The European Solidarity Corps is a whole different world. It is a world of volunteering, learning, and travelling. This world is located in people’s heart, and it can be traced in their vocabularies.
Many words can be confusing to a newcomer, thus we took the initiative in our hands to guide you though some of the most important definitions of the ESC volunteering experience.
We aim to explain to you the main concepts, however besides that we would like to show you how much joy and fun volunteering can bring into your life.
This booklet was prepared by Anna Ungradyova during her ESC with Associazione Eufemia.
I am a short-term volunteer, and it is as intense in terms of emotions and changes as being a long-term one.
I am French, and I came to do my internship at the end of the year as a volunteer in the framework of the European Solidarity Corps. It appeared to be the best choice. In a month, my life and my vision of the world changed. I met so many new people and participated in lots of events.
Before coming here, I had a fear: the language barrier. The first days of my stay here were challenging. As I discovered, the main problem was not the language level, but simply a lack of confidence. Then one day my flatmates told me to open up and feel free to speak. So, I listened to their advice, and I became more confident. Practicing is the most important element if you want to improve your spoken English. So I was practicing, making mistakes and each time I was ready to start over, again and again. Indeed, I still can make mistakes, but I am improving, and I am gaining confidence. In addition, my ability to overcome this problem with a smile is a part of my personality.
Here in Turin, I can make myself understood by strangers, make people laugh, and gather people around the table. The opportunity to volunteer allows you to become who you want to be and to become a better person. Each event meets the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals and what I’m passionate about. I feel useful. There is nothing better than concrete examples to illustrate what I am talking about. I was often involved in the Cooking Lab, where we were using fruits and vegetables picked up from the market to cook truly decision dishes. Otherwise, it all would be thrown away. This cooking lab allowed people to reintegrate socially, eat and spend some quality time together. Every participant in the Cooking Lab has a very complicated story, but everyone was so adorable and so human. They didn’t speak French, but all tried to learn words to communicate with me or to make jokes. It was a great lesson for me, no matter where I am, I will not forget my origins and my values. They are an example to me. What I’m going to miss are the smiles of those families and the outpouring of generosity that takes place during the market every week.
My experience started months ago and it will end in three weeks. I’ve never been happier than here. Every day I help people, and every day I feel useful. I make wonderful encounters and they have probably become a second family for me, a family of the heart. I learned a new language, I learned how to build a better future, and I finally learned to become a better version of myself.
https://eufemia.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/IMG-20220703-WA0003.jpg20481536Ritahttps://eufemia.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/new_concept_logo.pngRita2022-08-21 10:22:472023-01-23 13:50:18The story of Pauline – 2 months in Torino
😉 Tutti i costi sono coperti dal programma degli European Solidarity Corps: è un’esperienza accessibile a tutt*!
https://eufemia.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Volontari_Ceci-Intestazione-e-mail.png200600Ceciliahttps://eufemia.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/new_concept_logo.pngCecilia2022-03-14 17:11:182022-11-28 12:21:41Volontariato ESC 1 mese in Francia
Dal 1 Dicembre è ripartita l’iniziativa #GuardaOltre: la distribuzione on the road di 250 pasti caldi alla settimana alle persone senza dimora (lunedì, martedì e giovedì), del pranzo della domenica a 10 persone anziane e di un pacco spesa settimanale a 15 famiglie in difficoltà.
Oltre al coinvolgimento di Associazione Eufemia, l’iniziativa è promossa da:
● Il Gusto del Mondo: una start up, recentemente costituita come Srl Impresa sociale, che offre servizi di catering includendo nella propria brigata giovani migranti, NEET, diversamente abili e persone transgender, offrendo loro una possibilità di riscatto sociale;
● Cucine Confuse: un gruppo informale di donne italiane e migranti accomunate dalla passione per il cibo, che ha da poco aperto la gastronomia che ospita l’iniziativa.
Le tre realtà, diverse e interconnesse, credono nel cibo come diritto di ogni persona oltreché come elemento di condivisione ed inclusione sociale. In quanto bisogno primario, dunque, il diritto al cibo deve essere soddisfatto da adeguate politiche sociali del territorio. Quando questo non succede è la solidarietà tra persone e le reti territoriali a dover reagire.
E’ il momento di ripartire con generosità!
Se vuoi contribuire, dona ora a mezzo bonifico di cui coordinate:
IBAN IT 28 P 05018 01000 000016997025
Intestato a Il Gusto del Mondo Srl Impresa sociale
Indicando nella causale “donazione per GuardaOltre 2.0”
Il Gusto del Mondo, Associazione Eufemia, Cucine Confuse.
00Comunicazione Eufemiahttps://eufemia.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/new_concept_logo.pngComunicazione Eufemia2020-04-15 19:32:312021-09-20 11:50:14Volontariato in Francia – 1 mese
“If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.” – Lemony Snicket
This quote describes quiet perfect how I felt about making the next step in my life and deciding to volunteer in Italy.
I want to tell you my story and therefore I need to start from the beginning: After living in different countries and feeling the freedom of life I went back into my old job, but very quickly I realised that this wasn’t my life any more. I was back in my “home country” and I felt trapped, trapped in my own daily life. Please don’t get me wrong, I love the country I was born in and I feel very privileged to be one of its citizen for a lot of reasons but I just wasn’t happy neither ready to be back yet…
…once you go back to your “home country”, going to another country feels like learning a foreign language that no one around you speaks, so there is no way to communicate to them how you actually feel and why you wanna leave your “home country” again after just being away for so long. All you want to do is leave, find a new project in your life, get to know a new culture, a new language and new people. For me it’s like a drug you are taking for a while but then you get used to it and you need to change to be able to feel alive again. So I was leaving again to find people who speak the same language as me. Not English or Spanish or Italian or German, but a language where others know what it is like to leave, change, grow, experience, learn, then go “home” again and feel more lost in your “home town” then you did in the foreign place you have visited or lived in.
So, I had a good job and a beautiful home, but I was bored, maybe even afraid that I will end up doing the same for the rest of my life. So, I left, yes maybe I was even running to find a place that would make me happier because it didn’t even took me a month to realise that I need to leave again. Did I find that place? For sure! Do I wanna stay forever? NO! Why not? Because I am a runner. I need to run and try new things before the daily hits me. It is not that I don’t appreciate this way of living but I always feel that there is more to explore before it is too late.
ABOUT MY TIME AND EXPERIENCES IN ITALY…
The last 11 months were one of the greatest experiences in my life. I got to meet and work with all these beautiful people from totally different cultures, I got to spend all this time in a country that is so rich on culture and history that you actually can’t get bored discovering it.
Living abroad in another culture than your own, always comes with challenges. Nothing and no one is perfect, so things happen you didn’t see coming and you don’t know how to handle them best. It’s about finding solutions and becoming more and more autonomous in your own life. Some things you have to face on your own and with my experiences I can say it makes you stronger, more independent and you start appreciating even more, everything you have. You grow as a person and your mind changes. You get a new perspective on life and also of yourself. You find out what is good and what is not good for you. You learn to speak up and step up for the things that matter the most to you and yes, even if you hurt or disappoint some others with some things, it is okay, because we are all humans and it is not about becoming all the same rather than staying true to yourself. It is about being different and learning how to live together and using these differences to make this world a better and not a worse place. I believe that we will never really find out why we got the gift to be on this earth but travelling, volunteering, meeting other people and cultures, anywhere in this world, makes me feel like I found a great purpose in my personal life.
Since I moved to Italy to start my SVE I have had mostly positive but also mixed feelings. I can’t really say that I had a cultural shock because I have been visiting Italy a lot of times before and every time I fell in love with this beautiful country. But also I discovered quickly that nothing is perfect and every country has its difficulties and some people would rather like to live in my country to be „safe“ when it comes to having good living conditions. But let me tell you that it is not about the money on your bank account at the end of the month. I am way more happy supporting this project and living with less than I ever had in Germany.
Our projects are so different of what I have been doing before and some of them challenge me a lot but also I would not want to have it any other way.
After being to Rome for the OAT and MTE I am even more appreciating the place I have found to support during my SVE and I see how lucky I got to have ended up surrounded by people who care so much about you from day one, without even really knowing you yet.
Of course you need to be able to afford this kind of work. Let me tell you, you will not be able to save a lot of money doing volunteering work but you will gain something way more important than that. Experiences, personal growth and most importantly you will learn to give and receive LOVE by simply giving your time.
Some things in Italy are of course different to my “home country” but that does not mean they are worse. Actually I even started to like them and got used to them. I can’t remember the last time I have been somewhere on time, I wasn’t even on time to pick up and welcome my Mom, when she came for a visit from Germany.
Riding the bike through the city blesses you with beautiful moments like this
I am not questioning myself any longer why people risk there life and cross the street even if it is red, I think I almost died 4 times already doing the same while riding the bike. Speaking of riding the bike it is one of the best parts about living in Torino. The city is perfect to get around by bike and I feel the most free and relaxed when I have the opportunity to do so, which is almost every day.
I was able to have friends visiting me from Germany. I found a great friend in my flatmate. I was dancing on the street and much more….
Now I have only one month left in Italy and thinking about leaving this place already hurts a lot. Because the people I have met here made this place a home, for all of us, and leaving home always hurts. I have left so many places I actually thought it would get easier by the time but I am starting to think it never will, especially Torino is making it very hard to go. I will have to leave and I will feel lost again. This is the hardest thing of living abroad but it is also the very reason why we all run away!
So go! Leave! Live abroad! Run! Take new chances and live your life the way you want it! This is what I have done the last years and I am just getting started!!!
Thank you Eufemia! For letting us be who we are. For helping us grow and explore ourselves, this beautiful project and city.
Y’ALL MAKE THIS PLACE SO BEAUTIFUL!
00Comunicazione Eufemiahttps://eufemia.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/new_concept_logo.pngComunicazione Eufemia2020-03-02 16:38:502021-09-20 11:50:49Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful. – My SVE in Italy
Hai mai pensato di prenderti un anno di pausa per conoscere giovani da tutta Europa, lavorare in progetti sociali con bambini e anziani e sperimentarti nell’ambito dell’agricoltura?
Grazie a questo ESC, potrai!
12 mesi ad AMARANTE, Portogallo
Cominciamo da qui: capisci un po’ che aria tira guardando questo breve video:
Bene, ora che la tua curiosità è cresciuta, ecco qui un riassunto del progetto ⤵️
⌛️ Quando: 12 mesi a partire dal 7 Gennaio 2020
📍 Dove: Amarante, una deliziosa cittadina portoghese fra il fiume Douro e le montagne
🌱 Attività principali:
– Attività educative nelle scuole e in contesti informali per bambini, disabili e anziani
– Supporto nei progetti della comunità locale, negli eventi organizzati dal comune e da altre associazioni
– Partecipazione e organizzazione di eventi culturali e sociali
– Partecipazione e progettazione di progetti legati all’ambito dell’Unione Europea
– Supporto ai coltivatori locali
👀 Obiettivi principali:
– Stimolare sempre di più la partecipazione dei giovani nella comunità locale per un arricchimento reciproco
– Promuovere gli obiettivi di sviluppo sostenibile e la mobilità internazionale
– Promuovere stili di vita sani e sostenibili
👉🏼 Deadline: 15 Dicembre 2019
⛳️ Come candidarsi: invia la tua candidatura a evs@eufemia.euallegando un CV e una lettera motivazionale in lingua inglese.
L’estate avanza e le opportunità di volontariato europeo si moltiplicano come funghi… Oggi vi proponiamo un progetto nell’incantevole Cracovia, famosa città della Polonia meridionale, per un volontariato di circa 10 mesi a partire da settembre 2019!
Cosa: Progetto ESC (Corpi europei di Solidarietà) finanziato dalla Commissione Europea (2 posti per volontari italiani)
Quando: dal 1 settembre fino al 30 giugno 2020 (date leggermente flessibili)
Organizzazione ospitante: Special School no 11 – Cracovia
Tematiche del progetto:
Social challenges
Education and training
Working with disabled students
Come volontari a Cracovia avrete la possibilità di scoprire la cultura polacca, lavorare a contatto con bambini che godono di minori opportunità, lavorare in gruppo, partecipare ad eventi culturali e migliorare le vostre competenze linguistiche!
Call ufficiale per volontari: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/placement/11560_en
Vi ricordiamo che tutti i progetti ESC garantiscono:
vitto + alloggio + trasporti pubblici locali+ assicurazione + rimborso voli + corsi di lingua, insomma cosa aspettate 😉 ?
Per confermare il proprio interesse al progetto vi chiediamo di inviare il vostro CV a sve.eufemia@gmail.com e completare il form di candidatura
“Non aspettare. Non sarà mai il momento giusto.” (Napoleon Hill)
https://eufemia.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/cracovia-696x406.jpg406696Comunicazione Eufemiahttps://eufemia.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/new_concept_logo.pngComunicazione Eufemia2019-07-11 16:20:502021-09-20 12:04:50ESC project Mobility for Solidarity – 10 mesi a Cracovia
