Madjida

My name is Madjida and I had the chance to spend 2 months in Ioannina, Greece with the Youth Center of Epirus as a volunteer.

Before arriving, I was concerned about spending that time in a country I have never been to and far away from my home. I quickly realized it was worth it.

I was soon welcomed by gentle people and even though they didn’t know me before, I already felt like home. Ioannina is a very lively city in which you can’t get bored ! The town is surrounded by breathtaking landscapes with the mountains and the lake and it holds many historical places. Getting in love with this place was not difficult!

As a volunteer, I organized with the other volunteers in the Youth Center of Epirus non-formal educational activities with young asylum seekers. We do these activities at the facility for unaccompanied asylum seeker minors, at Perama. These moments spent with the minors were truly enjoyable and I was surprised by how you can smile and laugh with youngs that you just met. They are really adorable and it was very enriching to exchange simple moments like this with people who are in a different situation compared to me. 

During my volunteering, I also had to do content creation to promote volunteering in the theme of asylum seekers. I choose to write an article about the sociology of immigration and how arriving in a new environment makes anyone question his own identity. 

Before I realized, it was already the end of my volunteering. I was very lucky to share wonderful moments with my roommates, at the facility and with everyone else throughout my volunteering. I am genuinely thankful to have had the opportunity to meet great people that otherwise I would have not met. 

I recommend anyone who seeks to live a unique experience to do volunteering, and at the Youth Center Epirus, you shall not be disappointed !

This project was co-funded by the European Commission.