After a few days sleeping in airports and countless bus journeys down sandy, rock filled roads (the term road is used loosely here)we finally arrived at our village, only to be met by the most amazingsinging and dancing from the village elders as they welcomed us from all corners of the globe. We were shown the mud houses where we would stay, the place from which we should draw water and the showers which consisted of a bowl of water (if the well was not dry), some banana leaves and an empty sack!
When night fell, the sky was breath taking. It was as though I could see every individual star as it twinkled in the pitch black sky. When night falls in a place with no electricity, the stars look like diamonds, and you should really not forget your torch. Unfortunately I had, and would spend the next two weeks stumbling around in blackness gaining lots of bruises.
After boiled yams and sugary tea for breakfast we began our first day at work. We were working with the locals to build a dam. The rains in Kenya have failed for the last two years and people are desperate. Everyone is crying for water, with no water there are no crops, no crops means no food, without food there is no life.When the rains eventually came (which they didn’t this year either) we were building a dam to collect the rain water for the villagers. We dug all morning, tools were scarce, the local kids dug with their bare hands, making leaf baskets to use as buckets, the strength of five year olds putting me to shame!
Afternoons were put aside for house visits. Every afternoon after lunch we visited the local people to hear about their lives and their problems. The people were so open with us, often sharing things with us that broke our hearts. The lack of water seemed to be effecting every area of peoples’ lives. A common question was how far did I have to go to get water in my country. It was incredibly humbling to explain that I had things called taps inside my house, that not only delivered water, but hot water too. I was ashamed to say that I was not 100% sure where it came from. In a life of plenty most things are taken fore granted.
What did I learn from this experience? it is difficult to say. I learnt how to carry 70 litres of water in a day. I learnt how to hide a swollen hungry belly.I learnt about corruption, beatings, greed and apathy. I learnt the helplessness of aid agencies who try to help. I learnt to choose between using water to wash or drink – there is no choice. I learnt that I have more than I will ever need, that the abundance in my life is a result of being born in the affluent West. I learnt how to be joyful with what I have. On no other project have I been so integrated into the community and laughed, cried, and fully lived among the locals. Mostly my experience reinforced that what is needed education. What is needed is for people to get alongside the people in communities like this and work through their problems with them. Aid agencies can throw all the money they want at Africa, most of it won’t reach the people who need it. We need to empower individuals, support and education them to make the changes they know their country needs. And what am I going to do about it? Next summer I am taking 20 sixth form students out to Africa to get alongside the youth there, to encourage, to support, to inspire the next generation to do whatever it is they decide their countries needs.
(in the picture: Two of the volunteers during a visit in Genoa)
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 17th 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 MountTobbio. 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 MountTobbio. 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.
As this volunteer placement was only two weeks I was unsure how much I was going to out of the experience in such a short time compared to what I had done previously.
My concerns proved to be unfounded as I had a wonderful time with my fellow volunteers and the children at the centre were adorable.I had been told I was going to an orphanage, which was a reasonable description but I found out it was in fact a social centre.Most of the chilren weren't actually orphans, only about 40 of the 500 or so (the centre has previously had up to 1000) live there full time, most return to either their parents or family members who are now responsible for them during the weekend.This doesn't apply to babies, of which there are probably another 40 or so and who have mostly been abandoned.
The reason most of the children are there is due to learning difficulties; some of the kids are deaf/mute so the centre teaches them sign language and education comes through that. They were really bright and beautiful and the only frustration I felt was when my limited sign language meant that we could only communicate a little.Most common question was "what is you name?" and "how old are you?" which we all managed to master answering eventually!
We were split into 3 groups of 3 with a timetable that was set out from the beginning: 8-11am was the first task and then another in the afternoon 2-4.30pm.The job was either taking care of the babies, painting two rooms (a task that we completed during our two weeks) or teaching.This was in some ways the hardest job because of language barrier.We all had a Vietnamese speaker in our group which meant the class was kept busy but I did struggle to feel useful sometimes.We did plan our lessons to a degree which was done equally between the three of us but because I couldn't talk to the children directly I found it a little frustrating.We stuck to basic things, playing games,drawing our countries flags, basic origami and playing with a world map, all of which the children responded well to.
The other children had various mental disabilities and were really sweet and good natured.The obvious Vietnamese language barrier meant only Mai and Huong, the Vietnamese volunteers could really talk to them but they did their best to help the rest of us understand what the children wanted to say.All of the kids mostly just appreciated the attention and affection which we were happy to give them.In the evening when the day was finished we had the option to go into the yard and play with the children which was really fun (if exhausting!).
The babies were adorable and due to no communication problems, being with them was in some ways the easiest job.Usually we just sat cuddling them and sang to them if they cried or fed them from a bottle of watery rice mixture, as milk is too expensive.When I found this out I was a little concerned as I was unsure if it gave the babies sufficient nutrion.The budgest for caring for them is only approximately 400,000 dong a month per baby, which just doesn't go very far.This was a hard fact to swallow but the reality is the babies are being cared for better at the social centre than they would be elsewhere so you have to appreciate the context.This was also hard when I quickly realised that the babies are not provided with nappies, meaning that if you're holding a baby and it pees, that's right, you get wet!This happened to nearly everyone at least once in the two weeks and while having to go and change your trousers is annoying (particularly if you foolishly wore jeans) it's even nastier for the babies; as they are left with extremely red bottoms which looked very painful in most cases.
Once I realised our main job was just make sure the the children had fun I found the project much more satisfying.They really did enjoy the novelty of us being there and they were such a joy to spend time with that we all gained from the experience.I was the only Westerner in the group, everyone else being Vietnamese, Korean or Japanse.I was slightly concerned about this beforehand, wondering if I would be treated as something of an outsider, but all the other volunteers were wonderful and we all got along really well.There were two other volunteers from Germany, Martel and Heshar.They were on a longer term project, several months but they were still friendly and happy to talk to us even though they worked seperately to us and had seen short term volunteers come and go before.
The close friendship I found in such a short time both surprised and delighted me.The language barrier was an issue when some volunteers didn't have fantastic English but it really wasn't a problem, it just meant talking a bit more slowly.
Only Shiwon and I stayed for a few weeks following the completion of the project.Huong let us stay with her which provided a really intersting opportunity seeing how Vietnamese students live.She was a wonderful hostess who cooked for us and took us all over Hanoi on her motorbike to see all the sites.She genuinely couldn't have done more for us and I am forever in her debt.We also went to Sapa with Mai where we spent a night doing homestay with some of the local tribal peopleand it was lovely to spend some time with her too.I'm still in touch with a lot of the people I volunteered with via facebook and email and I really hope one day we will see each other again.
I've been in Barcelona for about three months. I love this city, the history, the culture, the people, the food, the music, the list, it goes on. It's one the of the reasons that I chose this project, a big reason to be honest. But I was under no illusions that it was going to be easy, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when I applied, when I signed up.
Like any big city, Barcelona has it's problems. But unlike other cities, the place that the problems are concentrated is right in the centre, in the notorious barrio of El Raval. Barely a day goes by without the neighbourhood being on both regional and national news; Drugs. Prositution. Robberies. Violence. Unemployment. Immigrants. The homeless. The same problems any other big city has, but concentrated into a relatively small barrio which these days is constantly patrolled by the police. This is where I work.
My organisation has a huge variety of projects, most centred in and around Raval. My project works with immigrants, from 16-21/22 years old. People from Morroco, Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, the Filipines, India, Pakistan, Bolivia, Columbia, todo el mundo! We do language classes, computer classes, music classes, sports classes, etc. etc. I teach kids who can't swim how to swim. Guys that can't even send an email how to use a computer. I train our football team. And generally support the running of all of our activities. One of the most important aims of all of this, is to give these guys something to do, something constructive, just something that isn't struggling to make a living by whatever means possible. And ultimately, we guide them into work training courses to develop some skills so that they are qualified to work.
Summed up in a paragraph it sounds fairly straight forward. It's not. There are a mountain of problems thrown into this mix. Primarily, I arrived without speaking Spanish. Nor Catalan. Nor Arabic, nor Swahili, or any other language that would be of use to me here. And Í'm the only EVS volunteer in this project, and so fairly isolated. The embarassment you feel when somebody speaks to you, and not only can you not reply, but you very little idea of what they even said, is horrible. Horrible enough to motivate me into studying Spanish every spare minute of every day! Next problem, the guys can be difficult. Extremely difficult. They're in a very strange and difficult situation, and so considering this it's understadable that they can behave like that. Another issue is the massive predjudice and discrimination that they face. Consider what it must be like, to arrive in a foreign country, where you don't speak the language, you don't know anybody, you have no money, no food, no home, no job, and then even if you do manage to get a grip of the language, you do learn some skills, become qualified even, after all of this, you're still faced with blatant discrimination. These aren't bad people, regardless of how they may behave at times, regardless of how they are forced to make money to survive, they are just people. It's only the situation that's bad. Life can be hard and massively unfair. But this project is trying to do something about it, I'm trying to do something about it.
The whole EVS experience can be a really strange one. It's a long period of time to be doing something, and so it's important that you know as much as possible about what you're going to do before you get there, to be happy with the type of work you'll do, to make sure that it's right for you. But it's just as important that you do it, that we do it. The whole EVS project is designed to promote cross-cultural learning and European cohesion, it's effectively designed to help the EU as a whole. But regardless of the political motivations behind it, it's an incredible opportunity, as the cliche goes, too good to miss. Not only is it a means of living in another country for an extended period of time, it's a means of really knowing that country, really learning the language in a way never possible at home, and above all, it's a means to do something useful, something important. I don't think you can ever really know what you're capable of until you do something that challenges you. This project is not only important for the kids that we work with, but for me too. I'm learning a language which opens up an entirely new world for me. And I'm learning things about myself, discovering what I am actually capable of. Something is happening to me, something that I need to think about for a long time. But that thing is good, it's a thing which inspires me to be better, to do more, to be more.
Well, I’ve been here for almost a month now, and some early impressions are starting to form. As far as the weather goes, it has been more consistently cold then I was expecting, I mean before I arrived I knew it would be a cold winter, but the average temperature even now is much lower than I expected. The warm stuff I thought I was bringing for the winter is now in daily use in the autumn, we received a snapshot of what the winter would hold for us last week when there was a day of freak snow. It was blizzard-like, and served to illustrate how I may have underestimated the Latvian winter.
This, identified in October, is a very manageable situation, and already I am making enquiries into where a guy like me gets hold of more significant cold weather gear. By winter I will be kitted out and (fingers crossed) ready for anything!
As far as the living arrangements go, the first speed bumps have been hit on the road to happy families, nothing out of the ordinary or anything you wouldn’t expect from a group of under 25’s living together; people not washing dishes, not drying dishes, bathroom not being cleaned, etc.
Leaving aside these more trifling matters (I have never heard an argument that could convince me that an able-bodied person is unable to or shouldn’t have to do their own washing up) the more serious consideration was to do with shared foodstuffs, bread, pasta, etc, and where the money should come from. We decided in the end to introduce a kitty system, whereby everyone puts a set amount into a pot at the beginning of the week and from that we buy things all these little essentials that everyone uses. This should, at least keep everyone happy with regards to basic food, and hopefully head off the “Who ate my last...?” arguments which do no one any good.
And so the domicile is shaping up nicely. We have a rota for cleaning the bathroom and hallway weekly, and are managing to keep the kitchen in a reasonable state most of the time. As far as my digs go, I’ve reshuffled the furniture and am lobbying the system for a desk and chair.
As far as work goes, my job has been both varied and challenging. Most days I function as a language assistant in the English lessons run at the centre, focusing on the speaking side of things. My classes range from adults who already have good knowledge, through high school pupils who know a lot of English but lack confidence, and on class of two 10 year olds and a 7 year old. This last one was dropped on me last minute, I am on hand to fill in for Natasha when crisis arises, and it was actually much easier then I had expected. We had a good text to work from, and once I had got them laughing it all went fine. The secondary school pupils are a challenge in a different way; the text is useful but very boring, so we need to change the pace from time to time to keep people interested. I was at something of a loss about how best to do this, but fortunately for me I was helped by fellow office working volunteer, who has experience working with children in France and suggested singing; we pick a song that everyone knows (for example, “We Are The Champions”) and I write the lyrics up on the board. We talk through it, I explain words they are not sure about, and then we all sing, their nervousness quite overpowered by my enthusiastic (if somewhat tuneless) contribution. The other diversion was actually suggested by one of the students, she suggested that we prepare cards with basic words on them (car, tree, road etc) and each person has to take a card and describe the thing to the others, who guess. An amusing diversion which is actually excellent for developing both their confidence and vocabulary, which I have quite shamelessly adopted in my other classes!
The adult classes are usually small, and more advanced, requiring more intense conversation and careful correction to ensure that they are learning and improving.
The other work we do in the centre is the organisation of volunteer projects for the local population, both foreign and domestic. This can entail talking people through the EVS process, discussing potential seminars and voluntary work in our town, and organising youth projects and exchanges for young people in Europe. In practice office life is usually quite relaxed, it is only when we have a deadline for project submissions that it can get really hectic. Then we will be working late discussing what sort of projects we could run, brainstorming ideas, and then in my case either taking the ideas in bullet points and writing them up, or proofing documents written by others in English. All in all the workload is manageable, and there is more than enough to keep us busy and out of trouble.
So, what else? Well, I am still in quest of a guitar; this is proving a challenge because Rezekne is a very small town, with only one music shop. This obviously makes it something of a seller’s market, and so when I was in at the weekend the bloke in the shop, an incredibly nice man whose one flaw, it would seem, was the somewhat inflexible position he took to his massively overpriced instruments. I (in my very limited Latvian) tried to explain that I was a volunteer, that my funds were limited. Although he agreed that volunteers are generally a good thing, he was unable to get the price down as much as I wanted. We fenced a while longer, in an incredibly good humoured way, and in the end I left, promising to be back in November when I had more ready cash. He warned that all could be different by then, and the time for action was NOW, but I cheerfully resisted.
I left the shop feeling, despite the failure of my mission, very good. This had been, I realised, the first time I had actually communicated in a jovial fashion with a Latvian stranger.
As I reflect now on my summer experiences, my memories are tinged with sadness. Days after my return from Serbia, I visited my grandfather in hospital. Although frail, he had lost none of his enthusiasm for life or his fascination for the world. Despite the trauma he and my grandmother had been through a year before at the loss of their daughter, my mother, from cancer, he had lost none of his determination or his incorrigible sense of optimism. As I write this article a week after his death, I find it hard to believe that I will never again be able to listen to his sound advice, that I will never again be able to sit and reflect with him about his experiences of life. It is to my grandfather, an inspiration to me in so many ways, that I dedicate my recollections of summer 2009.
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(In the picture: Barney with the group of international volunteers)
The Serbian border guard could hardly conceal his amazement. “You’re going to Belgrade? But where’s your car?” I could scarcely blame him for being surprised. There I was, a British citizen with a Kuwaiti residency stamp in my passport, crossing from Romania on foot, carrying a huge rucksack, speaking to the guard in Russian, hoping it was close enough to Serbian to make myself understood. Fortunately it was. “Welcome to Serbia,” he said cheerfully in English, as he stamped my passport. I was on my way. I had chosen Serbia's fourth largest city, Kragujevac, as my destination for my latest international volunteer project this summer. Although I had been to the former Yugoslavia before – my travels had taken me to Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia – this was to be my first visit to Serbia and I was intrigued by the prospect of visiting a country as yet untouched by mass tourism. Fascinated for as long as I can remember by eastern European culture and history, I had taken the opportunity to make a brief stopover in one of the EU’s newest member states. On a rainy Wednesday morning in mid-July I had found myself on a Wizz Air flight from Luton to the Romanian city of Timişoara, famous as the birthplace of the revolution which would topple dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu and lead to his execution by firing squad on Christmas Day 1989. By the time I had finished sight-seeing the next day, my options for direct onward travel had been limited, so I had taken the train to the border town of Stamora-Moraviţa. From there, in the absence of any public transport, my only option had been to walk across the border.
Now safely in Serbian territory I took a taxi to the border town of Vršac and travelled by bus to Belgrade. After a night in a city centre hostel, I took one of the many buses heading south. By chance I found myself sitting next to one of my fellow volunteers; as we approached our destination we wondered, with some trepidation but also much excitement, what experiences awaited us. On arrival in what was to be our home town for the next two weeks, we met up with the other volunteers, as well as the group leaders, Kosta and Vlada, and Alex, who represented the local volunteer organisation, Viktorija. We walked to the site of our project, the 21 October Elementary School, named after the notorious date in 1941 when thousands of the city’s residents were murdered by the Nazis. This was also to be our accommodation and home for the next two weeks.
One of the most intriguing aspects of international volunteer projects is the variety of backgrounds and nationalities of the volunteers. The other participants came from Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Ukraine and the USA; although the official camp language was English, I had ample opportunities to practise my French, Russian and basic Spanish, as well as learn some Serbian words and phrases. The volunteers included students of a variety of subjects, as well as a beautician, a speech therapist, a judge's assistant and a university professor. We spent the first weekend exploring the town, settling into our new accommodation, getting to know our fellow volunteers with the help of games, and organising a rota for cleaning, preparing breakfast and cooking dinner. The variety of countries represented at the project resulted in us sampling a wide range of national dishes from different parts of the world. Lunches were to be provided by the local student cafeteria, a treat given the quality and quantity on offer. Our visits in the town included the grammar school, the aquarium, the weapons museum, and the Museum of Genocide, dedicated to the memory of the victims of the 1941 massacre. We found that the city had a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere and that we were made to feel very welcome both by the local volunteers and activists and by the people of Kragujevac.
(In the picture:Volunteers on local transport)
Having adjusted to our new surroundings and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, we were ready and eager on Monday morning to start work. The aim of our international volunteer project was to renovate the outside of the school. This involved painting over graffiti and working to improve and beautify the grounds; we set to work picking up litter, trimming the hedge and cutting the grass. Once this was complete we were ready to begin painting; this was our main job to which we devoted most of the two-week placement. By the end of the project, we could take great satisfaction in the results of everyone’s hard work; those countless hours of working our way around the outside of the school with our rollers and brushes had paid off. We felt that with the start of the new school year, which was just weeks away, the staff and students would once again be able to take pride in the appearance of their establishment and enjoy a more pleasant learning environment.
(In the picture: group of volunteers taking a walk together)
During the project, because of our early-morning start to the working day, we were able to make the most of the late afternoon and the evening to enjoy our new surroundings, as well as to benefit from the very diverse Serbian traditions, culture and entertainment. Our activities included an evening barbecue, paintball, bathing in a nearby lake, swimming in the town's open-air pool and jogging. We decided to work through the second weekend in order to enjoy our free days at the end of the project, with the work behind us. Together with activists from Viktorija, we hired a coach and travelled south to the northern border of Kosovo. En route we stopped at Kraljevo, an important transit town to the south, where we enjoyed strolling in the sunshine and sipping the ever-popular (with me anyway!) Turkish coffee; we also visited the Žiča Monastery, famous as the first seat of the Serbian Archbishopric. We were to spend the night in a youth hostel, owned by the municipality of Kragujevac, in Kopaonik National Park; as the sun set over the Balkans we took the opportunity to explore the beautiful surroundings. After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast, we climbed the peak of Pančićev Vrh, more than 2000 metres above sea level, for a panoramic view into Kosovo. It was hard to believe that, just a few years earlier, this tranquil setting had provided the backdrop for the horrors of some of Europe’s worst ethnic strife since the Second World War. Kosovo’s recent declaration of independence was bitterly contested by most of the Serbs we met, many of whom blamed the NATO airstrikes on Serbian targets in 1999 for accelerating the province’s moves towards self-determination. As we returned to Kragujevac, we enjoyed spectacular views of the mountains as well as the Ibar River, which the road followed for much of the route; our journey also included a visit to the Studenica Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Back in the 21 October Elementary School, our work complete and our two-week project sadly behind us, it was time to pack our bags and go our own separate ways; for me this involved an enjoyable few days visiting the Serbian capital, Belgrade, as well as Novi Sad, dubbed the ‘Gibraltar of the Danube’, and Subotica, Serbia’s gateway to Hungary.
Back in my adopted home, Kuwait, where I teach French at one of the Gulf state’s British schools, I find myself in a setting which could not be more different. The rivers and mountains of the Balkans have been replaced by the palm trees and the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula; hills and rolling countryside by dust and sand; church spires by minarets; the sound of the disco by the call to prayer; the da and ne of Serbian by the na'am and la of Arabic; pubs and clubs by coffee houses and the diwaniya; the latest Western fashions by traditional Arab clothing. It is this diversity which for me makes world travel in general, and international volunteer projects in particular, so fascinating and so rewarding, and why I look forward with so much enthusiasm to my future travels.
email: barney.smith@gmx.at SR21-09 Kragujevac was hosted by Young Researchers of Serbia – Voluntary Service of Serbia from 17/07/09 to 31/07/09.
Francesco, our International Volunteer Programme Co-ordinator, reports on the Post Season Event held from 23rd – Sunday 25th October 2009 in Brighton at the Whitehawk Youth Centre.
Every year it is great to meet up with many Concordia volunteers during the annual Post Season Event: the atmosphere is always extremely friendly and I do enjoy meeting new friends and catching up with old ones. This year there were 20 of us, 3 Concordia staff members and 17 volunteers, and we spent the weekend between volunteering in the local area, games, drinks and cultural activities.
On Friday evening, we had an abundant and delicious meal prepared by Fiona with the help of the volunteers and, following the consolidated tradition of all Concordia’s events, we played a few silly games and then had a few drinks and time to chat.
On Saturday, we woke up to a grey and rainy day…not the best thing to have when you are supposed to do some outdoor volunteering. However, our group wasn’t discouraged at all and managed to work hard and cheerfully for the Moulsecoomb Forest Garden and Wildlife Project.This project is a collection of allotments which was converted in 1994 into an environmental project for the benefit of the local community.The work consisted of building a path and at the end of the day we were very pleased to see the big difference our efforts made.
(In the picture: working at the Moulsecoombe Forest Garden)
(In the picture: our brand new path!!)
We headed back to the accommodation in the late afternoon, had a warm shower, a hot meal and then ready to go out into town to enjoy the Brighton White Night, with lots of music events and clubs open until late at night. A large part of the group ended up in an 80’s and 90’s revival disco, which had everybody dancing until 3 am.
On Sunday we had the great opportunity to meet a group of 11 volunteers from the UK and Barhain in the Middle East who are currently participating in an exchange programme through VSO called GLOBAL EXCHANGE and whom we invited to spend a morning with us. It was great to hear about their experience and Concordia volunteers offered in exchange a drama performance of the highest quality which had as the theme “Volunteering with Concordia!”. It was absolutely great and hilarious! I don’t remember laughing that much in ages… :)
(In the picture above : group from Barhain giving a presentation)
(in the picture:...one of our great performances!)
So, 3 days went really fast and we had fantastic time together. I would like to thank all the volunteers and staff who attended and helped with the running of the event, with a special thanks to Helen B and Helen P for arranging the volunteer work and the driving.
(Francesco Bonini, International Volunteer Programme Co-ordinator)
Moscow Backwoods is a two-week, environmental project based in Bitsevsky Forest, a Natural Historical park located at the South-western edge of Moscow. This once in a lifetime experience provided an opportunity to better understand conservation and Russian culture. The ability to live with and be shown around Moscow by Muscovites helped the group to gain an insight that we would not have gained had we visited as tourists. Despite it only being a short-term project, I believe that Moscow Backwoods was an excellent life experience.
I have to admit to having some apprehensions before going to Moscow, which were primarily caused by what I had seen on television. So after arriving at the Park, late Thursday evening, after having got lost on the Metro during rush hour (thankfully a female attendant acted out where I should go in front of a crowd of people) I was starting to wonder what I had gotten myself into. However, all my worries disappeared after the warm welcome I received from the people of the Park and by the rest of the group.
During the project we stayed in the gym of a local school that was one stop by metro away from the park. The accommodation was more than adequate as we slept on gym mats and had the use of a shower and warm running water. The volunteers of the camp prepared the food with two people taking it in turn each day as part of the cooking team. This was a great idea as it gave us the chance to experience the national dishes of each other’s countries.
We arrived at the park at 9 a.m. each day to start our conservation work. On the first day we played various games to help get to each other better. The work took place at various locations around the 18 square kilometres of territory that the forest covers. Our main task was to deal with clearing the forest of both litter and areas that had been damaged by fires which are prohibited within the park. Other work was centred around the main administration buildings of the park. This included maintenance on a special nature trail for blind people and helping to design and decorate an open-air classroom. My personal favourite was helping in the planning and execution of the Bicycle rate that is organised every year in the forest for members of the local community. During the two weeks we also had the opportunity to work in another park within Moscow and to visit many others. This gave us all a great overview of the different environmental work that is being carried out in Moscow in order to preserve the city’s natural habitats.
One of the best parts of the project was the large number of excursions that had been organised. There was very little that was not covered, with many tours of the city and visits including the ballet, Moscow Zoo and a local monastery. This was fantastic as it allowed us to see the different elements of Moscow life and experience a bit of what the city has to offer.
(In the picture: Graham with the rest of the group during a night out in Moscow)
When I decided to go to Moscow, probably the last thing that I expected to be doing was to be giving a television interview to Channel 1 Russia, but it happened. The previous day we had been told that a camera crew from a local channel would be waking us up the following morning, as they wanted to film the project and the daily life of us volunteers. This was a big surprise and a very weird experience trying to act normally and not look at the cameras. A few days later we had to do the same thing all over again as the main television channel in Russia came to film us for the day. This trend continued over the two weeks and three television and two newspaper interviews later, I can safely say that we became well accustomed to life in the media.
Despite visiting some of the best sites in Moscow and being on national television, it was often the smaller activities and the free time spent at the school or the park that provided the highlights of the camp. One such highlight was ‘Moscow Families’, where the group split up to spend the evening with a family from Moscow. This was great as it allowed us to meet other people from the Moscow area and get a taste of home life in the Russian capital.
(In the picture: Graham and the group of volunteers)
What truly made the time special was the effort that the Russian host volunteers and theemployees of the park put into welcoming the foreign volunteers. I believe that this was the key factor to the success of the camp as it allowed the group to become great friends in such a short period of time. Their enthusiasm for the project and their willingness to help out with translation and problems faced by the foreigners of the group was incredible. This invaluable contribution to the experience of the international volunteers cannot be overstated.
The project was a very rewarding and authentic experience that went way beyond the work at the park. It allowed the group to make a difference and help the local community. I would recommend the project to anyone.
Alex Layden has just arrived in Latvia where he will spend the year as EVS volunter working in a language and cultural centre supporting projects connected to international youth and cultural work.
Birthday time - EVS volunteers celebrate!
“No problems, only challenges” says EVS volunteer Alex Layden
I was surprised as I waited for my plane at Glasgow to find that I was actually quite nervous about going to Latvia. In my case, the process from phoning Concordia for information about the EVS and getting into the car to go to the airport had been a matter of weeks rather than months, so there had been a sense of unreality about it, all the last minute details, coupled with trying to get potentially 12 months worth of gear into 15kg worth of baggage, had kept me too occupied to really think much about what I was doing. It was only waiting at the departure gate that I started to get concerned. Latvia? A country I know nothing about, a language I have not even the meanest knowledge of, and a volunteer project about which I had only an overview of what would be expected of me.
I reflected on this for most of the flight, but I found as I got closer to Riga International, I started to feel better. This was an adventure! What was the worst that could happen? People go travelling alone all the time, with no more than a passport and a rucksack. I was being met at the airport, I had a host organisation to sort my accommodation and food, and, break glass in case of emergency, I could always call Concordia.
I arrived in Riga 15 minutes early yesterday, and so hung around for a bit waiting, giving me a chance to reflect on the fact that I know none of the language and was entirely in the hands of the staff at the cultural centre. Fortunately they are both efficient and organised, so when, as I stood outside, I heard two people bearing luggage mention both France and Azerbaijan (in English) the lessons I had absorbed from reading The Hound of the Baskervilles on the plane came to the fore, and I introduced myself to John (from France) and Aitan (an Erasmus student from Azerbaijan).
There was another French girl coming into Riga that day, but not until 1745, so we took a bus into Riga and ditched the kit at the left luggage before going to do some sightseeing.
It was here that it got interesting. Aitan figured (quite rightly) that it was silly for all of us plus luggage to go to the airport just to come back into town again, so John and I went and had some dinner and arranged to meet Aitan and Line, the French girl later on. Later on came, and then another hour, and still John and I were kept company only by our mountain of bags.
For what I presume was some offence committed in a past life, my telephone decided that this would be a good time to play up. The time had come to phone Natasha at the centre for a game plan, and so I eventually found a signal outside the station (in the rain obviously). It was at this point that my phone gleefully informed me that I had a low battery. Cue much smiles and pantomiming at the bar where we had eaten to convince the girl there to let me charge my phone for a bit. Eventually I picked up a voice mail from Natasha telling us to wait and that there had been a problem at the airport; the plane was late and, arguably more seriously, Line wasn't on it.
When we met up with Aitan again, it was just gone 2000, and we had missed the last train, so it was to the bus station instead. We eventually got the 2120 bus which got us into Rezenke at about 0130, where we were met by Natasha and conveyed to the hostel, which was, as one might expect, different from what I am used to.
Alex's bedroom the morning after he arrived, still in need of a little warmth...
All needs are provided for, not as they would be in a hotel, but then this is the place we will be living for months, and so, I figure it is up to us to make it feel like home.
So we arrived very late on Tuesday, John and I, and by Wednesday we had met the other volunteers (those that had arrived) Elsa, from France, Luzzy, Germany, and Loukas, from Austria. First impressions were good, but I think that the purpose behind the application process in EVS is to find people who are outgoing enough to function well as part of a group in challenging circumstances, rather than people who are academically qualified (see my CV if you don’t believe me ;))
On Thursday morning we had to travel again, back to Riga, for out EVS on arrival training. In all honesty I was not enthusiastic, because I wanted to spend some time getting to know the town where I would be spending most of the next year, but at the same time I hadn’t made it to a pre-departure course in the UK, so maybe it would be full of useful information. Of course, I had no idea what to expect, but reflected that neither did anyone else, and at least it was all happening in my native language.
The journey was in itself an experience; we caught the morning train that had come into Latvia overnight from St Petersburg, and were surprised by the fact that there were beds which folded down from the walls of the carriage, and even the seats were designed as benches you could sleep on. Most of these were filled with large Russian people, who had enough experience to bring blankets and pillows with them.An interesting slant on train travel.
From Riga we took a bus out of the city to the guest house where the training course was happening, and it was here we started to meet the other EVS volunteers and get a sense of the other types of projects running in Latvia. The training course itself was actually surprisingly fun, and there was lots of useful information about the logistics surrounding an EVS project, and things which I didn’t know (covered in the pre-departure training). There wasn’t much which I would call essential, but all of it was useful, and we had a chance to talk about our projects in more depth and discuss what we would be doing and what we would get out of them. It was also a chance to really get to know not only the other volunteers from Rezekne, but also from the rest of Latvia, and network a bit, both for the sake of the projects, perhaps inviting other volunteers to events we will be hosting, and also for fun, it is good to know that there are other people in Latvia to visit to see more of the country.
Getting back from training almost brings me to the end of this little update, we got back to Rezekne late on Sunday after meeting Line at the airport, and we have spent time since then trying to figure out how to organise the day to day life in the hostel, bearing in mind there will be nine of us eventually.
The main point that came out of training for me was how much situations depend on how you perceive them. If you look at something that goes wrong as a terrible catastrophe, then chances are it is. But we are not the first people to do EVS, and chances are that there will be nothing we come across that another volunteer has not already encountered and overcome. And with the support network we have in place, it would take something quite dramatic to give us real trouble. So no problems, only challenges, and it’s shaping up to be a great year!
Would you like to volunteer on a fully funded European Voluntary Service (EVS) project for 6-12 months? Email: evs@concordia-iye.org.uk to request an application pack.
