Volunteering project in Romania

Hello, I am Tamar Sadzaglishvili from Georgia. My project was last year, from July 31 to February 16,  in  Braila, Romania. My host organization was “Club Voltin”. My project was about ecology. We were volunteers from three different countries: Georgia, Turkey and Moldova. We had a variety of activities. Sometimes we walked to schools and talk to them about what our project was about and what the purpose was, and we explained to the students how they could become volunteers and we played various games which were related to ecology and psychology.

 We had cultural night where we introduced each other our countries traditional foods, it was very amazing day. There was a problem in the city because everyone only spoke Romanian. But after a while everything got easier as we started learning Romanian.

I am happy because I used this chance to be a member of this project, which gave me a great experience. We had two trainings in another city where I met a lot of people and made a lot of friends. I got to know the culture and cuisine of different countries what is very interesting. There were also many local volunteers and together we had very good time. 

Ana Nemsadze ESC Story from Lithuania

გამარჯობა Sveiki
I am Ana, volunteering for the European Solidarity Corps and Erasmus+ project in Lithuania.
My Current role as a volunteer is to work at Didždvario gimnazija in Šiauliai and have been here for already 2 months. I had an introductory meeting with students where I did a presentation about myself and my country. It was really nice to connect with them and exchange the information. After that we did quiz to have more fun, also it was a new method for me of non-formal education.

Another part of my experience is to prepare radio shows for school radio. I did not have any experience in this field and all the preparation process is amazing itself. I have to recode first, after that have to do some editing in special program and work on jingles, on play lists and have to put everything together. I learned how to prepare posters and even have prepared a brand logo for my friends start up business and it worked. I am so proud of it!!! Well than corona nocked on our doors we had to do distance learning, but even that time I was doing my presentations in different classes via zoom platform.

For now, me and my partners are working on workshop for students and it will be online as well 

I believe I have a lot more coming up which I will share with you all…

Elene Esakia ESC Story from Lithuania

My name is Elene Esakia. I was a volunteer in Šiuauliai Dermes school. Šiauliai is 4th biggest city in Lithuania. And my school is only one which takes kids with special needs from all aver the country. This means that we have dormitory in school territory where students live and where I lived for one year. 

To explain more clearly it is little Hogwarts located in Lithuania where special kids study and very kind teachers teach. 

My work started from 2 o'clock. At mornings I had a free time so I was walking around the lakes, after that my shift would start and I'd go to very educational classes with my kids. I'd take care of them and also learn something new by myself. We had lessons in dancing, florists, crafts, ethnography and sports.

Those classes helped me to create my own personal project. I sewed a Georgian national dress on a doll, painted an old guitar in old Tbilisi views, and created a book about Georgian alphabet. Unfortunately in the middle of my project happened world pandemic and everything got closed. Our organization took care of us, I had to stay one more month because there were no flights, but our coordinator did everything she could for us to be comfortable in different country.

If you'll apply for Siauliai Dermes School as a volunteer believe me you will spend a very beautiful one year in a very beautiful and hospitable Lithuania

Tamar Giorgadze ESC Story from Spain

I am Tamar Giorgadze and I am volunteering in Málaga, Spain.  I was really lucky to find this Project in the most beautiful region called Andalusia. A year ago I decided to get out of my comfort zone and looked for new opportunities. I think my volunteering time is really special, because of the following  reasons: 1.  I was lucky enough to have working experience which is related to my profession. 2. I am among  the volunteers who are doing their Project during the pandemic. 

I work in the organization which empowers people and supports social inclusion.  I work with homeless people, with immigrants, women who are victims of trafficking and with people with different kinds of vulnerabilities. Usually I help them to get information about social services and resources, so they can find a job and integrate in the local community. Also I organize activities to help them develop their employment and social skills, going to the houses where immigrants live and helping them in their daily life. 

This is already my 8th month since I have been doing my volunteering.  For me it is divided in 3 parts: 

Time before lock down:  adapting period, because living in the new country is related to new challenges like getting to know the culture, organization, people, learning and finding out the ways to communicate with users and colleges in a language I did not speak very well. 

During lock down: On 13th of march the organization stopped working because of corona-virus and after two days the whole country was in quarantine for 3 month. We were not allowed to leave the house at all, just only to buy the food. There was a lot of fair, uncertainty, confusion. It seemed really hard to stay at home under these circumstances. But on the other hand I was lucky enough to have amazing flatmates. We always tried to support each other, and were organizing activities that could help us to overcome the situation and my organization always was for us whatever we needed.  Also this time was a great opportunity to concentrate on learning the language. During this period I was working from home and had online sessions with my users. 

After lock down: It is hard to describe the feeling when you are allowed to go out even with the limited hours just for a walk.   Slowly life went as normal as possible. But it was really strange to face the new reality. Still it is not completely allowed for volunteers to work from the organization (in order to eliminate risks), so I continue my work from home but also have face to face meetings in the office or in the houses of my beneficiaries.  

During my free time I attend cultural events, go to the beach and travel as much as it is possible under this situation. Of course to follow the safety rules. 

This Project is one of the best experience. I live in a diverse community, face many challenges, growing personally and professionally, getting confident and the most important having new friends from  around the world. 

Laul eestimaast or how I discovered Estonia.

Tere! This story started exactly one year and a half ago, when I was in need of something new in my life. I tend to change my life much often, but now I was looking for some extreme and dramatic change. So, one day in march, I found the EVS (now ESC) volunteering project in Estonia. I used to be a volunteer in AIESEC in Georgia from 2015, on different positions, so going as a volunteer wasn't a big change that I was looking for, however, the only things I knew about Estonia, is geographical location and the fact that it's EXTREMELY cold there in winter. After Georgian summer, that definitely sounded like a very big change for me, so I applied immediately and got accepted after 1 month! 

After a few months, on 3rd of September, I was standing in Batumi international airport with a big suitcase and a winter coat in my hands. I still recall the looks on me that day, as outside was 35 degrees and I was dressed like I just arrived from the North pole. Nevertheless, my decision to have my winter jacket carried by hand was one of the smartest ideas I ever had - as soon as we landed in Tallinn Airport, the cold breeze of the wind welcomed me and reminded, that I have a very big and hard winter to go through. 

I clearly remember the feeling of the first month - I was feeling like a tourist with a long term stay and even small things caused a big excitement in me. However, this excitement faded as soon as November - the darkest month of the year knocked on our doors. I had no idea that in Estonia there are white nights or dark winters. The fact is, that day becomes really small in winter and the sunrise usually is after 9am and the sunset around 4pm. So, basically, if you work in Estonia, you go out in the morning in darkness and when you leave your work, it's still dark. Seems very depressive - yes it does! In reality I filled up the lack of sun and warmth with the love of the kids in my Kindergarten, Vitamine D (which is essential in winter!) and long movie nights and cozy blankets. 

One of my big expectations this year was to see a snowy winter, but it almost didn't snow at all! Without snow, the humidity was really big and I was feeling cold in my bones, that's why every month in winter I escaped to some warmer country - once to Malta and twice back to Georgia.

Covid-19 crisis was really intense. Estonia didn't have a tragic situation, however there was more panic in people - everyone buying a lot of stuff, if someone sneezed on the bus, the whole bus was looking at this person and running to the other part of the bus away from him or her. However, this panic also faded away much quickly and everything became back to normal in a very short period of time. If you are interested, how I did my project during corona, please view this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R30KlRGGUdo 

About her majesty - the Baltic sea and summer: I was really tuned for summer this year, especially after cold and dark winter, however the winter lasted until the middle of May and I got used to cold weather very much. This summer, it was only for 2 weeks the temperature above 24, however the other days it's chilly and a bit cold for me. 

Even though summer did the early spring's job here, I had the opportunity to swim in Baltic sea several times (even though the water was cold) and really enjoyed it :)

My project is finishing in a few weeks, if I had the opportunity to go back to march 2019, I would apply for Estonia once again. YES, I had a lot of difficulties with too much nationalism in estonia and the understanding of the project description by the kindergarten, I got enormous love and emotions from kids, learned the essential parenting skills for future, decided to continue  my life in Estonia for 2 more years ( for University), got involved in activities of Georgian embassy and Georgian NGO's in Estonia to spread the awareness about Georgian culture and found the love of my life. 

So, if you are not looking for another entertainment and easy program, but are looking for a life changing opportunity, Tere Tulemast Eestis! 

Anano Iashvili

Linda Mamuladze story from France

Hello, my name is Linda and this year I was involved in EVS program called - “EVS on Board” held by organization Hors Pistes, in Marseille, France. I have always been passionate about France and French language, that’s why I decided to do my project here, so I could get a new experience and improve my language skills too. At the same time, it was an ability to live in the new culture, to meet people from different countries and different backgrounds, to learn more about their lifestyles, social or political concepts and Marseille is really a city which has a larger degree of multicultural tolerance.

A little bit of France. The French are generally very nice and hospitable people. Just learn a bit of their language as you are in their country, make the effort to mingle and most important – be polite because they are polite and get to know the real locals. They retain more of the subtleties and courtesies of life. There are “rituals” to meals, to entering shops, to greeting people, etc. It is so lovely! Here the phrases « Bonne journée – Have a good day »,     « S’il vous plait –Please », « Merci – Thank you », etc. you can hear almost in every sentence.

The French people love their vacations and days off and they are justifiably proud of their beautiful and varied country, their amazing cuisine and their contributions to world culture. That’s why it’s amazing and interesting to live in France!

Concerning my project, I was working in the high school “Marcel Pagnol” and my tasks were following: participate to actions to promote youth mobility, lead and animate actions within the high school on different topics (e.g. equal rights, citizenship, environment), enhance workshops and clubs for the pupils during, help during the English classes, fill with life         « café » : organize exhibitions, debates, workshops, clubs, games, tutoring, etc. 

This time I was first and only one volunteer in the high school and that made me feel more responsible for the actions I was going to make. At the beginning I was a bit scared that it would be difficult to be both a first and all alone. It was also a challenge to speak in French with native people after having just one year of experience in this language and I was excited and tensed at the same time.

Luckily, thanks to the agreeable environment in my school, which helped me a lot to easily adapt and integrate, everything went really well and it was an interesting and rewarding experience for me. I can say that I have become more independent, organized, responsible and I have successfully boosted self-confidence.

Moreover, by working in the high school I had a possibility to discover new educational system different from one that exists in Georgia.

It is very important when you care but more important is how you share it! Even one question “Ça va?” – which you are asked every second in France makes you feel that you are not alone and someone is supporting you as they can. EVS helped me to learn more about myself, learn how to live without my family, without their help and how to be strong in difficult situations, as well as how to solve them.

As well, I was able to work with Hors Pistes, my receiving organization. A group of warm, helpful people always ready to support you in everything. Furthermore, thanks to this project I met a lot of great people during this period, including my Mentor, who helped me not only to explore the city, but also she gave me a big support and the motivation!

Finally, this project and all of the experiences have shown me that working and helping others greatly contributes to my personal development. Therefore, I find volunteering a way to create the best community and strengthen intercultural relations. For me this is a great opportunity to work with people from all over the world, share their opinions, improve my communication skills, explore my interests and above all help people in need and I intend to continue to get involved a little more in this area! 

Irakli Tvalodze ESC story from Poland

2019 წლის 7 მაისს გავემგზავრე პოლონეთში, ქალაქ გდანსკში Caritas Archidiecezji Gdańskiej ორგანიზაციაში, 12 თვიან მოხალისეობრივ პროექტში, რის შესახებაც მინდა გიამობოთ.

დავიწყებ იმით, რომ პროექტის შერჩევის დროს დიდ მნიშვნელობას სამუშაო სპეციფიკასათან ერთად, ვანიჭებდი ადგილმდებარეობას.

გასაუბრების შემდეგ, ძალიან მომეწონა და გამიხარდა, რომ მომეცა შესაძლებლობა მიმეღო მონაწილეობა ამ პროექტში, ვინაიდან ჩემი ბოლო შანსი იყო ასაკიდან გამომდინარე და ამისთვის ძალიან დიდი მადლობელი ვარ ყველასი ვისაც წვლილი მიუძღვის ჩემი კანდიდატის შერჩევაში. შემოთავაზებული ვარიანტი ძალიან მომეწონა და გამიხარდა, რადგან ცხოვრების იმ ეტაპზე ვიყავი, რომ მჭირდებოდა რაღაც სიახლე, სიმშვიდე, ახალი გარემო და ახალი კონტაქტები.

ვცხოვრობდი გდანსკში, პოლონეთის ერთ-ერთ ულამაზეს ზღვისპირა საპორტო ქალაქში, მქონდა ორგანიზაციისგან უფასო სამოგზაურო ბარათი, რისი საშუალებითაც 3 ქალაქში მარტივად გადავაადგილდებოდი გდანსკი, სოპოტსა და გდინიაში.

ვმუშაობდი  ასევე ქალაქ გდანსკში ძალიან საყვარელ ბებია-ბაბუებთან, ყოველი სამუშაო დღე ლამაზი, სასიამოვნო, ბედნიერი ემოციებით სავსე და ძალიან ნაყოფიერი იყო ჩემთვის, ის სითბო რაც ჩემი ბებია-ბაბუებისგან მოდიოდა ჩემს მიმართ, ენით აუღწერელია. ჩემი თბილი მეგობრები და ბებია ბაბუები.

ჩემი პროექტის ძირითადი მიზანი იყო  ქართული კულტურის გაცნობა, ვაკეთებდი პრეზენტაციებს საქართველოზე, ქართულ ტრადიციებზე, თვეში ერთხელ ვამზადებდი ქართულ ტრადიციულ კერძებს,  ვესაუბრებოდი ქართულ კულტურა, წეს-ჩვეულებებზე, ვაკეთებდით შედარებებს, განვიხილავდით, ვთამაშობდით და დროს ძალიან კარგად ვატარებდით.

ძალიან კმაყოფილი ვარ ჩემი თავით და ჩემი შესაძლებლობებით, ბედნიერი ვარ, რომ პოლონეთში მოვხვდი ვინაიდან და რადგანაც ძალიან შემიყვარდა თვითონ პოლონეთიც და პოლონელი ხალხიც, ენაც, კულტურა, წეს-ჩვეულებები და წესრიგიც. დღეს მე პოლონურ ენას სასაუბრო დონეზე ნორმალურად ვფლობ და ეს ფაქტი ძალიან მაბედნიერებს. მონაწილეობას ვიღებდი ორგანიზაციის მიერ ჩატარებულ ყველა აქტივობებში, ვმუშაობდი არა მარტო ბებია-ბაბუებთან, არამედ კვირაში ერთხელ გვქონდა გასვლები სხვადასხვა, გდანსკის მიმდებარე პატარა სოფლებში, სადაც სკოლებში ვატარებდით პრეზენტაციებს  საკუთარ სამშობლოზე და ასევე სხვადასხვა სახის ღონისძიებებს. 

ვგეგმავდით სხვადასხვა სახის აქტივობებს. ყველა მოხალისე ერთად, გუნდურად ყოველ პარასკევს ჩვენს კოორდინატორთან ერთად ვეხმარებოდით სასკოლი ღონისძიებების ორგანიზებაში და ბევრ სხვა სახის შემეცნებით ღონისძიებებში.

წარმოგიდგენთ იმ გამოცდილებებს და სიკეთეებს რაც ამ 12 თვის განმავლობაში შევიძინე.

- ვცხოვრობდი და ყოველთვიურად ვმოგზაურობდი მსოფლიოს სხვადასხვა ქვეყნის წარმომადგენელთან ერთად, ხანაც ცალკე, ძირითადად სოლო მოგზაური ვიყავი.

- შევიძინე მეგობრები სხვადასხვა  ქვეყნებიდან.  (Arrival და Midterm ტრენინგებზეც გავიცანი სხვა მოხალისეები) ასევე couchsarfing-ს ვიყენებდი...ვიმოგზაურე ევროპის 9 ქვეყანაში, ძალიან იაფად და მარტივად. გაწერილი და დაგეგმილი მქონდა თითოეული თვე და ტური, ძალიან ნაყოფიერად გამოვიყენე ის დრო, რაც მქონდა და უბედნიერესი ვარ, რადგან თითოეულმა ქვეყანამ მაჩუქა კარგი მეგობარი/მეგობრები.

- ვიმოგზაურე პოლონეთის სხვადასხვა ქალაქსა თუ სოფელში.

- ძალიან კარგი სამოგზაურო გეგმა მქონდა რაც ითვალისწინებდა ყოველთვიურად ერთ პატარა ტურს სხვადასხვა ქვეყნის ქალაქში...პროექტის დასრულების შემდეგ. დაგეგმილი მქონდა პატარა, მაგრამ საკმაოდ ლამაზი  ევრო ტური: პრაღა, ბერლინი, ბოლონია, ფლორენცია, რომი, ლისაბონი, გდანსკი და შემდეგ ქუთაისი, რაზეც სამწუხაროდ პანდემიამ იქონია გავლენა და ჩამეშალა გეგმები. თუმცა, ასევე მინდა ავღნიშნო კორონას დრო, რომელმაც თითოეული ჩვენთაგანი დააფოქირა, ცოტა შეგვაშინა კიდეც, ეს დრო საკმაოდ პროდუქტიული აღმოჩნდა, ვინაიდან  ზუსტად ამ დროს მოვახდინე თვითრეალიზაცია და ინტეგრაცია ადგილობრივ საზოგადოებაში ყველაზე კარგად და ეფექტურად, რის შედეგადაც შევიძინე პოლონელი კარგი ნაცნობები თუ მეგობრები და პოლონური ენაც უფრო დავხვეწე.

- გავიცანი უამრავი ადგილობრივი , რომელთა  სტუმართმოყვარეობით და მეგობრობით ძალიან კმაყოფილი ვარ.

- მივიღე მონაწილეობა სხვადასხვა სოციალურ აქტივობაში, მასპინძელი ორგანიზაციის ოფიციალური გვერდზე გამოსაქვეყნებლად.

- დავიხვეწე ინგლისურში და ვისწავლე პოლონური.

- გავეცანი სხვადასხვა ქვეყნის სამზარეულოს და ვისწავლე კერძების მომზადება.

- ვიცხოვრე სრულიად დამოუკიდებლად , რამაც ბევრი წინააღმდეგობის გადალახვა მასწავლა.

- მქონდა დისკუსიები, ძირითადად განვიხილავდით მსოფლიოში მიმდინარე გლობალურ პრობლემებს და მიმდინარე პროცესებს, ძირითადად კი ფსიქოლოგიური სახის დისკუსიები გვქონდა, რამაც უფრო გამიღრმავა ინტერესი ამ კუთხით.

- უცხო ქვეყანაში,  მულტი კულტურულ საზოგადოებაში ცხოვრებამ გამხადა უფრო მეტად ტოლერანტი და გამიღრმავა ცოდნა სხვადასხვა კულტურების შესახებ.

- ამ 12 თვის მანძილზე, მგონია რომ ჩემი თავი უკეთ გავიცანი.

- მომივიდა უამრავი იდეა, და რაც მთავარია დავისახე მიზანი, რომელსაც უახლოეს მომავალში აუცილებლათ განვახორციელებ.

პ.ს და კიდევ მრავალი პიროვნული განვითარებები...

ერთი სიტყვით, ძალიან კმაყოფილი ვარ ჩემი გადაწყვეტილებით და მოცემული შესაძლებლობით.

კიდევ ერთხელ დიდი მადლობა მინდა გადავუხადო აბსოლიტურად ყველას ამ შესაძლებლობის მოცემისათვის.

მოხალისის პროგრამა, ერთ-ერთი ყველაზე საუკეთესო გამოცდილებაა ადამიანის პიროვნული ზრდისთვის. ეს არის ცხოვრების ის სკოლა, რომლიდანაც ბევრ რამეს ისწავლით, დაუფიქრებლად გადადგით ეს ნაბიჯი და იყავით შეუპოვარნი, ეცადეთ მაქსიმალურად გამოიყენოთ თითოეული შესაძლებლობა და შანსი. ის შანსი, რომელიც ძალიან სასარგებლოა პიროვნული თუ კარიერული ზრდის თვალსაზრისითაც, ეს ის შანსია, სადაც მხოლოდ ისწავლით და თქვენთვის ცხოვრებაში სასარგებლო ინფორმაციას მიიღებთ, რომელიც გამოგადგებათ და რომელიც წარმატების საწინდარი იქნება თქვენთვის.

პატივისცემით,

ირაკლი თვალოძე

Ana Mosemghvdlishvili Story from Poland

2019 წლის 3 ნოემბერს გავემგზავრე პოლონეთში Eropeskjie Forum Mlodziezy ორგანიზაციაში 6 თვიან მოხალისეობრივ პროექტში, რის შესახებაც მინდა გიამობოთ ორიოდე სიტყვით.

დავიწყებ იმით, რომ პროექტის შერჩევის დროს დიდ მნიშვნელობას სამუშაო სპეციფიკასათან ერთად ვანიჭებდი ადგილმდებარეობას. გასაუბრების შემდეგ ძალიან მომეწონა შემოთავაზებული ვარიანტი რადგან 4 წლიანი სწავლის და თბილისის ხმაურიანი ცხოვრების შემდეგ ძალიან მჭირდებოდა მშვიდი გარემო და ახალი კონტაქტები. ასე რომ ვცხოვრობდი ქვემო სილეზიის ერთ-ერთ პატარა სოფელში ულამაზეს ადგილას, ჩეხეთის საზღვართან ძალიან ახლოს. ვმუშაობდი ქალაქ კლოძკოში  6-16 წლამდე ახალგაზრდებთან, ჩემი პროექტის ძირითადი მიზანი იყო ქართული კულტურის გაცნობა, ვაკეთებდი პრეზენტაციებს საქართველოზე, ქართულ ტრადიციებზე,  ვასწავლიდი ქართულ სიმღერებს და ვეხმარებოდი მოსწავლეებს ინგლისურის სწავლაში. ასევე ვგეგმავდით სხვადასხვა სახის აქტივობებს და ვეხმარებოდით სასკოლი ღონისძიებების ორგანიზებაში.

წარმოგიდგენთ იმ გამოცდილებებს და სიკეთეებს რაც ამ 6 თვის განმავლობაში შევიძინე.

-ვცხოვრობდი მსოფლიოს 9 სხვადასხვა ქვეყნის წარმომადგენელთან ერთად, შევიძინე მეგობრები მსოფლიოს 15ზე მეტი ქვეყნიდან. (Arrival და Midterm ტრენინგებზეც გავიცანი სხვა მოხალისეები)

-ვიმოგზაურე პოლონეთის სხვადასხვა ქალაქსა და სოფელში.

-ვიმოგზაურე შვედეთში(ევრო ტური კორონამ ჩამიშალა)

-გავიცანი უამრავი ადგილობრივი, რომელთა  სტუმართმოყვარეობით და მეგობრობით ძალიან გაოცებული ვარ.

-დავიწყე ჩემი საკუთარი პროექტი სკოლაში, რომლის დასრულებაც კორონამ არ მაცალა, თუმცა პროექტის მზადების პროცესმა ძალიან დიდი გამოცდილება შემძინა.

-მივიღე მონაწილეობა სხვადასხვა სოციალურ აქტივობაში, მასპინძელი ორგანიზაციის ოფიციალური გვერდზე გამოსაქვეყნებლად.

-ვიყავი რეჟისორი მოკლემეტრაჟიანი ფილმების.

-დავიხვეწე ინგლისურში ცოდნა, დავიწყე რუსულის, სომხურის და გერმანულის სწავლა.

-გავეცანი სხვადასხვა ქვეყნის სამზარეულოს და ვისწავლე კერძების მომზადება.

-ვიცხოვრე სრულიად დამოუკიდებლად, რამაც ბევრი წინააღმდეგობის გადალახვა მასწავლა.

-მქონდა დისკუსიები ეკონომიკურ და პოლიტიკურ პროცესებზე სხვადასხვა პროფესიის ადამიანთან, რამაც უფრო გამიღრმავა ინტერესი ამ კუთხით.

-უცხო ქვეყანაში,  მულტიკულტურულ საზოგადოებაში ცხოვრებამ გამხადა უფრო მეტად ტოლერანტი და გამიღრმავა ცოდნა სხვადადხვა კულტურების შესახებ.

-ამ 6 თვის მანძილზე მგონია რომ ჩემი თავი უკეთ გავიცანი.

-მომივიდა უამრავი იდეა, რომელსაც მომავალში აუცილებლათ განვახორციელებ.

პ.ს და კიდევ მრავალი პიროვნული განვითარებები...

მოკლედ ასეთი კმაყოფილი ჩემი გადაწყვეტილებით ჯერ არ ვყოფილვარ

თუ ვინმე ფიქრობთ მოხალისეობაზე,  დაუფიქრებლად გადადგით ეს ნაბიჯი.

Tamar Khachidze ESC story from Poland

My name is Tamar Khachidze and I am a volunteer in Opole, Poland. Thinking about new opportunities abroad and getting myself out of my own comfort zone have brought me here. It has been already 10 months since my arrival to this small and beautiful city in the southern part of the country.

My project, which I applied for months back, is all about actions for the common good, including supporting youngsters through non-formal education, exchanging cultures and  preparing the international atmosphere for the locals of Opole Voivodeship.

My first experience as a volunteer in my hosting organization started working for different schools around the region, sharing and presenting the Georgian culture, language and history of the country to schoolchildren. 

Later on, I started regular working for one of the innovative newborn local schools. For that time, I was working with disabled children, spending time with them, sharing my knowledge about different topics and participating in the development of their social skills.

Meanwhile, as the project started, with my  hosting organization and other international volunteers, I was actively involved in organizing and managing international meetings for the foreigners in  Opole. (Guiding them through the city, services, etc., Presenting an opportunity to meet each other and so on.) As a result, we have organized some of the biggest international events for foreigners in the city during Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's day.

As the pandemic period started, with the cooperation of a local foundation supporting education for seniors, we started having online English lessons for older generation as well as the cultural ones. The meetings are still on but for this moment we actively started having offline classroom lessons.

Luckily, my responsibilities for the organization was diverse as well as people and the multicultural level around. The period have been helping me to grow myself personally and see the world from different viewpoints. I have met a lot of people, heard a lot of inspiring stories and experienced a lot of useful things. I have gained skills for different topics such as, as mentioned, teaching, coaching, event planning, office working, social media marketing and so on, but most importantly, I have gained confidence to start new challenges, manage discomforting and hard situations, appreciate any kind of opinion and thought around and have a constant desire for improvement and development.

If people has a chance, they surely have to give volunteering a try, as they not only have chance to help others, but also make a huge progress out of themselves.

Keti Gulishvili story from Lithuania

 Keti Guliashvili - "My hosting organization was a gymnasium, therefore I’ve been working with adults from 9^th till 12^th grade. I was responsible for their non-formal education. At first, through presentations I shared with them my country’s culture, history and traditions. Afterwards, presentations involved different topics about social problems, ecology and so on. With my Ukrainian co-volunteer, we made a “discussion club” for increasing their awareness and improving their English speaking skills. It was absolutely different from typical lesson, it included various games, quizzes, competitions, movie sessions and then discussions about this.

   We also took part in all the school events, carnivals or culture evenings. Besides, we cooperated with school self-governance and planned many activities which should have been implemented in spring, but on account of the COVID19 lockdown, everything was canceled. Since March 11, we stopped working at school and I felt so desperate and sad, because I really enjoyed with every day spending with them. I loved the warm and attentive atmosphere at school, our tutor who always tried to arrange everything with us and if there was any problem, she was the one who always solved it.

   When we spent whole 3 months in lockdown, I felt extremely desperate, because I didn’t want to finish my project like this. Me and my Ukrainian co-volunteer, had a consultation with our tutor and we organized summer camp for the certain group of students. Therefore, we decided to extend the duration of the project for one month. I’d say, that this was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, because after for so long inactivity, I needed to revive and to regain my strength as well as the students. 

At the end of our project, we made the collage of our volunteering year. This is our legacy and I’m immeasurably proud of it. I expressed all my creativity because I wanted it to be very special and every time students will see that, they will remember all the memories connected with us, with me, a Georgian volunteer, who always advised them to experience themselves in volunteering instead of continuing study at the university straightaway after school".

Looking for birds, somewhere in the middle of Mediteranean sea

My name is Nika Budagashvili, ecologist and keen birder from the country of Georgia. I am volunteering at organisation BIOM, in the project called „Life Artina“. The project is about the conservation and research work of three locally and internationally threatened bird species: Audoun's gull, Scopoli's shearwater and Yelkouan shearwater.

Our „working office“ is situated on the island Lastovo that is extremely beautiful and quiet place. Every day is different here, every sunset and every sunrise is different. Its a small paradise in Croatia, with nice people and atmosphere.

What should be the sourse of pleasure for the birder during the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, when all the bars and restaurants are closed and you are on a small island that is in the middle of the sea?! – It's Birdwatching. We were here during the spring migration, when all the birds leave their wintering places and go to their nesting places. When the weather is bad, they have to take a rest somewhere and this place may be the island called Lastovo that is in the middle of the sea. And here we are – people who can watch and look for birds every day, all the time. The luckiest day of our birding here ended up with 45 bird species and it is not bad result for such a small place. After the fieldwork, when the bird conservation becomes tiring you can always take a rest and go birding, its an exelent way to take a rest by being in a quiet place that is surrounded by different species of birds that are singing nonstop, watching those beautiful creatures and listening to them will definitly give you a chance to rest.

Island is full of dead trees but you can't find any woodpeckers here, they could not menage to reach this island. You won't find any feral pigeons or common sparrows here that couse a bit strange feeling when you don't see one of the common birds of the world. The bird species that is known for all of us and is very common lives here during the winter but when the migration starts and different birds come on Lastovo European robins leave the island, for some reason they don't like this island for nesting and migrate somewhere far or near from Lastovo.

When I came on this island, the first bird I saw was Mediterranean Shag. I wanted a good picture of this species but they were not very friendly with me and were always far from me when I was trying to take a picture. But one day the storm called „Hugo“ did one and only good thing in the history of its existance and brought Shag very close with me so I could finally take a good picture. 

Now its time to tell you about this very beautiful and very angry bird. It's name is Subalpine warbler, one of the most beautiful warbler species in my opinion. I was waiting for their arrival for a long time here and one day my colleague Dries came from the field with an excellent news. When he asked me If I had an idea about the possible bird species that he saw in the field I immediately realized that It was Subalpine warbler, because he knew that I was waiting for this bird for a long time. The next day I took my camera and went birding to look for my long wished bird and I succeed.

It's one of the most territorial birds I've ever seen. When you walk near some bush that is a nesting place for the couple, male immediately appears on the top of the bush and starts singing and displaying his reddish throat and that means „you have to leave the place as soon as possible, if you don't want problems with him“.

There are no any lakes on the island, but you can find some small ponds that attract migratory birds as a resting place during the migration. This beautiful bird is Black winged stilt that spent about one week near the pond on the field below Lastovo town together with the partner. I spent several days and hours watching them. When they finally recovered energy, left the island and continued their trip to their breeding grounds.

Another bird that was attracted by the pond of Lastovo is this Wood Sandpiper. If you know what to do to get closer with these birds you will be able to take a lucky picture that will be reminder of the moment when you saw a bird.

Here on these pictures you see some more different species of the bird that were seen on the island. There are Pied flycatcher, wood pigeon and northern wheatear. We have also found Eurasian Wryneck and Black headed bunting, both were first records for the island.

On this picture you see Whinchat. Probably these migratory bird species spent the most time here on the island. We had this species in our observations for quiet a long time, But now  it's getting more and more difficult to find them on the island.

Maybe you think that Pheasants are common birds for Europe and there is nothing with them to be exited but at least for me they are very unique birds. I have some reasons for that. The first and most important is the origin of this bird. The latin name Phasianus colchicus is the answer. Kolkheti is the ancient region from my country and it is the place where this bird was first described and after that they were introduced in other parts of Europe for hunting purpose. This bird species don't migrate and that's how this bird managed to come on this island, people brought it for hunting.

Another reason is the legend how the capital of Georgia was established. We have an old legend about that: One of our King, Vakhtang I of Iberia was hunting with raptor. The raptor found pheasant followed it and during their fast flight both birds ended up in some thermal water and died. When the king was looking for the birds he saw that place and decided to build a new town there with the name of Tiflis that comes from the name of warm water because „Tbili“ means warm in Georgian. Even now you can find the natural old thermal bath in Tbilisi. Thats how pheasant became an unique bird for Georgians. You will find pheasants on some local coats of arms, on some emblems, post marks etc. In Georgia.

The project I am volunteering in is about the conservation and research work of three locally endangered bird species that breed on isolated islands in Mediterranean sea in Dalmatian region of Croatia. We are trying to find out the problems that have a negative effect on our target birds’ populations and do our best to help them to increase their breeding success. The aim of the project is to find out more about what are the main problems of the protection of three marine bird species: The Audouin’s Gull, The Scopoli’s Shearwater and Yelkouan Shearwater. The project is planning to set up a base for the recovery of marine bird populations in Special protected areas in southern part of Croatia. I have already spent nearly four months here and had many memorable moments.      

We were working several small islands that are on the territory of Lastovo Natural Park. Did some conservation work to help previously mentioned bird species to have a successful breeding year. Now they have chicks and we hope that they will all menage to survive. We have also done nest searching and found more nests of our target birds than was found last year, so it is a positive news and sign of the success of the project. We do more than 10 sea transects every month to find the resting and feeding territories for our target birds in the Mediterranean sea and find out which bird species use the sea routes during the migration. For the next months as planned according to the project I will go to another town and volunteer in the local office of the organisation Biom, do some more fieldwork in the Dinara mountains and will for other bird species which need to be scientifically understood better.