Try this simple test:

• Lisa is 14 and pregnant. Should she agree to have an abortion?

• Lee is 26 and HIV-positive. Should he tell his family?

• Lily is 43. Her husband has a girl friend in China. Should she leave him?

• Maria is 68, and in constant pain from cancer. Would it be right for him to take an overdose?

If you answered yes to these questions, then Befriending is probably not for you.
If you answered no .... then Befriending is still probably not for you.

But if you weren't sure, if you can listen to people tell their stories without making judgements, please do contact us. We desperately need people like you. You can call us at 04-2815161/2811108 or email us at pat@befpen.org

What we are looking for are people who are over 21 years of age, warm, caring and sensitive to the needs of others and are able to listen and communicate in a non-directive and non-judgmental manner.

Volunteers must be committed to perform the following:

• a 3-hour weekly duty and a monthly weekend duty
• assist with the various needs of the organisation
• attend regular on-going training sessions

All Befrienders give their service voluntarily. They do not receive any payment.

Befrienders volunteers come from every walk of life. They are professionals, students, the self-employed, and retired people. The only things they have in common are their ability to put the caller first and to give them unconditional time and space to explore their emotions. Formal qualifications and previous experience are not requirements for being a good listener. What is needed is the ability to really listen to others, to refrain from giving advice, to leave your own religious or political opinions at the door and to abide by the Befrienders Principles and Practices.

Volunteer Selection is vital because they ensure the best possible service for our callers. Befrienders are not professional counsellors but they are trained volunteers, not just well intentioned amateurs.

Our training is a learning process during which people work together to share and develop the sum of their knowledge, skills and experience. At the end of the course, you may still be tentative about your first duty, but you will be fully prepared. Preparation is about fine-tuning your listening skills and giving you the knowledge and confidence to support callers in crisis. You will gain experience of the types of calls that you may receive through skills practice, exercises and group discussions. You will learn how to respond to callers using Befrienders principles and practices.

In the process you will gain knowledge about yourself. You may begin to question your own assumptions. You will then be ready to listen in a non-judgmental way. You will learn to leave your own opinions and beliefs at the door of the Centre, and on finishing your duties, you learn to leave the callers and their problems in the centre for the next Befriender to deal with.

Currently, our training courses take place at least twice a year. Dates are to be confirmed. Please check out this site for further details or give us a call to check. Keep reading the newspapers too to see if we have any available trainings as we do sometimes announce it through the papers.

If you are interested in becoming a Befrienders volunteer please call us at 04-2815161/2811108 or email us at pat@befpen.org.