Preparing Youth Exchange - Susie's story

The camp was really easy to get to, with at least one train each hour from Fiumicino airport train station. The train cost €11 and took about 1.5hours. It is a nice journey through the centre of Rome and they are large trains so there is no problem with getting a seat.

The camp is about 20 minutes’ walk from the station, most of which is off of the main road so it is a pleasant walk. The camp is held in a farm which some of the buildings have been converted to accommodate activity camps. The accommodation is really comfortable with 4 main dorm rooms; two holding 4 people, and two larger dorm rooms holding 12 people.  There are 3 shower rooms and, although it wasn’t plentiful, there was usually hot water available.

The scenery is completely beautiful and it is easy to distance yourself from the rest of the world and just focus on camp living, particularly because there is no Wi-Fi available to participants, so it was easy to focus on just spending a week within the camp.

The other participants were lovely and everyone was enthusiastic throughout the camp. The trainers seemed to have endless energy and were really good trainers. The activities were a good mix of discussion based and activity/physical based and always had a debrief session so we were aware of the purpose behind the activity. The activities were designed to be varied and to take us steadily out of our comfort zone and we were frequently reminded that this camp was the time to try things with no fear of consequences. It did always feel a safe environment among like-minded people where we could try new things and test skills without fear of ridicule ‘doing something wrong’.

The exercises were based around teamwork on the first day and a half. We then moved onto discussions and group working based on the concept of gender, stereotypes and following onto prejudices. The third day explored more discussions on gender and then involved role plays on managing conflict. The fourth day centred on the team working, leadership and trust and then in the afternoon, we went into groups based on which camp we would be leading and found out more details about the teen camp plans and Erasmus +. On the fifth day, we were separated into groups of six people and were given the morning to start planning an hour-long activity. We had the morning to prepare this and then each group led their activity with the rest of the group. We led activities on the afternoon of the fifth and morning of the sixth day. We then had a debrief, evaluation and wrap-up session on the afternoon of the sixth day.

Overall, the exercises were varied and I believe that everyone learnt new skills and also learnt more about themselves. As we all lived together for a week with no contact with the outside world, we bonded as a group really well and part of the experience was the communal living. As is the nature of communal living, there were peaks and troughs in energy levels and there were times where some people were easier to work with than others. However, because we were all living in such close proximity, it was an excellent opportunity to work with different people and challenge our own beliefs and behaviours. Everyone on the camp was really lovely and we have kept in touch through Facebook since returning home.

One evening we had an international food night where we all made food from our countries. Adam and I made a chicken casserole and cheesecake – both which are easy dishes to make as the ingredients are easy to source. I just took over a Colman's chicken casserole sachet which was light and small to pack. The food at the camp was amazing and most days we were able to eat outside. Everyone was put into teams to do the mealtime prep and washing up, and general cleaning duties. There was also a bar where we were able to buy beer and wine. We were all over 18 and everyone drank in moderation (although the wine is homemade wine and deceptively strong!)

Overall, it was an excellent camp and I learned new skills, exercises and icebreakers. It was a challenging but thoroughly rewarding and enjoyable week. I look forward to returning in May.

Susie Death

PRISM - training the trainers on breaking down gender stereotypes

What a fantastic privilege to have joined a funded training course in Italy, meeting so many amazing people and having been supported by such a great training team.  The training was set up to support people’s learning around teenagers, gender stereotyping and group facilitation skills so that in the summer we might lead a group of international teenagers to complete their own international volunteering project around gender stereotyping.  

A beautiful week’s weather (even though in February) twinned with an amazing setting saw our group spend lots of time outdoors.  A mix of fun icebreakers, energisers and team building games were coupled with some time to discuss issues around gender and theory to do with non-formal education processes.  As mentioned, the training team were extremely knowledgeable and various facilitation methods meant that we quickly got to performing as a group.

The dormitories were in nice buildings but with 10 to a room and a couple of strong snorers involved it is fair to say that I’ve had better sleep…  But when you wake up to this, you’re not so fussed (see picture above). The food was supreme! I was stuffed each day and still lost weight!  Evening entertainment was a real laugh and an on-site bar seemed to help things along ;-)

So looking forward to seeing everyone again this summer and a huge thank you to Lunaria in Italy for hosting and to Concordia here in the UK for co-ordinating on our end!

Adam Muirhead

   

Group Volunteer leader in Italy

This summer I volunteered to lead a group of 12 Girl Guides from Staffordshire, England, who worked together to complete a project in the local community of Poggio Mirteto, Italy. 

My role as the overseas volunteer leader was to represent Concordia through coordination the project, to lend pastoral care to the group throughout their trip, and to liaise between the local coordinators and the group to ensure that everyone benefits optimally from the project. The group worked together to renovate the picnic benches and tables, finishing them off by painting them with their own creative designs. These will benefit local groups, hikers and other international volunteers who work at the farm throughout the years. We then renovated and waterproofed the wooden window frames of the barn, to keep them in good condition throughout the winter. This work taught us many practical, hands on renovation skills (such as sanding, natural wood filling, paining, tool work) that may not have had the chance to develop otherwise; as well as an essential opportunity to develop important life skills such as working as part of a team, communication, planning and design.

Our wonderful hosts also made sure that the whole group benefited fully from our trip, and planned numerous trips and cultural activities for us. Our day trips into Rome were amazing and we got to see a lot of the famous landmarks such as the Colosseum, the Forum, the Piazza Venizia, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Our knowledgeable hosts also suggested less “touristy” areas, including the beautiful Villa Borghese Park and the historic Parco Regionale dell'Appia Antica outside of the city. We also had the opportunity to explore the inspiring medieval village of Casperia, through doing an entertaining scavenger hunt in small groups, which encouraged the young people to interact with the local people. Of course in Italy, food is incredibly important! As we were staying in an agricultural community, all the food we were eating was fresh and produced locally. Our hosts even taught us how to make traditional Italian meals and how to make our own cheese from locally sourced milk. We also took part in a language workshop, learning some basic words and phrase. We learned by going shopping in the local markets.

Our wonderful hosts also made sure that the whole group benefited fully from our trip, and planned numerous trips and cultural activities for us. Our day trips into Rome were amazing and we got to see a lot of the famous landmarks such as the Colosseum, the Forum, the Piazza Venizia, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Our knowledgeable hosts also suggested less “touristy” areas, including the beautiful Villa Borghese Park and the historic Parco Regionale dell'Appia Antica outside of the city. We also had the opportunity to explore the inspiring medieval village of Casperia, through doing an entertaining scavenger hunt in small groups, which encouraged the young people to interact with the local people. Of course in Italy, food is incredibly important! As we were staying in an agricultural community, all the food we were eating was fresh and produced locally. Our hosts even taught us how to make traditional Italian meals and how to make our own cheese from locally sourced milk. We also took part in a language workshop, learning some basic words and phrase. We learned by going shopping in the local markets.

For me as an overseas volunteer leader I got to continue to work with young people in a different environment, and supported them to have the opportunity to travel and go out of their comfort zones. Through doing our renovation work I was able to develop my team leadership skills, communication and organisational skills, as well as useful “DIY” skills. I’ve learned how to work with others who may be of different cultural backgrounds and working styles, to ensure the successful and mutually beneficial trip. I have also really enjoyed submersing myself in a different culture and feel that I have learned a lot through this truly unique voluntary work. 

Nia

Group Volunteer Leader 2016 - Italy

Bethan shares her story for Volunteers' Week

"In June 2011, I went to a project in the Alpine region of northern Italy as part of my summer break from uni. For 2 weeks I lived on a mountain with 10 other volunteers, from countries including Turkey, Japan and South Korea. I was the only Brit and I loved it! I really got to know about what life is like in countries I’ve not yet been lucky enough to visit, and I made some friends for life. It was an exhausting two weeks – we were over 1000m above sea level, and cars could only get us up as far as 600m. But it was also really good fun - in the evenings we played games, cooked dinner together, and watched the stars. At the weekend we visited the local city, had a homemade Italian lunch, and went to a local festival.

The project involved monitoring the flora and fauna in the area. We took photos and made sketches of the flowers; caught butterflies in order to identify them before setting them free; and we set humane traps to see what mice are living on the mountain. That last one involved some very early mornings, and seeing the sunrise was wonderful. To be honest, it didn’t feel like work – we felt lucky to be in such a beautiful part of the world. It wasn’t a very long project but we knew we were making a difference – all that the Italian organisation needed was for a group of people to take some time to survey the mountainside, a task too big for the team of just 3 who work in the park. Our efforts made it into the local newspaper! It was an experience I’ll never forget, and I’m so pleased I was a part of it."

 Bethan 2014

Luke shares his story for Volunteers' Week 2014

 

 Our volunteer Luke sharing with us his volunteer experience for Volunteers' Week 2014

"My experience with Concordia was the best two weeks of my life. A life changing experience in which I met amazing new people from a range of different countries. The work was interesting, challenging and fun!

With Concordia I went to Crotone in Southern Italy, ranging from days at the beach to excursions to the nearby castle and days working on our project. I really enjoyed volunteering - so much so I am going again with Concordia to Germany this summer and really looking forward to an exciting trip!"

Luke 2014

Laura reports on volunteering in Italy

Laura reports on volunteering in Italy

The three months I spent volunteering a Villa Buri can be summed up in one sentence: Always expect the unexpected. I arrived in Verona having very little idea of what I would be doing, and very few expectations. My first impression of the villa and the park was that it was a beautiful, calm place. The villa is  nestled in a bend of the River Adige, a few miles from the  centre of Verona, surrounded by a large park. I joined two other international volunteers and worked with the local Italian team to look after the park.

The international volunteers were three girls, but when I arrived the first surprise was that only one of the other girls had turned up: Agnes from Sweden. We lived in a small house by the main gate of the villa. Part of our job was to open and close the villa gates. The second surprise when we started work the next morning was that although the working language of the project was nominally English, everyone spoke in Italian. So my Italian improved faster than I would have believed possible. It is amazing what you can learn when you really need to!

The first job Agnes and I were given was to feed the kittens. It turned out that Villa Buri was home to many stray cats and these kittens had been abandoned in the park. I spent the rest of my stay putting out multiple bowls of cat food every day.

One of our other regular tasks was to empty the rubbish bins in the park, and sort out the things that could be recycled, i.e. metal, plastic, cardboard and glass. This was an occasionally unpleasant job, but it was also oddly fascinating. We were very confused by the people who left at least ten kilos of grapes in the bins over the course of about three weeks. We also planted an awful lot of miniature winter vegetables in the Orto.

In September we spent a lot of time pruning trees, collecting seeds and creating new flower beds. I discovered that hawthorn was vicious, but not as vicious as the mosquitoes. Agnes counted the bites on her leg one day, and found she had over 60. When we discovered some fly swats in the back of a cupboard and could go mosquito hunting you have never seen two happier people! One of the other highlights was the local Gelateria – we went at least three times a week.

The next surprise came not in the form of stray animals, but stray people. Five Ethiopian girls came to stay at Villa Buri. They were refugees from Libya, having moved there to escape famine in their

native land and then fled Libya when the war started there. We invited the girls to come and work with us hoping it would help them to improve their non-existent Italian. Communication was interesting, as only one of them spoke a little English and none of them really spoke any Italian. Most of what need to be said could be communicated by a combination of demonstration and mime. This occasionally made you look pretty silly, but was surprisingly effective. The girls were always willing to get stuck into any task and were great fun, always ready with a smile.

In October the weather changed from the warm sunshine we had been enjoying to become cooler and foggier. We spent more time weeding the Orto Botanico, the Villa's large herb garden. The vegetable garden also had to be tidied up for the winter and the remaining fruit and vegetables harvested. This was also the season for the kiwi and kaki (persimmons) of which we had hundreds. We even took a wheelbarrow round the streets to try selling them to the neighbours!

By November the weather took on a wintry edge. With the cold weather, the third international volunteer finally arrived, Katharina from Germany. The weather also meant we spent more time indoors, doing jobs like sewing curtains and painting furniture in an effort to make our little house even cosier for the next volunteers. We also went to help harvest the olives at Don Calabria, a community for men with mental health issues.

 At the beginning of December it was time  to leave Villa Buri. It was an unforgettable experience. The language barrier was often challenging, as was adjusting to a much slower pace of life. But I learnt many new skills: how to grow and care for many kinds of herbs and vegetables, how to cook proper Italian food and that you can have an entire conversation with a few words. I will miss having the peace and beauty of the park right on the doorstep, and the warmth of the people I met there. And remember: Always expect the unexpected!

Geraldine reports on her volunteer experience in Italy

Leg 75-09, Bosio (AL) Piemonte,

Hosted by Legambiante, Italy

17/08/2009 – 28/08/2009

(in the picture: Geraldine and one of the volunteers during a visit in Genova)

After working temporarily in the environment section of my local council, I decided to volunteer for a conservation project in the Italian mountains. I arrived at Campo Ligure railway station via plane, volabus and replacement bus on Monday 17^th August at 6:30pm, our meeting point. I was greeted by Cristina Rossi and Gianni, leaders of the Capanne di Marcarolo Natural Park. Giovanni Vinciguerra was our camp leader and ticked our names off a list as we arrived. Our bags were put into the back of a truck and we were driven by car up a winding mountain road to our accommodation.

(In the picture: the accommodation)

The accommodation comprised of an old water mill, situated at the foot of Mount Tobbio. The building was now being used as a base for mountaineering groups who visited the area. At the accommodation we met the project coordinators, Lara and Massimo and their very young son Paollo. They led us up some outdoor stairs to a choice of three bedrooms. There was also a basic kitchen and a bathroom and an outdoor living area with seating and a camp fire.

On the first evening Lara and Massimo told us that the loft was inhabited with flying animals, they were difficult to describe due to the language barrier. These animals hung from the eaves of the house, upside down. I initially thought they were bats but eventually we discovered they were called dormice. The next morning Lara showed me a dormouse huddled up in a towel, it had fallen down the toilet in the night. I could just see its face, pink nose and big eyes. It was shivering and we hoped that it would survive.

It was extremely hot on our first day of work; we painted picnic benches and wooden fences with varnish. The area was situated in a valley with surrounding mountains, open spaces and blue skies. It was located at the southernmost tip of the province of Alessandria and only a few kilometres from the sea. We arrived and left the working sites in a minibus driven by Gianni; they were usually short drives away from the accommodation and involved driving up or down very narrow mountainous roads. Very often we passed cyclists in training and Italians driving their dogs around in small cars.

After work on the second day, we visited a lake at the foot of the mountains. I had anticipated that it would be deep enough to swim in, although when we arrived it was more like an English stream. It was however very lovely to sit in as it was so hot and the surrounding scenery was amazing. The water was very clear and you could see fish swimming past your legs in the water.

Our most difficult task for the two weeks was to climb Mount Tobbio. It was a very hot day and we stopped on the way up to drink water and eat apples. Occasionally we passed narrow paths with steep drops to the side of our feet, at which point Giovanni would shout ‘Be Careful’. At the top there was a small white church dedicated to “Our Lord of Caraggio”. Walking back down we carefully kicked large rocks out of the way and cut branches blocking paths; we also painted circular symbols onto rocks with bright yellow paint. This helped to clear the pathway for future climbers. Lunch was prepared daily by volunteers and served at 1pm, our afternoons and evenings were free.

(in the picture: cooking by the fire...)

The evenings were filled with guitar playing and singing, listening to Manu Chao, playing games and cooking potatoes, chicken and bread on the camp fire. We also drank grappa and occasionally went to the bar at the top of the hill for ice cream. Jesse, the dog from the bar often came down to visit us, particularly when we were cooking barbequed food. One evening Giovanni led us into the woods to try to hear and see wild animals. We sat in the dark listening for wolves, owls and any other animals that were nearby. We heard some scuffling but unfortunately we didn’t see anything.

(In the picture: volunteers enjoying their evenings together)

On the weekend we visited the local city called Genova, Italy’s largest port. We visited the house of Christopher Columbus and the main square called the Piazza De Ferrari. In contrast to the remote location we were living and working in there were Italian restaurants, tall buildings, washing lines hanging in between apartments, dusty roads, shops, sculptures and an aquarium, the Acquario di Genova.

Our last day of work involved varnishing wooden swing frames, see saws, benches and fences in a children’s playground. This was not the sort of playground you would find in England, as it was nestled amongst the eighty two hundred hectares of mountainous terrain in the Capanne Di Marcarolo Natural Park. Gianni’s family were natives to the area and we visited his museum. On display were photographs of his ancestors and many old tools that had been used over the years for farming and everyday living in the local area.

Gianni visited us on our last evening and played the accordion very well, he also brought alcohol and cakes as thank you gifts. It was a worthwhile experience visiting Italy and experiencing life in the mountains. I met lots of lovely people and would now like to learn more about the nature and culture of different areas of the world by attending more international work projects.

Geraldine, Italy Summer 2009

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Janica Dennison's International volunteer project in Italy

Concordia short term international volunteer project in:

Milazzo on the island of Sicily in Italy

Project code: LEG34

Dates: 09/07-22/07/2007

Volunteer: Janica Dennison

Two weeks of building platforms and I think I could now start my own business, (if there is a market for beach platforms in the UK that is). Although I automatically think of platforms when I think of the work camp I just completed in Milazzo, Sicily, that is not all that camp was. What Legambiente, (the Italian environmental organisation) also shared with all us volunteers was a strong sense of community and gratitude towards us international volunteers for helping keep their environment safer and cleaner for everyone to use. We even had a few articles in local newspapers about what we were there for and of course the local mayor (who in Milazzo was rather dashing in his light weight denim) even came down to our work site to thank us.

However, as anyone who has been on a work camp will say, the work is only half the experience, as for me it was living within a tight knit community twenty-four seven with seven other volunteers, who every night also got bitten extensively by mosquitoes, that made my trip. Visiting an old military base, which was a perfect view of the sea between Sicily and Italy, or hiking up 400 metres above sea level during midday sun to see the most amazing crater on the Aeolian island of Vulcano, are memories shared with new friends I won’t soon forget. Although at times the scorching 45 degrees and 98% humidity left me wishing for a little British rain, once back in the UK you realise how amazing that heat swirled up with volunteers, laughter and a little hard work aid to restore a positive outlook on life (cheesy I know but true). The way I saw Sicily was a way a solo traveller would not have seen it.

Janica went on a Standard Project with Concordia www.concordia-iye.org.uk



Janica and the other international volunteers in Sicily

Click here for a country profile of Italy