Tom, Anais and Najdaha

I had the chance to participate in a volunteer mission in Greece in the city of Ioannina for the association Youth Center of Epirus:

This mission was a challenge for me, because it allowed me to face my fear of traveling alone, to find myself in a place where I don't know anyone. I was very apprehensive about coming here, but what I was going to discover I had not imagined. The city of Ioannina is a wonderful and beautiful place, filled with mountains and extraordinary views but also with warm and welcoming people. For my volunteering mission I met great volunteers who for me will remain engraved in my memory. They helped me to integrate into the group and made me discover paradisiacal places. As soon as I arrived they were very patient with me and helped me to improve my English because I was too shy to speak. Today I can really make myself understood and I can express my needs without being afraid to make mistakes.

At the association, my work consists in leading non-formal activities with minor asylum seekers. I found this time very enriching because as a volunteer you think you are teaching them a lot of things but in reality you learn even more with them. It really changed me to see that with nothing you can bring them a lot of things. Thanks to that I grew humanly speaking, emotionally speaking but I also became more mature.

I recommend so much to people to be able to do something like that one day in their life, I can't thank enough the association Youth Center of Epirus to have allowed me to live that in my life. They have been a tremendous help. They never let us down and taught us so much about life.  

I thanked them for trusting me, for supporting me during the realization of my content creation. I thank the best roommates in the world for being there for me, for allowing me to live the best experience of my life, I grew up thanks to you. And I was able to feel at home with you. Thank you for allowing me to share wonderful moments. Thank you to everyone in the office for making me laugh until I cried.

I had the chance to volunteer for a month in Ioannina with the organization Youth Center of Epirus. It was the best experience of my life!

Before leaving I was apprehensive about going abroad with someone I don't know and in a country that doesn't speak my language. Also, being very close to my family and friends in France, I was worried about leaving them. But this experience was extremely enriching for me.

I learned how to travel on my own and to improve my communication skills in English. When I arrived I didn't really speak English but with time and by trying you realize that you can do it. Then at the professional level, as a social worker, the actions that I carried out with the asylum seekers could be only enriching for my experience. I could discover this public and lead actions with them. The relationship with the young people is based on a mutual exchange and allows to learn about different cultures. The young people are exceptional and are very interested in everything we can offer. We had a great time together. I also had the chance to learn how to organize an event on the theme of culinary interculturality as part of the "content creation" and improve my video editing skills. I was able to do interviews and meet different people from the city. This event and these exchanges taught me a lot about intercultural differences and tolerance with others. I also had the chance to meet some amazing people in the office and at my favorite flatmates.This experience taught me to open up to everyone I met despite the language barrier. I was able to have meaningful conversations with many people. I would like to thank all the people I met for allowing me to have such a great volunteering experience. I will never forget this experience which was high on my list of experiences. Thank you for everything, I hope to see you all again soon!

This project was co-funded by the European Commission.