Hi, my name is Tamara Bos and I work at Rehoboth Christian Ministries in Coaldale. I have been there for six years now. The reason why is simple; I love working at a place where people have disabilities as well as because I have a disability myself. My eyesight causes me to need a bit of extra help and support in life. Working for Rehoboth gives me an opportunity to use the gifts I have been given to help others in their day-to-day life! Being aware of a disability that you have is not easy to deal with, as it could come with feelings of embarrassment at times. Sometimes I think “why me? Why could I not be just as independent as others, it would just make my life a lot easier!”
Let me tell you my little flourishing journey at Rehoboth!
The past five years, I have been working in the Coaldale office as an office assistant. I absolutely love working in the office and have become proficient in many office tasks. My office schedule and routine were regularly set and then Covid put a wrench in everything! With Covid there was not enough work for me to do in the office, so I was asked to help with more necessary Covid tasks. During the Covid lockdown there were no clients and only a few staff in the office and vocational program which was very challenging for me as I thrive on human interactions.
Even though times got tough, I kept going and remained positive with the help of my Rehoboth support staff. I reminded myself that some people are losing their jobs and businesses were being shut down. It taught me to be thankful that I still have a job and that I could still go to work every day. I was given the opportunity to work in the greenhouse during the busy season, helping the customers look for plants and helping customers bring the plants to the till and their car. I was getting lots of human interaction again! Especially with customers telling us that we did an amazing job and that we were all so kind and patint; it totally boosted up my self-esteem and made me work even harder!
As the days went by, I was still missing the staff and the clients. My support staff gave me some strategies to help cope with missing others. I wrote down all the great memories that I had with others at Rehoboth to share those memories with them until they got back.
Hurrah, the day finally arrived, and some clients and staff came back to work. Although they are not all back, I am so incredibly happy and blessed for what I do have! Covid has given me more opportunities that I wanted like working with individuals directly. I don’t think I would have received any of these new opportunities to learn or be more independent with the individuals had COVID not changed everything. This is the reason why I love Rehoboth, love my job so much: the friendships that I have made, the new learning opportunities I experience and the lessons learned that apply to my day-to-day life!
What I love about Rehoboth
Our Stories
