“I would describe the education I received on DONE as realistic, applicable, inspiring, hopeful, and grounded. It confronted me and at the same time brought me peace. The encouragement and push to grow and the honest portrayal of the challenges that may accompany that, really pave the way for sustained growth.
The honesty from the staff and the extent to which they truly care about each participant is so evident from beginning to end and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. DONE really provided me with a lot of support, but also with the tools to support myself and the people in my life as I move forward.
I gained a much more grounded sense of myself, spirituality, and the world. In particular, I gained a clearer image of myself and of how to continuously distinguish within myself that which is from God from that which is not. Another big thing is a much firmer understanding of growth and the awareness that I have the potential and ability to grow, which is not an awareness that I’ve always had. And I gained some of the best friends I have ever had.
Going to DONE was probably the best decision I have ever made, and I am so grateful for the things I have learned there, for it will surely make my life a better one.”
Participant from USA, DONE 019

“DONE’s approach to spiritual education is something I’ve never experienced anywhere else. Their content is powerful, honest, supported by facts, non-fanatical, confronting, meaningful, deep, and relatable.
I love this quote from our HDH booklet: “Faith does not mean seeing the world as you would like it to be; it means seeing the world exactly as it is, yet never giving up the hope that we can make it better by the way we live.” I think that the content on DONE is very similar to this. You don’t hear about fairy tales, but if you give your effort you can gain a lot of faith, strength, and hope from it. It always comes down to personal responsibility.
DONE helped me realize my relationship with spirituality and I could build a strong foundation. I felt a tremendous amount of love, support, and understanding from everyone during my year and it also contributed a lot to how I received the content.”
Participant from Hungary, DONE 019

“DONE truly has been the “down to earth” programme people have said it to be. The atmosphere the directors and lecturers create; one of welcoming challenging questions and encouraging us participants to take responsibility to challenge our own concepts and understandings has been an important part of my DONE experience.
DONE has given me the confidence to really take ownership of my spiritual life and develop that commitment to higher standards. I’ve realised that there’s always some way I can improve or grow, emphasising the need for me to be attentive to what God is trying to tell me in my everyday life. Ultimately, I am responsible for choosing to grow to be the person I have the potential to become.
Now as a DONE Graduate, I look forward to moving onto the next chapters of my life with the precious friendships and unforgettable memories I’ve made throughout the past year.”
Participant from Ireland, DONE 019

“When I talk to other people, it’s impossible not to refer to time as “life before DONE” and “life after DONE”. I think this expresses very beautifully and accurately, how big of an impact the programme had on me. Taking time, while I was young, to practice being present internally, learn about God, life and relationships gave me a huge advantage. At a defining stage of life, DONE helped me get my priorities sorted out, and have a compass that guided me on the journey of growing up. And on top of that, becoming part of the DONE family created a love-net around me that has supported and taken care of me ever since.”
Participant from Hungary, DONE 016

“DONE helped me build a life of faith that is built on thinking for myself, taking responsibility for my growth and learning to make my own healthy life choices. Since DONE, my relationship with God and others is therefore more genuine. It also helped me develop a ‘normal everyday’ spirituality, that is sustainable. It made me realise that being a good person doesn’t necessarily mean doing crazy, epic things; even in our ordinary daily life, we have the potential to be good people, by choosing to care for others and invest in goodness.” 
Participant from Belgium, DONE 014

“DONE was a wake-up call.” I wrote that in my DONE reflection back in 2016 and now, three years later, I still think that. Something I really like about the programme is that the change you experience and the progress you can make is not just a bubble that pops once you return home again. DONE provides you with a lot of tools to be a better version of yourself. And in my case, through applying those tools, it was possible for me to create a much better and more meaningful lifestyle, build a much stronger character, feel at peace, get closer to God and simply be happier. I learned to be better at taking responsibility and to be strong enough to not always take the easy route but to push beyond my limits and my comfort zone. But DONE also helped me to make me think outside of myself. I learned how to be a better friend, sister and daughter and that I can develop a much greater care and love for others once I accept and love myself for who I am. And I believe the friends I found there will last a lifetime.”
Participant from Germany, DONE 016

“One of the attitudes I gained from DONE is that whoever I am now can infinitely improve; I can be more loving, sensitive, balanced, stronger, and more in tune with myself and others. I also learned that God created me to be on this boundless journey of growth, and that this is what makes life infinitely interesting and exciting. It also makes life reassuring because no matter where I am, or the mistakes I’ve made, I don’t have to stay there and feel stuck; things can always improve and get better as long as I put in the necessary effort.”
Participant and staff from Australia, DONE 015, 016, 017, 018

“After I finished high school, I wasn’t really clear about how I want to go on or how to define my future. By doing DONE, my life of faith was really confronted. The most important lesson that I took from this time is this: in your faith you shouldn’t depend on a certain environment but be able to build your own spiritual environment wherever you are. Looking back, my struggles or challenges in life haven’t change at all, but what changed for sure is the way I look at and deal with them now.
Through DONE, I was able to reconsider how I can adopt a consistent and committed lifestyle for the values that I would like to treasure.” 
Participant from Germany, DONE 016

“My time on DONE was a formative stage of development in my spiritual life. Wanting to seek, learn and grow, I learnt how to cultivate a perspective and lifestyle that has given me clarity to this day on how to navigate the challenging and complex path of life we have ahead of us. I shared this process of growth and learning with fellow BCs who I have become very close with and I’m grateful to have been a part of it all.”
Participant from New Zealand, DONE 015