers selling, repairing, remaking ( see the photo) etc.

Marcus, their teamleader is having lesson about selfconfidence, studies etc. Last year 80% went back to school. Thats good results I´d think.

I the evening we were invited to Birger and Margareta for dinner and sauna in their very special house close to the sea. The rain had finelly stoped

and the sun came through. After a lovely meal we went out with the canoes before having sauna and pancakes.

Gerd Holmer