Pozdrav svima, kao što se možda sjećate, moje ime je Sol, ja sam iz Madrida i stekla sam svoje iskustvo europskog volontiranja tijekom 6 mjeseci u Alfa Alboni na projektu “BE MOBILE! ”

Kako sam dobro oko imala kad sam odabrala ovu udrugu za svoje europsko volontiranje! Sve je počelo prije otprilike godinu dana kada sam odlučila napustiti posao u laboratoriju kako bih krenula u novu avanturu koja će mi pomoći da otkrijem sebe, razmislim o svojoj budućnosti i poboljšam svoju razinu engleskog. Nikad nisam zamišljala da će mi ovo iskustvo donijeti puno više od onoga što sam tražila.

Moj prvi mjesec volontiranja bio je malo kompliciran, prešla sam put od života s roditeljima u velikom gradu do života sama u malom pitoresknom gradiću u Hrvatskoj, gdje se govori potpuno drugačijim jezikom. Ali za kratko vrijeme sam se navikla.

Najznačajniji dio mog volontiranja nedvojbeno je bio ljetni kamp. Sudjelovala sam u postavljanju kampa: raščišćavanju terena, postavljanju paleta, postavljanju šatora itd. Mogao sam vidjeti kako se na ovom mjestu koje smo pripremili s toliko truda i iluzija može uživati ​​svaki tjedan od 3 do 5 grupa različitih nacionalnosti: Estonija, Hrvatska, Španjolska, Portugal, Francuska, Belgija, itd. Dijeljenje ovog mjesta u prirodi sa svim tim ljudima bilo je veoma posebno.

Osjećam se sretnom što sam to iskustvo podijelila s kolegicama iz Alfa Albone Jelenom, Larisom i Estelom koje su mi omogućile da aktivno sudjelujem u organizaciji i provedbi aktivnosti, ali i u samim razmjenama mladih kao sudionik. Također, imam jako dobra sjećanja na moje druge kolege volontere iz programa ESC i Workaway. S njima smo radili ruku pod ruku pripremajući obroke i neke od zabavnih aktivnosti kampa. Dijeljenje vremena s njima i učenje više o njihovim životima pomoglo mi je da još više razmišljam o sebi.

Svakako bih preporučila svima koji imaju priliku barem jednom u životu doživjeti volontersko iskustvo. Danas se opraštam od svojih volonterskih dana vrlo zahvalna za sva dobra vremena i sretna jer sa sobom zauvijek nosim jako dobre prijatelje! Nadam se da ću ih sresti negdje u svijetu i da ću moći nastaviti dijeliti trenutke SREĆE.

Pitali smo Sol nekoliko pitanja o njezinom iskustvu i ovo su njezini odgovori;

1.) Koje su 3 riječi kojima možeš opisati svoje iskustvo volontiranja u Alfa Alboni?

ALEGRÍA  . To na španjolskom znači “sreća”.

OTKRIJ . Otkrij nova mjesta, nove kulture, nove ljude i otkrij više o sebi.

HVALA . To u Hrvatskoj znači “thank you”, jer sam zaista zahvalna za sve dobre ljude koje sam upoznala i za sve dobre trenutke koje sam imala. Također sam zahvalan što sam imala priliku proputovati Hrvatsku, Italiju i Sloveniju .

2.) Što je bilo najkorisnije što ste ovdje naučili i što će vam pomoći u budućnosti?

Naučila sam kako organizirati grupu ljudi, različite metodologije i aktivnosti za rješavanje pitanja kao što su rodna ravnopravnost i rasizam, između ostalih. Također sam otkrila Canvu, za koju mislim da je prekrasan alat za rad.

3.) Na koju ste aktivnost ovdje najviše ponosni?

Ponosan sam na team building aktivnosti koje sam organizirala i cjelokupne animacijske aktivnosti. Mislim da sam motivirala ljude da se zabave i rade kao tim .

4.) Po Vašem mišljenju, koliko ste pridonijeli lokalnoj zajednici?

Smatram da sam pridonjela zajednici promicanjem mobilnosti mladih i dijeljenjem dobrih vijesti koje ih zanimaju. Sudjelovala sam između ostalog i u izradi stolova i stolica za vrtić u zajednici.

5.) Hoćete li nastaviti raditi s mladima i kako?

Ove godine bit ću mentor volontera u svom gradu Madridu pa sam jako sretna što ću na neki način nastaviti biti dio tima Europskih snaga solidarnosti.

6.) Zašto su ESC projekti dobri za mlade?

Svakako preporučam ovo iskustvo jer vam otvara um, upoznajete druge ljude i kulture i možete na neki način pomoći zajednici. Bez sumnje je sjajno iskustvo razmisliti i naučiti mnoge stvari.

Hello everyone, as you may remember, my name is Sol, I am from Madrid and I have done my European volunteering experience during 6 months in Alfa Albona on a project “BE MOBILE”!

What a good eye I had when I chose this NGO to do my European volunteering!

It all started about a year ago when I decided that I wanted to quit my laboratory job to enter a new adventure that would help me to discover myself, reflect on my future and improve my English level. I never imagined that this experience would bring me much more than I was looking for.

My first month as a volunteer was a bit complicated, I went from living with my parents in a big city, to living alone in a small picturesque town in Croatia, where a completely different language is spoken. But in a short time I got used to it. 

The most remarkable part of my volunteering was undoubtedly the summer camp. I was part of setting up the camp: clearing the grounds, putting up pallets, setting up the tents, etc. I was able to see how this place that we had prepared with so much effort and illusion could be enjoyed every week by 3 to 5 groups of different nationalities: Estonia, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, etc. Sharing this place in nature with all these people was very enriching. 

I feel lucky to have shared the experience with my Alfa Albona colleagues Jelena, Larisa and Estela who allowed me to actively participate in the organization and implementation of the activities as well as in the youth exchanges themselves as another participant.  I also have very good memories of my other fellow volunteers from the ESC and Workaway programme. With them we worked hand in hand to prepare the meals and some of the entertainment activities of the camp. Sharing time with them and learning more about their lives helped me to reflect even more on my own. 

I would definitely recommend to anyone who has the opportunity to have at least once in a lifetime a volunteer experience. Today I say goodbye to my days as a volunteer very grateful for all the good times and happy because I take with me very good friends forever! I hope to meet them somewhere in the world and to be able to continue sharing moments of ALEGRÍA .

We asked Sol couple of questions about her experience and this is her answers;

1.) What are 3 words by which you can describe your experience in volunteering in Alfa Albona?

ALEGRÍA . That means “happiness” in Spanish. 

DISCOVER . Discover new places, new cultures, new people, and discover more about myself.

HVALA . That means “thank you” in Hrvatska, because I’m really grateful for all of the good people that I met and all of the good moments that I had. I’m grateful also for had the opportunity to travel around Croatia, Italy and Slovenia . 

2.) What was something that was the most useful you learned here and it will help you in the future? 

I learned how to organize a group of people, different methodologies and activities to address issues such as gender equality and racism, among others. I also discovered Canva, which I think is a wonderful tool to work with.

3.) Which activity you did here that you are the most proud of? 

I’m proud of the team building activities I organized and the overall animation activities. I think I made people have fun and work as a team.

4.) By your opinion, how did you contribute to the local community?

I consider that I have contributed to the community by promoting the mobility of young people and sharing good news that are of interest to them. I also participated in making tables and chairs for kindergarten in the community, among other things.

5.) Will you continue to work with youth and how? 

This year I will be the mentor of a volunteer in my city in Madrid so I’m very happy to continue to be part of the European solidarity corps team in some way.

6.) Why ESC projects are good for young people? 

I definitely recommend this experience because it opens your mind, you meet other people and cultures and you can help the community in some way. Without a doubt it is a great experience to reflect and learn many things.