At Stovner Senter there is a shop called Stovnerhagen. It is run by voluntary work – voluntary efforts by young people in the area.
The project behind the store is called Lif Laga, and arose from an idea from youth worker and local zealot Åsmund Gylder.
LIFE OR LIF LAGA: Volunteering offers many benefits. Now the Conservative Party and leader Erna Solberg want the information about these benefits to be strengthened. Photo: Per Haugen / TV 2
He is employed as a youth liaison and spends much of his time helping the young people organize the project. Today, it is an arena where the young people in the district experience both responsibility, mastery and learning.
– This means that we get a more successful integration and inclusion in society, than if the public took care of it, says Høyre leader Erna Solberg.
Participates little
Lif Laga receives support from Oslo municipality and collaborates with local teams, schools and businesses. In the autumn, as many as 500 young people participate in collecting and harvesting apples, they have their own juice press that makes apple cider and they sell the products in the shop at Stovner Senter.
A survey conducted by Frivillighet Norge shows that only 17 per cent of immigrants participate in voluntary work. While half of native Norwegians do the same. The proportion of immigrants who have volunteered is markedly lower than the proportion of Norwegian-born volunteers.
The Conservative Party believes it is important to do something about this. And here Lif Laga is a very important example of what volunteering contributes to, say Høyre and Erna Solberg.
Now the Conservative Party wants volunteering to be included more strongly in all introductory courses for immigrants.
– This means that when you attend an introductory course, you must learn about Norwegian volunteering. If you want to be part of Norwegian society, this is the way to make friends. And then we should expect new Norwegians to use the opportunities to participate in voluntary work through the children’s activities. Volunteering is an extremely important arena for integration, says Solberg.
Important experience
The young people at Lif Laga in Stovner are good examples of this working. By participating in all the activities around collecting, pressing and selling apples, they experience both self-confidence and a sense of mastery.
– I started by selling applesauce here, and now I participate in many more of Lif Laga’s projects, says Sahil Ali (16).
He has learned a lot from the voluntary work, which has also provided him with important experience.
The young people whom the Conservative Party leader meets at Stovner Senter eagerly talk about all the benefits, friendships and lessons they have gained from the voluntary work. It contributes to both inclusion and belonging.
GOOD FOR THE CV: Haudang Ali from Stovner is happy about the opportunity to volunteer at Stovner. Photo: Per Haugen / TV 2
– Working as a volunteer is important for your CV. This is excellent experience and a brilliant opportunity for us, says Haudang Ali (17), who made good contact with many people when he helped pick apples from many villa gardens in Oslo and Bærum.
– Then we got to know many people whom we would hardly have met and talked to if we had not participated in this voluntary work. Then we met many, especially older people, who welcomed us. They were all very nice, says Haudang.
Will be proud
Several of the young people have obtained permanent jobs through the experience they have gained through this voluntary work at Stovner.
One of them is Aysu Acar (20), who has been involved for four years and has seen and learned an enormous amount. Also about how many of the young people have flourished by being given responsibility and showing mastery, she says.
PROUD: Aysu Acar (20) has been a volunteer for many years at Lif Laga in Stovner in Oslo. Photo: Per Haugen / TV 2
– I feel very proud when what we have been part of becomes so big, when others come and want to be part of it, she says.
Lif Laga sells apple cider with special labels from 12 different artists. To achieve this, they have had a lot of work to contact and relate to both the artists and the art they have contributed. Something that has given Aysu both a lot of knowledge and experience.
– In the beginning, we were the ones who contacted the artists. But in the last year we have experienced that they contact us to get involved in the apple juice project. It’s incredibly funny when we experience that the work we do creates so many ripple effects, she says to TV 2.
