Rachael found her niche in care: 'Now I can go on by myself'

Rachael Pound had many years of worry and a nine-year gap on her CV. Now she works as a care assistant at Pieter van Foreest’s Stefanna nursing home and is taking a training course. She has big dreams for the future. “Eventually I want to become a nurse, I hope at this location.”

Rachael spent nearly ten years caring full-time for her two children. Her son has a severe form of autism, and communication with him is very difficult. Her daughter attends a special education school, and as a single mother, Rachael was primarily focused on coordinating the right schools and care for both of them.
“It was incredibly hard work, and the caregiving continued 24 hours a day. On top of that, I was dealing with a violent ex, and there were many social workers involved. I simply didn’t have the time or space to work.”

Space to discover who I was myself
In early 2024, Rachael moved from The Hague back to her native Delft. “I found good childcare for my son and finally got space again to discover who I was myself again.” When Rachael moved to Delft, she came into contact with Werkse! She was immediately enthusiastic: “I wanted to do all kinds of things, but my consultant Marissa really put the brakes on. According to her, I had to start quietly. I did that by volunteering at Neighbourhood House de Wending.”

Working in care through Zorghub
At the same time, together with Werkse! she investigated where her interests lay. “It’s so weird, but when you’ve been working so intensively with other people for years, you don’t really remember who you are yourself at all.” She soon discovered that caring was her passion. “I applied to the Care Hub, an organisation for people who want to work in care but don’t know how. I really didn’t have the guts to apply somewhere myself with a nine-year gap on my CV. Now I am employed by the Care Hub and seconded to Pieter Foreest. By now I’ve been able to prove myself there and they know what they can get out of me, but I doubt they would have hired me without the support of the Zorghub.”

More than just care
The thing she enjoys most about her job is the contact with people. “I am now starting to build a good relationship with the residents of the nursing home. We learn from each other every day.” She also agrees with the home’s vision. “They are making a switch so that caregivers not only do the bare necessities, but also have time to have a cup of coffee with residents and have a chat with them. That way, you can really be there for people and I think that’s a nice concept. I’d like to participate in that.”

Mum, how was your day?
Rachael finds it difficult to describe what her job does to her. “It does me so much good to belong somewhere again, to run along with the world and to be able to talk about something other than the upbringing of my children. It is also very good for my son to go to a daycare. He is finally no longer an outsider and also feels normal among all the other children with autism. He gets special communication lessons with icons, which I could never give him myself and he runs to the van that picks him up every day. My daughter is also doing well. In the evening at dinner we talk about her day at school and then she asks me: ‘Mom, how was your day at work.’ I can now be a good example for her.”

More opportunities
To other people in her situation, she wants to say, “Don’t give up and don’t let anything stop you. You can go very far. A lot is negotiable at Werkse! and there are possibilities you haven’t thought of at all. For example, I now have very flexible hours, so I can take my children to school and pick them up on time. Sometimes you just can’t manage to go back to work on your own. I was completely stuck and really needed Werkse! Now I can continue to do it myself and I wish that to everyone in a similar situation.”