On April 7, we helped Stichting Present Den Haag cleaning up the house of an expectant mother. Stichting Present is a foundation that organizes activities for groups, general activities that take place only once, and are therefore easier to plan and execute. Activities are reported to the Foundation via social work, after which it is checked whether a group is available to do the work.

This was also the case for us on April 7. The work consisted of helping an expectant mother with cleaning up the house and the basement. Due to circumstances, she could not do this herself. Upon entering we split into two groups; the first group helped with cleaning and sorting in the house, the second group went to work in the basement to get this organized. In this work, things were sorted according to whether it should be stored, donated or be thrown away. At the end of the day, the result was a cleaner house and storage. With a good feeling, we could enjoy the rest of the day and the nice weather.

Due to privacy of the person we helped, there are no pictures available.

The cleaning of stables belongs to Rotaract The Hague – Scheveningen’s annual recurring activities. Therefore, also this year we went to the Woelige Staal on September 30 to work as Jack of all trades. After a quickly touring the grounds and a cup of coffee, the stables were first cleaned, after which new hay could be laid on the ground. Then it was time for lunch.

The next task was to (re)place a fence. The Woelige Staal has received a piece of land from the municipality. Placing the fence asked for quite some of excavation work, but the first part has been done.

When this was finished as far as possible on that day, we could go home satisfied. Now we have to wait for next year! 

One of the goals of Rotaract Den Haag – Scheveningen is also to work on personal development. To this end, we invite guest speakers, members tell about their life and work, or we do a training. On February 21st, it was the task of member Mike to give an (abridged) LEAN training.

The first part consisted of a presentation explaining that in every process waste is produced, visible or invisible, intentional or unintentional. The point of LEAN is to recognize this waste and then to optimize the process in order to reduce the amount of waste. This may for example involve adjusting the routine or the way and order work is performed. This is applicable from your morning routine to the most complex processes.

After the presentation it was time for a short workshop. The participants were divided into two groups and had to build LEGO pyramids, in three different ways. All this to see what way of working resulted in the highest yield. After some practice, all was finally going well and high (fictional) yields were achieved. The lesson of this evening was that waste is formed with everything we do. The goal is to acknowledge and recognize this so you can work towards an optimal process, so that your time can be spent even more efficient.