Commitment that connects

Creating prospects, connecting people, cooking together – that is the idea behind World Kitchen, a help alliance project in Frankfurt. Sonja, a Lufthansa Airlines purser, volunteers here as a project manager and helps to bring people with and without experience of refugee or migration together.

I love the mix of cooking, socializing and cultural exchange. It’s inspiring to see how people from different backgrounds come together through cooking. It fulfills me to be part of a project that not only puts good food on plates, but also creates real opportunities and prospects for people who want to gain a foothold in the catering industry. During our events, you see happy and exuberantly celebrating faces. This feeling stays with you for a long time.

The team spirit! We work together to achieve important goals and make a contribution to social change. It’s beautiful to be part of something meaningful. I find it enriching to work with people who are passionate about making the world a better place – and in very different ways, as the portfolio of great projects shows. The collaboration is uncomplicated, open and characterized by mutual understanding – even when there are hurdles in the project.

I have learned to look and listen even more closely. I also have blind spots – issues such as discrimination and privilege affect us all. Although my job as a purser brings me into contact with people from different cultures every day and I see myself as an open, reflective person, I also have unconscious prejudices. Through honest interaction in the project, through listening, asking questions and the desire to really understand, I am constantly learning. These personal learnings change me. They make me realize how important it is to create spaces for genuine encounters and to seek dialogue – even when it becomes uncomfortable. This is exactly what inspires me: to pass on this knowledge and encourage others to look, listen and enter into conversation with an open heart.

Very well, thanks to the flexibility. There is no pressure or compulsion: if I have time to be there, everyone is happy and if it doesn’t work out, that’s just as okay. This uncomplicated and understanding attitude makes the commitment so pleasant for me. It’s easy to integrate into my irregular work schedule.

I hope that we can reach, inspire and sustainably support even more people with help alliance and the growing network of volunteers worldwide in the coming years. It would be great if we manage to become even more visible – both within our company and beyond – and inspire many colleagues to get actively involved. I hope that we can launch new projects together, learn from each other, network globally and set a strong example of solidarity, diversity and social responsibility.