Keti about her EVS in Romania

Becoming a volunteer will change your life, it will change you into a better person, and it will give you life experiences of all kinds, colours and shapes. It will give you the chance to grow and help others grow. You will have the opportunity to give yourself to those you will work with and learn so much from them.

Life in EVS comunity is a new adventure. we learn to share all things with people from different countries and thoughts. for me it is a very heartwarming experience , because I learning a lot of things, new languages and to appreciate the little moments.
Now that my project is about to finish I realize all that I have learned during 9 months: giving classes and workshops, speaking in public, making new friends, catching new opportunities, travelling to new places and in a different way… I have built a life that will be difficult to be left behind. 

As redundant as it sounds, I learnt how to truly be a volunteer; I learnt what it means. I understand, now, the importance of team work and above all, initiative and patience. I got to know so much about Romanian culture, life and traditions. I came to see their world with new eyes. I discovered myself, the good things and the bad things, thus gaining the tools to be a better person for myself and for others. I had the chance to me immersed in many different languages and cultures, and compare them. I have obtained the realistic experience of independent life and semi-professional world, with all its better moments and harder moments.
Project "Unlock the world" was definitely the best thing I’ve ever done with my life. I never realized how hard life can be for people. I loved volunteering there because you could be silly and ridiculous by singing badly or dancing even worse and no one would judge you. In the end, all that mattered was putting a smile on the children’s faces.
People with autism seem to be living in their own world. No one completely understands what they are going through. It’s also more difficult to make friends. I started working in A.N.C.A.A.R center. 

These kids taught me more than I could have ever taught them. Most of kids were nonverbal and of course that posed challenges, but it was honestly the most rewarding experience I have ever had. Prior to this, I had some, but limited, experience working with children with disabilities. In this project, I was right in there. I'm not gonna say that this job was easy and fun all of the time because that's just not true. The truth is, it was extremely challenging and at times I asked myself why I decided to do that. But every time I had those doubts, I came back with the same conclusion: I LOVE THIS. 
Because the children were mostly nonverbal, they biheviour is different but that never frustrated me. Instead, it taught me a kind of patience and compassion I had never experienced before. I realized that these kids had no other way to communicate and it was our job to try to help them and redirect them in different areas.

I truly believe that they are probably the happiest people when they could be the most miserable. 
There is not some rules how to communicate with children. Every child is different. so you should to try find your own way how to communicate with them. 

It is everything, when you saw children happy faces. You realized that your job is done.
And very important people in my life my fantastic team.
I love you all guys!

Keti's EVS hosting org:  Asociatia EXPLORATOR

Sending organisation: Association "Georgian Youth for Europe"

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