12 months 12 projects - Grasping EVS Life

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[This project was developed during my European Voluntary Service in Kalamata, Greece]

www.ngokane.org | info@ngokane.org

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This project could not exist without the generosity of Andreas Lekakis, Aneta Zemanová, Antonio Gomez, Carmen Russo, Evi Chronopoulou, Miguel Gea, Nantiana Koutiva, Ophélie Cottier, Pedro Amaro Santos, Sarah Papeil, Tiago Lila and Yani Volkova. I hope this project can inspire others, as they inspired me.

A special mention to Yani Volkova for her contribution to the logo. One final thanks to Nikos Stavropoulos for the dedication in the review of all the following pages.

Even if I didn’t know anything about volunteering you would already teach me the essential. To all of you I would like to express my sincere gratitude.

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[Volunteering as an EVS] Long-term programs The most unexpected thing [in my EVS] was the Greek Culture Interview with Miguel Gea, 5 We can make changes if we are together Interview with Yani Volkova, 9 Small details don’t seem important, but in everyday life they can make a difference Interview with Sarah Papeil, 12 My freedom doesn’t finish in your freedom: it grows with it Interview with Pedro Amaro Santos, 17 I’m happy to be a volunteer but I cannot say it was planned Interview with Antonio Gomez, 22 Experiencing differences as a strength and not as a wall Interview with Ophélie Cottier, 27

Short-term programs As a volunteer I learned more about the context than about the content Interview with Aneta Zemanová, 33

Personal Projects Fear is just an illusion: it’s a projection of yourself in the future, but it’s not real Interview with Carmen Russo, 37

[Locals and EVS] EVS] To be a volunteer I need a kind cause Interview with Andreas Lekakis, 44 It’s the attitude towards volunteerism that I am impressed with Interview with Evi Chronopoulou, 49

[On the other side of EVS] EVS] Do a project that you like: it’s a priority Interview with Nantiana Koutiva, 54 Ties between people: that’s what can bring us forward Interview with Tiago Lila, 58

[Grasping EVS life]

12 months 12 projects was born when a mind full of questions met amazing people.

Why did people become volunteers? To which kind of projects are they available? How do they relate with the project? How are their projects related to people, to the community? Those were some of the questions I was asking myself when I started my European Voluntary Service, an Erasmus+ project, on February 2017.

Luckily, shortly after, I had the opportunity to participate in a seminar with more than 50 volunteers that, just like me, were starting their EVS projects in Greece. We were young people from Europe and partner countries, full of ideas and energy to bring them to the world.

There were good projects, difficult projects sometimes, and marvelous people, people who do not conform to what they have and who want to make a difference. I realize that they inspire me, we inspire one another. And even before the seminar was finished I knew I had something to share.

As a personal project, I asked 12 people during my 12 months EVS program to share with me their time: all of them active volunteers, all of them with ideas and a vision to a different world; all of them with something to give to the world. And all of them, with great generosity, shared with me what I'm sharing now with you, because there is no volunteerism without sharing. I hope all our words, and most of all, our acts, can raise awareness of the importance of volunteer work.

Our ideas, our experiences, our inspirations, our challenges, they are the substance of tomorrow: a shared tomorrow that needs to be built together. And together we can build better ideas and with them stronger communities, through civic engagement. By taking part in our communities’ lives, we are improving them. We are also empowering the organizations that support our communities, leading to the empowerment of our own work and each of our projects; by empowering our projects and our voices inside them, we will be empowering civil society – and hopefully contribute to create a more active society and a better democracy. It’s a cycle that can start with each one of us: for that we need to be aware, to engage, to care and to share.

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The most unexpected thing in my EVS was the Greek Greek Culture Miguel Gea

Miguel was an EVS volunteer in WWF Greece from March to September 2017, working in the project Conservation and monitoring at the National Park of Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli, in Dadia.

This interview took place on July 12th 2017, in Athens.

Hello Miguel. What do you want to tell us about yourself?

I’m Miguel, I’m from the south-east of Spain. I’m almost 25 years-old. I studied Marketing in Granada and I came here [in Greece] for EVS. What is your organization and what is its main subject?

I work for WWF, the panda NGO, and its main subject is to protect all animal life, to save all endangered animals in the world.

Why did you decided to be a volunteer?

I was working in Spain but I didn’t feel that I wanted to start my life like that, working. I always wanted to do a volunteer program and I decided that this was the time.

When you’re working on a project, what energizes you the most and why?

Here, sometimes that is really hard because most of the time our work is monitoring the birds and that can be really boring, even for people who love it so much. But there are small things, other things: you are in the nature, you are learning about the birds, and I think the most important is that you are taking care of a really endangered animal species that might cease to exist if we don’t do this. So this is my first priority.

How is your daily life?

We don’t have the same schedule every week. But for example, one day I can wake up at 5:30, a hard day, and we can drive one and a half hour to go to a B point in Avantas, which is far from my village, to search for nests in the mountains, in inhospitable places. I love it, but it is really hard. On another day we might only drive 20 minutes away from our village and we stay five hours just monitoring a couple of the birds, to see if they have chicks. It is really nice.

What makes you feel passionate about your project?

My love for nature.

What have you learnt as a volunteer so far?

I learnt a lot about birds, different birds, how to take care of them. Also, I have some Greek friends and I help them in the vegetable garden, so I have a lot of new skills on that and I love it. With co-habitation, I feel now so much comfortable because it is my first time living with strangers. I learnt to cook, I clean a lot… I learnt a lot of things. Maybe the most unexpected thing was the Greek culture: I love it.

So, do you feel well here?

Yes, I feel really well.

What was the most grateful experience so far?

I have grateful moments every week I think. But, for example, once we were waiting for a bird for 2 days and we couldn’t find it, and on the 3rd day we were waiting in a mountain and suddenly it appears above us and it went to the nest – and we didn’t know where it was so far.

It was amazing.

Can you tell me 3 words that describe you as a volunteer?

I’m helpful, sometimes I’m lazy… not sometimes, more than sometimes [laugh]. And I’m interested.

What makes you feel passionate about life?

People. I love nature and to meet new people, get to know how kind they are, to be able to understand each other… I love it.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love sports and in the village. I often go with children to play with them, football or something alike. I also like to help people gardening.

What inspires you?

Some people inspire me a lot. The most inspiring of all was my grandfather. He was really an important man and he helped a lot of people. Even now, people tell me “your grandfather helped a lot of families”. I love this kind of people that change the world.

What are you afraid of?

I’m afraid of the height, but I’m managing it [laugh]. I’m afraid to waste my time here… well, in general. I’m afraid to be one more in the system, just another one in the crowd. I hate the routine.

Do you have a motto in your life?

It’s not the same everyday [laugh]. I love carpe diem. Don’t waste your time, you only have one life and you can do a lot of things, important things. Maybe not for the world but for you, so do it.

What do you miss the most?

Why do you ask this? Family and friends. And the sea.

There is something here that reminds you of home?

Yes, some people from the village are so similar to some people that I like a lot. For example, a daughter of a Greek friend is very similar to one of my nieces.

What is your favorite place in Dadia?

It’s one that it’s not in the village; it’s a waterfall outside the village.

Tell me 5 things you would like to do before you die?

I have a lot of things [laugh]. I want to travel a lot to see all the important places in the world – like Parthenon (laugh again]. I want to create a company with my friends; I want to work in an NGO about environment. I want to play saxophone and I want to do volunteer service in Africa.

Where would you like to live, if you could choose anyplace?

New Zeland.

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Why? I love it! And Australia too.

If you could change one thing, anything, what would you change?

All the stupid politics.

What makes you happy?

I think I’m happy by nature, sometimes somethings make me unhappy, but I’m happy by nature.

Do you want to leave a message for other volunteers or to people who are thinking about becoming volunteers?

Do it. Even if it’s a bad volunteering project, you will learn a lot of things.

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We can make changes chan ges if we are together Yani Volkova

Yani was an EVS volunteer in KANE, Kalamata, from February 2017 to February 2018, working on the project Knowledge v2.

This interview took place on June 29th 2017 in Kalamata

Hello Yana. Τι Κανεις;[how are you?] Καλα [I’m well].

Thank you for being here. What do you want to tell us about yourself?

I’m an activist and I love everything connected to arts and crafts.

Why did you decide to be a volunteer?

I decided to do my first volunteer project four years ago when I went to a work camp in Czech Republic. My motivation was very selfish: I wanted to learn Czech and study; I was thinking mainly about myself. But then, after I met many people from different cultures, different countries, I realize that I went for something else, I took from this experience something else; and from that moment I realize that it was a life-changing experience. After that, I decided to do other work camps but with other motivation, to help the local community, to be able to have some social impact with my work. And from that moment I started to do more and more social projects and now I feel that I’m addicted to being involved in many social projects.

You are in Kalamata for 5 months now. What are you doing as an EVS volunteer and what are your projects here?

My project is connected to art as a tool for social change and so far I did projects about environment and plastic pollution of the ocean and sea. I did one event of beach cleaning, and other with a movie screening about ocean pollution. The last one was “Music Day of Kalamata” where we were making costumes out of plastic and trash, to raise awareness about pollution, and also musical instruments made out of materials that we can find in our trash bin.

When did you start to be interested in environmental issues? Do you have a particular event or time that you relate with the moment you started to think about it?

When I started my voluntary path I met many people from different NGO’s and other environmental organizations. Being surrounded by those environment friendly people made me realized that this topic is also very important for me because I love nature and it’s very sad for me to see how we are destroying nature. So I decided to dedicate my voluntary work to this.

When you’re working on a project, what energizes you the most and why?

The thing that energizes me the most is people around me. I didn’t think about that before I came here, but I’ve been realizing that if I’m alone I’m not motivated, I don’t want to make any changes, or anything. But as soon as someone joins my team it motivates me very much because I see that they are interested and they want to make changes and it brings me more motivation and more energy to do things.

What makes you feel passionate about your project?

Love towards nature and arts, and the two of them together, when we can connect them.

What have you learnt as a volunteer so far?

I learn that we can make changes if we are together, if we are united, and that everything is possible, we just need to keep moving.

What was the most grateful experience so far?

I think it was three festivals that we organized with an NGO in my hometown, Kharkiv, in Ukraine. It was the Fair of Social Initiative, and in that moment, when we were making this festival, I realized that I was doing great things and it had a big impact on my vision of life.

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Can you tell me 3 words that describe you as a volunteer?

Creativity, curiosity, energy.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I like to draw, to paint, to hike; I like to just spend time somewhere outside of the city, in the forest, by the sea… Σιγά σιγά time.

What inspires you?

Other people, other creative people, and nature.

What are you afraid of?

I’m afraid of losing motivation, to lose curiosity about life and to lose people who are supporting me and who are close to me.

Do you have a motto in your life?

Yes, it’s “It always seems impossible until it’s done”, by Nelson Mandela. This is my biggest motivation: I always need to try everything and then I will know if it is or it isn’t for me.

What do you miss the most?

I miss creative environment, with artists, music… a lot. We have it here but I miss it in a bigger scale, like a community of artists.

There is something here in Kalamata that reminds you of home?

I don’t think so, it’s all very different: the environment, people…

What is your favorite place in Kalamata?

West Beach.

Tell me 5 things you would like to do before you die?

I never thought about that… I want to travel to Latin America; I want to do a big boat trip; I want to learn a musical instrument, perfectly; I want to become an artist; I want to get rid of diabetes.

Where would you like to live, if you could choose anyplace?

Somewhere where it’s not as hot as in Kalamata and not as cold as in Ukraine during winter [laughs]. I don’t know, I want to travel everywhere and then I can choose.

What makes you smile?

Music, mountains, sea, and painting.

Do you want to leave a message for other volunteers or to people who are thinking about becoming volunteers?

You never know, until you try! Don't be afraid of starting something new, if you start something new (a project, an event, a job) don't be afraid to fail! If you really don't feel like doing it, quit and start something new. But once you decided to do it, keep it until the end. You will see how powerful you will become for yourself!

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Small details don’t seem important, but in everyday life they can make a difference Sarah Papeil Sarah was an EVS volunteer in Solidarity Tracks, in Lefkada, from February to October 2017, working on project EVS promotion, & Time Bank promo and implementation and youth exchange preparation.

This interview took place on July 11th 2017, in Athens.

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Hi Sara. What do you want to tell us about yourself?

I’m Sara, I’m from France, and I’m volunteering in Solidarity Track, in Lefkada, for one year.

What is your organization and what is its main subject?

Solidarity tracks is an NGO, it was created 10 years ago, and they are working mainly about solidarity, of course, and also about sustainable development. The idea is to use common trash, like a plastic bottle or aluminum, and try to give it a second life.

How is your everyday life as an EVS? We start around 10am and we finish at 1pm and go back from 5pm to 8pm. As for me, I work at the time bank. Part of my job is to check if we have anything new and post the posters on facebook, but also on the streets. It’s mainly this.

Why did you decided to be a volunteer?

It’s a long story. I’m a leader in work camps and one year I organized one work camp from another country and I really enjoyed it. So I was like “ok, now is my time, I have to go to another country and try the experience myself”. That was the beginning of my EVS story.

When you’re working on a project, what does energize you the most and why?

For me it has to do with how we will develop the project. We have one idea, one objective, and after that it’s more about how will we make it real, you know? How we will make it happen.

What makes you feel passionate about your project?

I don’t really like my project, so I can’t understand your question [laughs]. I applied for something, a project related with non-formal education, and finally three days before I came they told me that I would not do it, that I would do something else. So I try to enjoy it, but it is complicated.

What have you learnt as a volunteer so far?

You have to follow your instinct. Everybody has different education, future, goals… We are not coming here for the same reasons. Sometimes it’s difficult because we have misunderstanding and we cannot find a solution. You have to follow yourself and to support yourself. Of course that other people can help you, but they are not here to take care of yourself, so you need to take care of yourself.

What was your biggest challenge so far?

Finishing my EVS, I think [laughs]. Well, also improve my English.

How is it to live this experience, in a different country with a different language, from a halfdeaf person point of view?

The first month was very complicated because I’m used to reading the lips, but in French. It’s not something that I learned at school, but because I couldn’t hear my body found a solution for me to adapt. And when I arrived everybody spoke with me, but in English and I couldn’t read the lips. So, in the first months I was just like “I cannot understand anything”. It was really 13

complicated but now finally my brain knows how to speak [laughs]. It was the first hard thing.

In my organization I’m not the first deaf, so they know the situation, but every situation is different. I knew things in English but I didn’t really use it.

What was the most grateful experience so far?

When I arrived, we had a cat around the house. We are in Greece, so we have a lot of cats around, but one of them was not very afraid of humans so he came every day to eat with me and because life happens, she become pregnant and things got complicated. We cannot save all the cats but when she deliver the babies she got sick and I was just like “what can I do? I cannot let her die in front of my door”. I helped her but because she was so sick she couldn’t take care of the kittens, but I needed to do something. So we took them to the vet, we were taking care of the kittens during one week, I couldn’t sleep during all that time, it was crazy.

But now she is safe. It was difficult decision; other volunteers told me that I should not interfere if she couldn’t take care of them. It was hard to say to myself “I do this for me – I’m not doing it for you, for the cats, I do it because I cannot let her die like this”. It was a human experience and I think it was very, very important”.

Can you tell me 3 words that describe you, as a volunteer?

I’m very high standard, that’s why sometimes it’s difficult to work with people. When I’m ok, when I’m positive, I can be very funny or smiling… and the last, I don’t know. I like to take care of other people.

What makes you feel passionate about life?

For me, life is about what I can do, what we can do to breed a responsible world. The first time I came here I was like “wow, they are smoking in bars, giving plastic bags in the market”… I understand that it was the same for us before [in France], but eventually we cannot continue like this. The way we live, the way we consume, it’s totally crazy and we cannot say, “ok, those are the people who do it, it’s not very important”. No, it is important and it is now. If we don’t do anything after it will be worse. So, what we can do? It’s not only about trash and ecology.

What are the goals in your life: to win money, to go holiday, to buy one car…? Or not? What am I looking for my life now?

What do you like to do in your free time?

I read a lot, a lot of books about too many subjects – I don't focus on one topic. I go by bike around the lagoon. Lefkada is an island, a beautiful one, so I take my bike and I go far away.

That’s it: sometimes I’m at home, in my bed with my book, and sometimes I visit new places and discover new things.

What inspires you?

What and not who? [laughs]. Wow, it’s a smart question [laugh]. It can be very little things, details. Even if sometimes my EVS can be hard and I say “I want to go home”, if you are really looking for it, you can find hope. I think it’s that. You just have to look in the right direction.

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What are you afraid of?

Don’t make a good choice. I have the possibility to go home now and I think that some parts of me want, some don't, some don’t know. In the end, I’m afraid to make bad choices.

Do you have a motto in your life?

What do you mean?

Something that guides your life.

I love my mom.

It’s for sure a good guide. What do you miss the most?

Well, I’m from France, so I miss a lot cheese [laugh]. I think this is not what you expected.

Food can make people connect, it’s actually important.

I think it’s not what I miss the most. Sometimes I miss the freedom to express myself, because you can see that I am not really fluent in English. I can express myself but after a certain level, there are so many words that I cannot use because I don’t know how to say them… Sometimes I cannot say really what I want to say.

There is something in Lefkada that reminds you of home?

Yes, going to the beach. I also have it in France. I think that anywhere I’ll go, if I have beach, I’m home.

Is it your favorite place in Lefkada?

Yes. Tell me 5 things you would like to do before you die?

Hum… Swim with whales, going to Polynesia [laugh]: I know, beach and sea! Fall in love again.

Stop to be afraid and, the last one, meet one extraterrestrial.

Where would you like to live, if you could choose anyplace?

I think it would be Haiti.

If you could change one thing, anything, what would you change?

On me?

Well, it’s an open question.

Just one thing… Make other people more conscious. If we are more conscious we will have less ego and we will be fine.

What makes you happy?

What makes me happy? Too many things! Cats, have a swim, discover new places, travel, to catch a train, to see my mom…

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Do you want to leave a message for other volunteers or to people who are thinking about becoming volunteers?

Before starting EVS, imagine what you want to do: really, make a list about why are you leaving, what are your expectations, so it would be clear for you. Take time to talk with the organization, know what you can do, what will you find. Before leaving, we think that isn’t very important to know, for example, with how many people you will live. Small details that don’t seem important but finally in everyday life they can be very important, they can make a difference.

Thank you Sarah.

Thank you.

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My freedom doesn’t finish finish in your freedom: it grows with it Pedro Amaro Santos

Pedro was an EVS volunteer in USB, in Thessaloniki, between February and December 2017, working in the project Balkan Hotspot.

This interview took place on June 25th 2017, in Thessaloniki.

Oh, what are you going to ask me…?

[Laugh]. Hello! You can introduce yourself first and then I’ll have a lot of questions for you.

So, my name is Pedro, I’m 25 years old and I’m Portuguese – I’m just eating pasta but I’m Portuguese for sure. I’m here in Thessaloniki since February, I’ll stay until December, and I spend my days in Balkan Hotspot, which is my EVS project.

So, is it Balkan Hotspot your organization?

No, in fact my organization is United Society of Balkans, which is a youth organization working with Erasmus + projects: youth exchanges, training programs, and also EVS projects. The project that is more focused on media is Balkan Hotspot.

Why did you decided to be a volunteer?

This is a very particular question. I wasn’t doing anything related with volunteering, but for the last two years I was very interested in human rights and at some moment I decided that I should learn more about it and I should do something somehow connected with it. So I decided to leave my job and I started to search organizations and projects where I could do it.

One day I was looking for something completely different, something shorter, and I open facebook and I saw the last call for my project, something like “we need a volunteer in the next days to go to Greece for 10 months to write about human rights and work in communication in general”. It sounded good, I applied for it and in two weeks I was in Greece.

It was quick! When you’re working on a project, what does energize you the most and why?

People give me energy. My work now is mainly in front of the computer, doing boring stuff, so the people with whom I work with are those who give me more energy. The most important part of my project is not what we produce by ourselves but what we can do together; what gives me more energy is the idea of people teaching other people, sharing skills. This for me is the best part of my project.

What is your role in your hosting association? Do you have a specific project in which you are involved?

Our project is very open. Well, it’s very focused in social media and communication: we have a radio, we have a magazine, we have a YouTube channel, we have a blog; but is still very open.

If I want to do photography I can do it, the same for video, documentary, articles. So I took the job that can improve our dynamic, I took the social media part and also blog and now I’m very focused on it and working to create conditions that allow a good video or a good event to reach more people. This is my goal. For example, when we have an event or something happening in the city that doesn’t have so much promotion, I try that somehow the videos or the photos that someone will do can reach more people. This is my job.

What makes you feel passionate about your project?

To see things happen, somehow. When we start to realize something, when we start to reach some goals, when we start to be satisfied with the results of our work: that makes me feel passionate. Also, I forgot to say before, but we have the opportunity do some interviews, and I met really good people at the time. I had the opportunity to talk with really, really good people 18

about really, really good projects, and I would like to do it more. For example, if you are going to an event and you meet someone that gives you a powerful interview about something, you realize that you have the opportunity to meet people that are doing important things, and talking with that person somehow changes me, gives me input of ideas, and that makes me feel passionate.

What have you learnt as a volunteer so far?

Wow… The most powerful thing I learnt is that doing things around us is very powerful. We always have this idea when we talk about volunteering: what we are saving the world. If someone goes somewhere as a volunteer it is to do something great, feeding people, saving people. This might be true, but it is also true that the first thing we do, and the first thing we can do, is just help people around us. We live together, eighteen people, with completely different backgrounds, completely different cultures; to make a diner, with everyone together, sharing things, is also learning and growing. And everybody has this opportunity. To be open to someone that is close to me and I had no connection with, this is also an important learning as a volunteer.

What was the most grateful experience so far?

Let me think… I don’t know if it was the most grateful experience or not, but I can talk about a particular experience, one that put some migrants and asylum seekers cooking in the city for everyone. In this event I was talking with someone and I realized the importance that food and our table, the place where we eat at home, had to people around us. It was one of my first jobs here and I realized that those people, asylum seekers, they leave their homes, they leave to another place, but they haven’t lost just their families and their homes, they lost those places and moments that put everyone together – for example, a moment around the table.

And I have never thought about that before. In this moment, I realize that we are very lucky to have the opportunity to leave our homes for another home, here where my home is now, and have the opportunity to come to a safe place.

Another experience, a longer one, was to understand the difference that a border has between countries and between places. We are in a very particular place in the world, the Balkans; the borders here are very powerful. To understand this, the power of a border, that for me is most of the times very negative, has been an improving experience; to understand why they exist, and the difference they carry with them.

Can you tell me 3 words that describe you as a volunteer?

Well, I don’t know if it’s true, but I wish it would be: I imagine myself as the optimistic one, the dynamic, and also the resilient one.

What makes you feel passionate about life?

Wow… I think that life is a big joke, and this is something that makes me laugh. But it’s a big joke with a very dark sense of humor because not everyone is very lucky in this life, and not everyone has the same opportunities. I can just imagine it as a joke because otherwise it would be very sad.

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What do you like to do in your free time?

I’m a person that likes a lot to do exactly nothing; and I take it very seriously. For me is something important: I take my time seriously , so if I’m doing something I’m very focused on it; if I’m nothing I’m also focused on doing it. I like to procrastinate. I also like to stay in my hammock just thinking about nothing in special. It makes me feel more on the ground.

What inspires you?

Taking showers [laugh], I have great ideas while I’m on the shower. But the real answer is people around me, small things on them. I like to know their story but I also like to understand small details about them, being day by day with people. And here I met improbable people that taught me a lot, and that showed me, for example, how great it is to make a cake for everyone.

What are you afraid of?

Cold water in the shower [laughs]. I believe somehow that the person you see in front of you is most of the times a kind of an avatar; it is controlled by someone who is there, in the hammock, very comfortable. It is true. It’s true that I’m a real person here, but there is also true that there is someone else. And I think everyone is a bit like this: you are not just that person who is in front of you; you are also another person somewhere. And sometimes I’m very afraid to lose control of this avatar. Also, I really don’t like to disappoint people – but I’m not sure if I’m afraid or not of it, if I should be afraid, but I don’t like it.

Do you have a motto in your life?

I already tried to have; I already tried to memorize some sentences that are very important to me, or some clichés to say in this kind of moments. But as you can see I failed. Because I really don’t have one; I have some ideas that give me some guidance. I like to believe that love brings always love. I also like to believe in freedom, and that my freedom doesn’t finish in your freedom but that it grows with your freedom. I don’t know if it’s true, but a nice way to see it.

What do you miss the most?

I miss a bit the future, it’s strange. I can be very anxious about future. I miss general things, I’m 4 months away from Portugal and I miss the place I used to go to take a coffee, for example. I miss that action. I miss, of course, the people, but I also miss the place where I use to meet them.

There is something here in Thessaloniki that reminds you of home?

Yeah, this place here: my home in Thessaloniki reminds me home, because I’m home.

What is your favorite place in Thessaloniki? If you have one.

My balcony, where we are. We have tomatoes, other plants… I really like my balcony.

Tell me 5 things you would like to do before you die?

Wow…

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Just tell me the first 5 things that come to your mind.

The first thing that comes to my mind is to go to the places I’m supposed to go. I don’t have a kind of a list; I like to enjoy the opportunity to go to places, I don’t know where – doesn’t matter that much. I would like to know more about agriculture. I would like to have a boat. I would like to do a trip in a van. And last one, I think that is something important, to write a book.

Where would you like to live, if you could choose anyplace?

I like my own village, a lot, and it’s probably one of the places where I would like to live. But if can imagine a place to live, it would be a not so big place, a village or a small city, with some sun, people that knows you in the street, with good wine, good coffee… the other things are not so important.

If you could change one thing, anything, what would you change?

I don’t know, but I think the bombs and the weapons. If someone would change it would be good to everybody.

What makes you happy?

Valentina [an EVS flat mate] cooking for me makes me very happy [laughs]. I don’t know… so many things. It makes me very happy when I can read a book until the end. Makes me also very happy to learn, doesn’t matter what. And I also like when people say hello on the street, it’s something that makes me happy and here in Thessaloniki it’s not so easy.

Do you want to leave a message for other volunteers or to people who are thinking about becoming volunteers?

Yes, I would like. To be a volunteer like us is a very rich and powerful experience. It doesn’t mean that everyone should do it; people have different projects for their lives. But it’s an amazing opportunity to meet amazing people, to do amazing things. And it’s also a big opportunity to meet yourself, to somehow discover more about yourself. So… yeah.

Thank you Pedro!

Thank you, thank you! Beijinhos [kisses]

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I am happy to be a volunteer, but I cannot say it was planned Antonio Gomez Antonio was an EVS volunteer in Inter Alia, Athens, from March to September 2017, working on the project along came a spider.

This interview took place on May 15th 2017, between Athens and Kalamata.

What do you want to tell us about yourself?

My name is Antonio Gomez, I’m from Spain. I guess I consider myself as being a sociologist, both in academic and professional level. I am now working in Inter Alia, a social organization here in Greece.

What is your organization and what is its main subject?

The main subject is Europe. My organization is very concerned with the European integration process and its challenges. We are also trying to promote it, through our people and through Greek youngsters.

Why did you decided to be a volunteer?

Actually to be honest, I didn’t. I will explain myself. I came here for personal reasons, because of a relationship; my girlfriend was here in Greece, in Athens. So I just decided to look for a job in Athens. I tried to look for something that fits my aspirations and my organization, Inter Alia, was a perfectly mach. So I research a bit and I came to Inter Alia for an interview. It was a special situation, they had a Spanish volunteer already selected but in the last moment he jump out. So, of course, I am happy to be a volunteer, but it was not planned, I cannot say it was.

What is your project about?

The project I’m working on is called “Along came a Spider”, and it’s a project about mapping different social initiatives here in Athens, mostly new ones – and by new, I mean the ones that started to go on after the crisis. So, I really enjoy the project, I think it matches my interests, because of my academic background, and because of what I want to do professionally. And I have to say that it’s going slowly, and that we are kind of starting, meeting all the organizations and then we will start to make interviews with those people, to identify their needs and so on.

What is your role in your hosting association?

My main task is this project. As my role, I guess it’s project manager, since I also do other stuff.

When you are working on a project, what energizes you the most?

I like to work with people of course; it’s always a dynamic process. But more than working with people, I like to work about people. The kind of projects that we develop here are always concerning people needs, social needs. I think this can be the thing I enjoy the most. We are working now to make an impact in people’s everyday life.

What makes you feel passionate about life?

More or less the same I said before. I like to try to understand things that I don’t understand, to know how things work out.

What have you learned as a volunteer so far?

When I first arrived Inter Alia, I was expecting a perfectly defined list of tasks, which I don’t have. In the beginning it was hard, but what I learned is that being a volunteer is also making your own path, your own personal path, that’s why they expect you to propose stuff and you 23

should propose it, like events or projects. So, what I already experience is that you’ll learn all the things without the perfect conditions, the perfect tools, but you will figure it out how to solve things.

What was the most grateful experience so far?

I think it was all about what it is really important when doing an EVS - and it is not your particular tasks, or even the professional skills you will improve, but the personal ones. I remember a French girl and a Turkish boy and their remarkable improvement in English speaking skills. They were not able to communicate when they first arrived, but they were when they were leaving. It’s about that, the improvement - and also learning general skills that can be applied in many different situations, and not necessarily all job-related.

Can you tell me 3 words that describe you as a volunteer?

Rigorous; committed to the task; very open to suggestions, always available to listen and to share my ideas to get a better result.

What are you afraid of?

My main project is going slowly and I’m afraid of not being able to put everything in a wheel.

Then another person will arrive, which I already knew, but this can be hard somehow. This is a project for a year, and I’ll be here only 6 months and then someone will take care of it. So, I’m trying to prepare everything, and I have to realize that the most important part will be done in the second half of the project. It’s very difficult to get used to that, but I need to accept that. I would like to do everything, to see the project from the beginning to the end, but I will not, so I should admit it and I should start to think about the project in another perspective, and I think I’m afraid of not be able to.

Do you have a motto in your life?

Yes, the deep one [laugh]. My purpose in life is try to understand how things work and then try to help people.

What do you miss the most?

This is my second experience abroad; the first was in Italy. I think I don’t miss anything in a very passionate way. Obviously sometimes I miss my family, my friend, my culture as a whole – the culture, the food. But I’m happy here in Greece.

What is your favorite place in your current city?

I don’t remember the name of the particular street, but I’ll describe it. It’s a street parallel to the Parthenon and passes from Monastiraki. You can have very nice lattes there, very nice view.

Tell me 5 things you would like to do before you die?

I don’t know. I was never outside Europe, so I’ll say that; travel maybe to America. The second thing, as it’s more personal, I want to become a father; I don’t know if it’s possible, but I will try. I would like to make a way of living from making social research, having some kind of jobsearch position. I’ll also say this: I don’t have a driving license and I want one, so I’m really 24

starting to consider it. The fifth one, let me think a minute… since I was born in a coastal region, by the sea, back in Spain, and since I left, I’m always living far from the sea (well, Athens has a cost, but I don’t live there). I would like to have my little place, a house. That will be the most difficult but I will try.

Well, that leads me to my next question: where would you like to live, if you could choose anyplace?

It goes in the line of what I said before, and even if I don’t miss it that much, I would definitely want to go back to Spain, someday. And since I’m a northerner in Spain, I would like to live in the south of Spain, which I never did. I lived in several cities in Spain, but always in the north, center, or east of the country, never in the south. I would like to have that little house by the sea in a southern province. I would really like that, having a quiet life.

If you could change one thing, anything, what would you change?

I don’t know. About myself I would chance the fear of not doing things right. Sometimes I would like to dare to do more things without thinking about that.

What makes you happy?

Well, I guess achieve that kind of stuff, do what I want to life, to live what I want. Simple stuff.

Do you want to leave a message for other volunteers, or to people who are thinking about becoming volunteers?

Ok, yes, why not? I would say something more or less related to what I said about my problem with the French girl and the Turkish boy. They should think about their volunteering as a personal process, as a process that takes place from the very first moment to the very last; as a personal and self-improvement process.

Ok. That is all. Thank you very much for your time.

Ok, Thank you very much Joana. We’ll keep in touch.

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Experiencing differences differences as a strength, not as a wall OphĂŠlie Cottier

OphĂŠlie is an EVS volunteer in Kentro Imeras, Kalamata, from October 2017 to August 2018, working on the project Explore diversity.

This interview took place on January 21st 2018, in Kalamata.

What do you want to tell us about yourself?

I don't want to tell the usual ones, like where I come from and how old I am so I need to find something interesting… Let’s try with I'm addict to “going out of the comfort zone".

Was that the reason that led you to become a volunteer?

Exactly this is why I decided to do an EVS instead of following the common path after graduation: looking for a job, finding one and settle in a routine for years and years.

Is this your first experience as a volunteer?

This is my first time as a "full-time volunteer" for a long term. I have never been that kind of person who is involved in organizations and volunteering all year like in Youth Centers or NGO. I have always been an "occasional volunteer". For instance, one weekend for sporting events, or one week with refugees, or once a week for three months with a child with autism.

What is your EVS project about?

My EVS project takes place in a Day Care Center for children and adolescents with autism, in Kalamata (Greece).

You chose that project with a specific purpose, right? Why working with autistic people?

I was looking for a voluntary project abroad related to my field, which is psychology. I had many lectures about autism during my studies but I missed a practical long term experience with this population. So this project was an opportunity to meet the population, to understand their needs by daily working with them. I was also curious about the caring of people with autism abroad. I was taught about one of the therapeutic method but I wanted to discover others. Is there a better way to learn than 11 months observing skilled workers and taking part to the daily life of a day care center? Of course, the answer is no and this project seemed to be (and is!) an amazing opportunity for me.

You mention the professionals in the day care center... How is to work with locals?

It is a luck! Being abroad means to discover a new country, a new culture, new habits etc. etc., but it is not always easy to meet local people, especially when you don't speak the language. I am considering myself lucky because I had the opportunity to spend time every day with local people thanks to my project. Unfortunately, I realized that it is not the same in every EVS project... In my case working with locals is an amazing opportunity to learn Greek. Thankfully most of my colleagues are speaking English but between each other and with children they are speaking Greek. So 6h/day I'm hearing Greek language, this is, for me, the best way to improve! More than just a way to learn Greek, working with them is making me discovering the culture, the habits (eating times, typical food, the way of living, the way of working...). In my case working with locals is bringing me more opportunities than I expected. One of my colleagues invited me to her house; I met her family and friends. This is huge! I couldn't be happier. It is difficult to explain how wonderful it is. I am discovering the Greek culture and way of life from inside but I also found a family in this country! So, to make long story short, working with locals is the best way to truly immerse yourself in the hosting country.

Do you think the work of EVS volunteers is important in the day care center?

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It is because the skilled workers don't have time to realize "practical" tasks that are needed for the caring of the children. I will give an example to illustrate my words. One of the therapeutic methods used at the Day Care Center is PECS. This is a communication tool for the children who can't speak. They are using images to communicate their needs, or what they want. Some pictures are common, but some are specifics to each child or situation. So it takes time to find the right one for the right object or need, to print it, to laminate it, to cut it in the right way and to add it in the book. This work is essential, but time-consuming. My point is the work of EVS volunteer is important to release skilled workers in order to make them spend as much time as possible in individual sessions with the children and adolescents. However, my job is not only about practical tasks! I could also take part to the sessions, which is a good opportunity for the worker to observe the children/adolescent when he/she is in interaction with someone else. The EVS volunteer is also an opportunity to bring new ideas, about activities for instance!

How do you see EVS experience in relation to a future job in your field?

This experience is an occasion to develop my capacities of adaptation. Being able to understand a totally new environment, to fit in without losing my values, to work with people with different backgrounds and habits are really important professionally (but also personally of course!). It makes me experience differences as a strength not as wall which avoid cooperation. I am becoming more open-minded, which will allow me to listen more about the different points of views (with my colleagues for instance) and taking them into consideration to open more perspectives. These answers can fit with all the jobs, psychologist or not.

About my future job as psychologist my EVS is giving me knowledge and practice about therapeutic methods I haven't been taught about. It is also an additional experience in a field where I didn't do internship in during my studies. It also allows me to improve my English, which I will need because I am planning to work with refugees.

When you’re working on a project, what does energize you the most and why?

Giving, sharing and learning are amazing energizers! Knowing that my work will help others, bring them something positive is making me happy. Sharing is also amazing because it open perspectives and give an opportunity to meet new people, cultures, way of thinking....And of course with the share comes the learning process, which is fascinating.

What makes you feel passionate about your project?

Having the opportunity to learn abroad, spending time with local people, knowing that my job is allowing skilled workers to spend more time with the children and adolescents into therapeutic sessions! In general about the EVS project, I am delighted with the occasion I have to immerse myself into the Greek culture, to improve my English and to meet people from all around the world!

What have you learnt as a volunteer so far?

After 3 months and a half I would say the really basic of the Greek language, a little bit about living my life in the Greek way of life (siga siga) and a lot about the Greek traditional food! I also learnt about myself, what I want and don't want for my future. What I need in my life and

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what is not made for me. I realized how my language is related to the Greek one and I also learn to teach my own language!

What was the most grateful experience so far?

It will be difficult to find the most as I am grateful all the time!

I am grateful for the kindness of some other EVS volunteers here (for my birthday, daily surprises as food sharing, longs delightful conversations...). I am grateful for the generosity of the Greeks. I never met so caring people. I never received so much from people who are not close friends or family: from the owners of cafĂŠs to my Greek family without forgetting the students from my French class and my colleagues everybody is so kind with me (invitations at home, gift, sharing food, tips about Greece...). I am also grateful to my Greek family! These people welcomed me in their house, made me feel at home, offered me the real Greek Christmas and considered me as a member of their family! This is incredible!

I am grateful for my family and friends support. They are reading my personal blog with interest; they are sending me messages, asking about my adventures.... But if I have to choose the most grateful experience after these 3 months and a half I would say the week I spent in City Plaza in Athens. I went in this hotel for refugees and volunteers during my Christmas holidays. I lived there also. It was an incredible experience. I met people from all around the world. I was a volunteer, but I received much more than I gave. I will never forget the kindness of the people there, the amazing shifts at the kitchen, the fascinating conversations with people, the interesting stories... I discovered the real power of solidarity and the strength of cooperation and sharing. I am so thankful for this experience.

Can you tell me 3 words that describe you a as a volunteer?

Dedicated (to my job); professional; and open-minded What makes you feel passionate about life?

I love being in an environment where people, with different backgrounds, are working together to accomplish something; something not for themselves but for the community. This is why I liked my experience at City Plaza so much, why I liked being volunteer for the sports events years ago... I am amazed by the strength of cooperation to reach a common goal. In the regular working world I feel that it's different because we are working for personal goals, or for money. I love sharing with people from different horizons, speaking about the differences and similarities, seeing life from another perspective, learning, growing up, and opening my mind...

To sum up, I am fascinated by everything related to going out of my comfort zone and to the sense of sharing.

Are those the things that inspire you? What, or who else, inspires you in your daily life?

Exactly because it makes me realized the strength of solidarity, the strength of humanity and the beauty of human being in a world where the worst of humanity is seen/shown everyday...

I'm inspired by the unknown superheroes, who everyday are accomplishing something for others without asking for gratitude or fame. It might be the one who is giving food to the homeless person in his or her street, the one who is talking with the lonely elderly person in the park, the one who smiles in the bus, the worker who helps you to deal with an issue... I am inspired by people who are not following the common path, but their own desires, despite the 29

social pressures of, for instance, having the best job, starting a family, earning a lot of money...

People who manage to focus on the positive sides of their lives are my models.

Do you have a motto in your life?

I know it in my own language, the English translation will not be perfect, but I hope the main idea will stay: "If you really want to accomplish something, you don't just speak about it, you actually do it!". "The ones who really want to reach their goals are working on plans, the others are finding pretexts" is also one of my motto.

Talking about doing... What do you like to do in your free time?

I am not really good in finding myself some free time but when I manage I like to go for a run or doing sports. Watching TV series, reading and spending time with my friends/family members are also activities I'm used to do during my free time.

What are you afraid of?

Not living a life I like.

What do you miss the most?

The French cheese. Apart from these “cheesy answer”, there is one essential thing I am deeply missing: privacy. The lack of privacy is due to the accommodation: 12 EVS in one flat, 2 by room. Dealing with such big community life every day is a huge challenge for me. To make long story short, once again, I’m spending most of my free time cleaning the house, because my view of cleanliness is different of the others. I wanted to leave my comfort zone and discovering new ways of life, here I am! This is a daily challenge but on the other hand I am becoming less rigorous, which will be good for my future. It is also difficult for me to have to be with people all the time. When you live with 11 other person forget about lonely days in hibernation to reset yourself! Finally I miss a private life. The border between my own life and my EVS life is tiny. I am feeling all the time EVS, I mostly blame the social medias with a special mention to Facebook’s conversations. 24/7 we are receiving (from others volunteers plus from the organization sometimes) messages about the magazine with have to write for, about future events we have to organize, about surprise birthday parties, about the organization of the Youth Center… This is deeply tiring, there is no rest possible.

There is something here in Kalamata that reminds you of home?

Sunday afternoons with my Greek family, chatting near to the fire place Well, I assume you feel a bit home then. What is your favorite place in Kalamata?

With your question I realized that I don't have favorite place here. What comes in my mind are the moments spend with the right people here whatever the place.

Tell me 5 things you would like to do before you die?

Telling people I care about how grateful I am to have met them and how much I love them; Be proud of what I’ve done; Travelling again; Being volunteer for something in addition to my job and my daily life; Being able to make spiritual teachings, like the ones from Eckhart Tolle or Don Miguel Ruiz, a way of life 30

Where would you like to live, if you could choose anyplace?

I would say in a place I'm feeling home. The country doesn't matter if I have this feeling and if my loved ones are close to me (physically or mentally).

If you could change one thing, anything, what would you change?

This question is making me perplexed. There are so many things I have to change in my way of thinking I can't choose one. This will be a life time journey! In the world also, there are so many things I would like to see different but that's only from my point of view... Exchanging selfishness for more empathy would be one of the first things I would like to see changes in the way of human beings are acting.

What makes you happy?

Seeing people around me happy and experiencing humanity.

Do you want to leave a message for other volunteers or to people who are thinking about becoming volunteers?

Let's do it! Don't let the fear of the unknown, the fear of failure, the fear of differences preventing you to live a fulfilling experience! EVS is an amazing opportunity to grown up, to become more independent, more open-minded, to improve, to discover new cultures and to meet people! Everything will not be easy, you will not be happy every day, you will have to face challenges but even (and maybe especially) from the difficult moments you will learn a lot and you will acquire confidence and numerous skills. I tend to believe we can regret not having done something like this but never spending our life to regret to have done it!

Thank you!

Your questions help me to become more aware of what we are doing. Understand what we are doing, how we are going it, to accept and to be more aware. Thank you!

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As a volunteer I learned more about the context than about the content Aneta Zemanovå Aneta was an EVS volunteer in KANE, Kalamata, for the short-term project Be Part of the Action: Let’s Act Together.

This interview took place on January 17th 2018, between Kalamata and Prague.

Hello. What do you want to tell us about yourself?

I am Aneta, I am 27 years old, I live in Prague. I study Sociology at university, master degree, but my soul is more psychologically oriented, so at my free time, I like to explore the world of self-development. I have participated at many international trainings usually focused on coaching, NLP and so on.

Why did you decided to be a volunteer?

Before my own experience, I attended around seven different international trainings and met many volunteers, heard many positive experiences and stories. So I started to think about an option to try also this kind of experience, but I was focused more on the short, than on the long-term one. But finally, I decided for that exact EVS I participated at just because of the perfect timing, place and topic.

You did a short-term EVS. What was your project about?

Well, the way the question is asked, and from what I know from other EVS projects, I can answer that, personally, I didn’t have a project. But the project of my EVS was about the organization of the street festival in Kalamata. This festival helps to promote especially young artists and some organizations, or projects to reach broader audiences. That is what I understood at least. My part in the organizational tasks was to help with promotion of the festival, take care of the place and people during the festival, and help with the setting of materials.

How was the experience?

Not a very good one. All the group of short-term EVS volunteers, who was invited for that project, including me, was expecting some learning process about event management, helping other way than just carry heavy stuff and spread flyers. At the end, it was just about those two activities without any learning process. Sure, there was fun, there were nice people, new places and culture to discover, and I enjoyed these aspects a lot, but the expectation about my experience as an EVS volunteer was different.

Would you do it again? Do you consider a long-term EVS for the future?

Surprisingly I do, I consider doing a long-term EVS after all. If nothing, I realized that I am able to live anywhere I want, to take care of myself, and to communicate in English all the time. But I would prefer a project where is possible to develop my skills, to learn something useful for my professional and personal life.

When you’re working on a project, what does energizes the most you and why?

The support of a co-working team, probably. I am usually not the one who makes things happen, but I have good ideas and I work as a connecting element, as a support for the others.

When I see that my help is making things going better, that is a satisfaction for me and it makes my effort stronger. In case of projects that I work on alone, it is harder for me to answer. But I guess it is the appreciation of others that energize me. I am a very judging person.

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What makes you feel passionate about your project?

The content, I guess. If it is something that makes sense to me, or if it can be helpful for others.

Also if it is connected with the topic of self-development, which I like.

What have you learnt as a volunteer so far?

Well, as a volunteer I learned more about the context than about the content. I understand myself better as I have mentioned before (living abroad, take care of myself, speak English).

Also I explored new culture and learned a bit of their language and custom. The biggest learning for me was about my position in a group and changing environment if I am not satisfied with the current settings.

What was the most grateful experience so far?

It was the experience of leaving the whole volunteer group to take care about our common space. I was not satisfied with the untidiness at our house and with doing nothing about that.

At the beginning, I tried to start to clean, to make my piece of work and to motivate others to follow my example. But it didn't work and the place started to be awful. Finally, I gave up and I stopped to use the kitchen which was the worst. Also I stopped to say anything about this topic and I start making a blind eye on it. This way I managed to change my mind setting that bordered me so much. But I know that I wouldn't be able to use this tactics in the case of a long-term EVS [laugh].

Can you tell me 3 words that describe you a as a volunteer?

Ready, expecting, trying.

What makes you feel passionate about life?

I am finding that out [laugh]. But I think it is love and relationships.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I like to watch movies (not just the funny ones but also the serious ones), to read books, to walk in the nature, to find my inner harmony and to clean my life from negative things, to talk with my friends and family, and to relax.

What inspires you?

People and their stories; and also my achievements. But I have not found my real life inspiration yet.

What are you afraid of?

Everything [laugh]. Fear is my biggest topic right now. What I am afraid the most is failure and being alone. I am a fatalist, so fear of not having the sense of life is also my topic. But it is natural I guess, I am standing now at the border of two episodes of my life and I should make huge changes right now (that I am afraid of as well). Also uncertainty is one of my fears.

Everything easy, as you see [laugh]. But I found out that most of young Czech people have this kind of fears, and that is interesting.

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Do you have a motto in your life?

There is just one motto I remember, and it is about overcoming obstacles, to be able to be myself and not to be alone. But I do not use any motto that drives my life or that I follow.

Sometimes, I use a kind of affirmations to support my actions, but I change them according to the situation.

There was something in Kalamata that remind you of home?

Definitely not the beer! [laugh]The weather and the environment are a lot different as well.

Maybe the mentality of people: sitting at the pub or cafe and complaining about life. But I am not pretty sure it really goes like this in Greece. Also the shops were the same: it is globalism in practice. I didn't look for the similarities, I enjoyed the differences more.

What was your favorite place in Kalamata?

It is hard to say. I liked the whole city a lot and I didn't spent there enough time to explore all the corners of it and to be able then to pick just one favorite place. But I liked a lot the sea with the breathtaking view; I don't have any at my country. And also I loved to look from the balcony of the place I stayed at, and to enjoy the view, especially during the sunset.

It’s a magical view, it’s true. Tell me 5 things you would like to do before you die?

Eh? That question I didn't expect. Let me think‌ To find a perfect partner and love, to help people with my work, to overcome my fears, to feel joy, to let myself to be more spontaneous and crazy.

They all look quiet achievable. Where would you like to live, if you could choose anyplace?

By the sea, in a warm climate. But I have no idea about the state it should be at.

If you could change one thing, anything, what would you change?

People's mind in a way, not to be so dense and try to overlook the serious problems.

What makes you happy?

Love.

Do you want to leave a message for other volunteers or to people who are thinking about becoming volunteers?

There is always something you can, or you should learn from. Go for it.

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Fear is just an illusion: it’s a projection of yourself in the future, but it’s not real Carmen Russo Carmen was an EVS volunteer in USB, in Thessaloniki, between December 2016 and September 2017.

This interview took place on July 13th 2017, in Athens

Hello.

Hello Carmen. Would you like to introduce yourself?

I’m Carmen, I’m from Italy and I’m almost 28 years-old. I’m currently volunteering in Thessaloniki, doing EVS in an association called USB – United Society of Balkans. This association deals with media, mainly concerning human rights, but we also follow the activities in the city, trying to give an alternative view of the city to foreigners, since our magazine is written in English, aiming an audience of Greek people, but also Erasmus students, since Thessaloniki has a lot of foreigners.

Tell us a bit about your EVS experience.

I actually came here because I was attending a training course in Poland and I met a guy, and this guy was also from Italy, we started to speak, and he told me about this EVS – not about the program, since I’ve already done a short-term EVS in Turkey, in an environmental project.

So, I was already aware, and I was looking forward to find my right project for the long-term.

But then I met this guy, Tommaso, he did exactly the same EVS I’m doing, and he described me a bit of his experience, and even if not everything in the garden was rosy, he gave me a lot of things to think about, so I applied for this project. I fought for it actually, and I arrived in Thessaloniki on December 2016. I’m already on my 8th month – and my project is 9 months long – so I’m very close to the end.

This project wants to give visibility to some activities, and for that we have a magazine, a blog, we are photographers, video makers, editors… We work as a newspaper, but in a very non-formal way: we are learning with each other and we are also attending workshops that our hosting organization organizes for us. I tried to take the responsibilities I wanted to in order to use my previous experience – I was working as a journalist back in Italy. But then I decided to be a volunteer, and I also wanted to learn something, so I split myself in 2: one to give my experience to others, to enrich them, but I left the door open, so others can also teach me about other competences that I didn’t have. What else? My organization is very open to personal projects, as well.

Regarding that, can you introduce “Route to Connect”?

Yes. Route to Connect is a long project financed by the European Council, so it is outside the Erasmus+ funding. I saw this call because a friend of mine, Martina, who I met in another training course, who is currently an EVS volunteer in Belgium, is working with SCI International, and they promote this project. She thought I was the person she could refer this opportunity to. I applied for it, and when I did it I didn’t know exactly what I was applying for. Obviously it was not certain that I would be selected, but finally I received an email confirming that I was part of the group, and I was very happy. But what interested me in the beginning, when I read the call, was the journey we were going to do. It was a study trip along the route of refugees along the Balkans. I read about the countries where we would pass and I thought it would be great to visit those countries, of course, and at the same time to do something concrete, to know more about their societies instead of just going for tourism. But I didn’t expect the result.

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Tell us about that journey.

It was a 21 days trip across Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia – or FYROM – and Greece in a very backpacking style, let’s say. We took a lot of buses, trains, whatever, to go through those countries and to visit specific places like refugees camps and squats, but also to talk with associations that are working in these fields, at a local level. We did a study trip, not just a journalistic approach; even if we had a website where you can find the stories we collected during this trip. It was very particular, because our approach was a bit out of the box in the sense that we had we us two clowns. They are part of the Clowns without Borders, that work in this kind of situations, not just with refugees but also in very remote areas, or places where some accidents happened, like earthquakes; they go there to bring a smile, and this was actually my turning point.

How was your approach?

We were entering those camps or squat and making a little show with the clowns. We were like an entourage of people around two clowns, helping them to perform, and then, after the performance, we were naturally split into little groups to interact with people, and ask them about anything. And then we had our moments, where we were collecting our experiences, our stories, sharing our feelings, because it was not so light to stay in contact with these situations. Now we are working on the follow up activities that we are going to do in the countries where we live in. So, 18 people from all over the world – there were Brazilians, a guy from USA, a girl from Lebanon and also other people from all around Europe, we are supposed to go back to our countries and make a project to bring to our places what we learn in this study trip.

How did your personal project fits in Route to Connect?

My personal project was to collect recipes, which might not be so deep, let’s say, but for sure food is a door to communicate with people.

How and when did you start to be aware about this world?

This is a good question because when I arrive here in Greece, and basically in Greece when you say that you are a volunteer, all the population around you thinks about the refugees’ situation, since it’s the most known. But when I came here, in my mind I could do something in that field, but I didn’t feel ready to do it – so I didn’t search for an opportunity. But, day by day, in the streets, and here is Thessaloniki there are a lot of those situations - we are very close to the Macedonian border – I could understand that what we know through the media is just a little part of a bigger reality, a bigger perspective of the situation. And also because I’m coming from Italy where we have this issue, I wanted to understand better what is going on. And when I saw this possibility it was like a train; so, I decided to become aware, and I think that all the people that are interested, at least put in their mind a question mark when they hear about a particular situation that they don’t know, they should at least have a little experience – not like this, of course – but a personal experience to have a personal opinion and to understand better what is going on.

But this was not the only door to the refugee world that EVS opened to you. You had other experiences, right?

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When I came back from this trip, I didn’t feel the same – and this can look trivial or like a cliché, but it’s true – and I felt the necessity to be more involved, to engage in the society I’m living in. But not just because I’m very altruist; though, through this trip I managed to know myself better and I understood that I need this exchange of energy, if you want to say, or at least of experiences. So I decided, thanks to Eugenia, a girl that was working with us in an internship, to make a project in City Plaza Hotel, which is a squat in Athens that is occupied by refugees – now I think they are more than 300 refugees – that is open for volunteers all over the world.

What was the role of your association on supporting this initiative?

They pay our transports to go there. Plus after Eugenia opened the communication channel with the responsible of City Plaza, six of us went there, two by two, to experience directly also what means to do a volunteering in a total different field. It’s true that we are volunteers, but being a volunteer with media, in an office, is totally different than being a volunteer in a kitchen of a squat, with children, with women that you want to help. Well, not to help – I want to erase that word actually, nowadays – because I didn’t help them, or at least I helped them as much as they helped me. And this feeling that I want to keep, and I’m planning to go back there in the future, I will try to keep this feeling of the exchange. I’m not the savior, I’m not better, I just had an opportunity to know another reality and also feel comfortable and learn from that.

How was the communication?

I don’t know how it was for others but when I start a new project, at the beginning I’m very observant. So, communication for me it’s a very sensitive topic, because I believe in different kinds of communication. On the first level you don’t need words to try to know the person, to understand, or at least to feel close or not. Then you have the opportunity to know better the person you have in front of you, and you start to communicate. With the other volunteers the communication was in English, of course, and we try at least share some common values. It was not that easy.

Talking first about the trip, it was not that easy because we all came from different environments, and we had to share a very long and tough trip. So sometimes, communication helped to solve some small conflicts, sometimes make them bigger, but this is life, I mean.

We can also compare an entire life with this trip; or at least I can.

With the refugees, and that was what fascinated me the most, sometimes you don’t need at all a language. As I was telling you before, my project was about recipes and I discovered that the names of ingredients are the most difficult thing to translate. In your mind you know that that round red thing is a tomato – or Pomodoro or… how is it in Portuguese?

Tomate.

Tomate. But how is it in Farsi? Or how is it in Arabic? So, when refugees don’t have that level of English – as I don’t have, there are things that I cannot mention in English, just in my mind – how do you explain things? Then, other kind of communication appears and I understand that you can communicate even without words. And this can be, again, trivial, but it’s not so underlined in our daily life.

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In the kitchen at City Plaza was exactly the same, we just show things. There were chefs teaching how to cut tomatoes in their way, how to cook in their way, and maybe sometimes they started laughing without any reason, but the atmosphere was so nice that you cannot really express it in common words.

So, food brings people together…

Definitely! For many reasons: the first is that we need to survive, at the animal level. If you can share it, it means that there is already a situation of wealth - because in the jungle, my food is your death and your food is mine; but not in this environment. If I can be so idealist and live in my utopia, this should show us that actually we don’t need a lot of things if you at least can share a tomato; because it’s not a matter of life or death. And if we can do it, we can share other things on other levels. Food is culture. It’s probably the first thing you ask to another person: what is your favorite food; or how do you cook this in your country; or ask them to show you a recipe of something. We know food from all over the world – due to globalization. Food can bring people together, can make them share it. You cook, you learn about the food, but the most beautiful thing is to eat together. You create a community. And what else do you need?

What did you gain with this experience?

A lot of scars. But when you have scars, as when you have wrinkles, you lived something, it’s in your skin; it remains in yourself forever and makes you unique. I gain scars also at a personal level. This experience led me to think about things that happened in my life, maybe 10 years ago. And through this experience I could know myself better, to know where I am, how I arrived here. And this gave also the possibility to appreciate things that I have in my life.

I also gain, and this might seem very cynical, the possibility to do the Balkan Route of Refugees by choosing it. This is a detail I was thinking along through my journey on the road that people didn’t choose to do it. And I felt lucky for that; but at the same time I felt guilty for feeling lucky, because you just compare your possibility to decide and you see someone that doesn’t have the same possibility. Then you start to ask yourself more deep questions: why can I and this person cannot? Probably my EVS is giving me more spiritual consciousness than professional skills, but I’m asking myself: what’s wrong? But also: what can I do? This experience gave me, at least, the consciousness that I have a lot of questions.

Was Route to Connect a life changing event?

Yes, it was; for many different reasons. And I could feel it on my skin and on my own energy when I came back. As I told you, we were 21 days on the road. We didn’t sleep a lot; well, we ate a lot because of this food sharing; we didn’t rest a lot; we didn’t have the time to think about ourselves. Those moments were really rare, and so precious that you cannot imagine.

But when I came back, the first 2 or 3 days, I was full of energy. It was crazy in my mind, because I was thinking during the trip that I wished to go back and rest for one week, not doing anything. But then I arrived, I slept 3 hours and I was full of energy. You know what that means. It’s a change, it’s a circle, you can’t stop. Being in action is something that will only bring more action; if you stop, this will just stop you. If you are in a flow, you bring with you other energy and you continue going; if you start resting you will just rest more. After some 40

days I started to digest this experience – let’s keep the food as a metaphor – and I understood how important that is, to make an analysis, to feel it, and then go.

Can you give me one word that can describe this experience?

One word… how long can I think about it? [laugh]. I’ll tell you something. After I arrived I watched a movie where a father asked his daughter to describe a book; she answered “interesting” and the father said that interesting it’s not a word, it’s a no-word. It’s so neutral that it doesn’t mean anything. So, I’ll say interesting, because it’s a no word.

You turned the question around [laugh]. I want to ask you: what made you happy there?

Ok, again, a story – and it could be a word that I didn’t find before; that word is Angie. What made me happy was Angie. He was a little guy that I met in Lesbos. We performed there and this Angie was actually a devil; he could not stop moving, he could not stop running, entering the stage, trying to steal thing… I’m not very good with children, but I try to stop him: in the beginning with words, like you do with an adult; then I try to stop him with my hand, for him to say close to me; and then I hugged him. And suddenly he relaxed, and we sat on the floor and he just lay on my body to watch the performance. I could not really move in that moment because he was maybe 3 or 4 years old, but he was entirely on top of me. I couldn’t move and I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to break that magic. In that moment I was happy, I was very happy.

What inspiration did you bring from there?

That whatever happens you can smile. Those 2 clowns showed me that in any environment you can smile and you can also bring a smile. And that smile is more powerful than thousand words. And that brings me inspiration to keep doing what makes me smile; if you follow what makes you smile, you can change the world – yours at least.

What were your fears there?

As a very basic human, my fear was to not to feel part of the group at the beginning. And a group, I understood, can change everything: a good environment in a group can change everything; a bad one as well. I feared that I would not be good enough to have this experience. I also feared to compare myself to others and maybe realize that I lack knowledge in some fields. I feared that I would not able to handle my emotions, that I would explode or close myself. But then, I understood that a fear is just an illusion, it’s a projection of yourself in the future, but it’s not real. You can do something now, and if you do it, there is no fear. You can do everything. And if you lack something: learn. It’s a learning opportunity.

And seeing Route to Connect as a learning opportunity, what was your biggest challenge?

To forget everything I knew. When I approach the group at the first, when I was sharing the experience, when I arrived to a camp, when I entered a squat, when I faced another person, another volunteer: to clean my mind and try to be like a sponge, as much as I could, to absorb what they were saying without putting my own barriers, those things I thought I knew. To be a child that was learning what the word is, again.

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We talked about that you gained, what were your fears, your challenges… what did you learn?

I learnt that until now I arrived nowhere; that I am nobody. That doesn’t mean that I have no personality, it just means that I am not just one thing, that I cannot define myself in one thing or in one role. I learnt that you can be anything you want accordingly to your need in the moment, the need of the environment around you, accordantly to your will in that moment.

And it’s not bad: it’s not bad to change. I learnt that the worst thing you can wish to someone is to stay the same. I learnt that there is always a chance to learn, from everything, from everybody. I also learnt to let myself escape from my role as a journalist, from the idea that I have to ask to know. I finally learnt how to build an opportunity. That’s what I learn at a personal level.

For the experience itself, I learnt that what you know it’s not all the reality. It’s true that I’ve done this trip, but I cannot say that I know everything about the Balkan Route of Refugees; of course I cannot. Even if I was doing it with them, it would be just a part of a reality. I learnt to never be so sure of what we know; I learnt that eyes can say everything. I learnt that we are all the same: I can quote the clown saying that we are just the same, no matter what.

What would you change, if you could change anything?

Nothing. It was hard, but even in the hardest situation I was thinking about what I can learn from it. So, I would not change anything, otherwise we should have another interview, because it would be another experience. And I’m glad; I thank myself to at least have tried. I want to say to everybody that if you want you can do it: it starts in you. And you have also to be fair with yourself.

What was your most grateful experience in Route to Connect?

I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to analyze and to live in the moment at the same time.

I’m thankful because I know myself better now, and I learnt it with this experience. They gave me something, all of them.

And now that you are almost finishing your EVS, can you tell us want means to you to be a volunteer?

Of course! I like this question because I know how to answer [laughs]. I studied Italian literature and I have this obsession with language and etymology; and I also like to create my own words. The word volunteer comes from the Latin “volo” that means “I want”; this is the most important thing in volunteerism, that you want. And this is powerful. So for me to be a volunteer is to follow what you want to do: no matter the money, the prestige, the offers that you get; it’s just to follow that. I hope I’ll be forever a volunteer.

How will you keep this project after EVS? If you will keep it.

I will. I don’t know how, but I will. Speaking about real projects, I have a lot of ideas and I can’t implement all of them. Or maybe I will, in my life time. For now, I’ll make the follow up activities, a booklet with the recipes I collected, and maybe a blog about my personal experiences so I can share it. But I still need to learn how to do it, how to share it: I don’t want to stay on the front saying “this is my experience, I’ve done this”. But, I would like to inspire people who want to do things, as I was inspired by others. Because this is a chain – 42

you cannot really start something alone. I will keep this experience in my daily life, trying to be fair to what I face every day and trying to remember this experience in all the others that will follow.

Do you have a message for those you might want to become volunteers or for those who are willing to try?

What do you want? – that’s my question. Follow your heart, it knows what you want.

Thank you so much Carmen.

Thank you.

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To be a volunteer I need a kind cause

Andreas Lekakis

Andreas is a local volunteer in Ipposhesi Kalamata since 2016.

This interview took place on March 11th 2017 in Kalamata

Hello Andreas! What do you want to tell us about yourself?

I'm Andreas, I'm 25 years old, and I work with sailboats and horses. I love the sun, I hate the cold, and I like to spend my time on a productive and inspiring environment.

What do you do at your work?

I work at the therapeutic center for people with special needs. What I do? I train the horses, which means that we do a setup of exercises that helps the horse to develop a better personality and makes the horse to want to work with other people because when you work with people with special needs you need a horse that cooperates with you. Apart from training the horse, I work with people with special needs. Actually I guide the horse and we have some people who focus on the child or the person. Except that, we do many walks and we spend productive time with horses: maybe playing games, maybe chasing them to kill them, even if you love them a lot. Because when you work with a horse it's like working with a very strange person.

You work as a volunteer, right?

Yes. Why did you decid to be a volunteer?

Generally I volunteer in many things, so I need a kind cause, a cause that I would like, and luckily for me my job gives me enough time to be able to volunteer during the whole winter, for example. I feel more productive, I give to the society in one way or I help someone to achieve their goals or maybe their life dreams.

What have you learnt as a volunteer?

That is a difficult question. When you work as a volunteer you have the chance to develop different kind of skills: you learn new things, especially when you volunteer at something that is out of your waters. For example, volunteering at the horse center made me learn more things about horses, how to really work with them and develop my skills and my abilities in these matters. Every time I do it I have the chance to learn something new or to develop new skills or just to make new friends and meet new people, because it's also part of volunteering.

Yes, it is. How is your experience working with EVS volunteers?

Working with EVS volunteers gave me the opportunity to work in an intercultural environment; it gave me the opportunity to develop my communication skills and to be able to express myself in English, which will impact my work in the future. Expressing yourself in your work environment fluently with its own terminology is one thing, but using another language in your work environment is something else. Besides just practicing the language, you get the opportunity to collect information and knowledge from other cultures or places which can lead to a better and deeper understanding of our field.

What is your opinion about EVS as a program?

It was clear for me from the very first moment that EVS is something else. The best way to answer to this question is to share my personal experience. I moved to Kalamata in 2014 after studding in Netherlands in an Erasmus program. The first week I decided to go to a seminar 45

which was suggested by a teacher in my university and there was a Dutch guy, Daan, who was talking about his experience with a program named EVS. After his presentation we start talking and we decided later to go for some drinks and we end up being good friends. I share this story because EVS, besides giving the opportunity to young people to travel around, experience new things and meet people and their cultures, it gives them the chance to decide what is the best for them. To me, it gave me the opportunity to feel in a lighter way the Erasmus post syndrome and adapt to the Greek everyday life, but it also gave me the opportunity to get in contact with even more people from different backgrounds and cultures. My opinion about EVS is very good because it is a two side interaction which helps people in many levels and it helps them to face different kind of challenges. In the worst case EVS will be a very good experience for someone who is ready to explore it and it will impact their life for sure in the best possible way.

Do you think the work of EVS volunteers is important here in the Horse Center?

Yes, it is very important because we are not talking about just a random horse center. This horse center is addressed to people with special needs and it is a nonprofit organization. In Greece, for the public, everything related with people with special needs is, in many cases, a big taboo. As a result, people with special needs do not have the opportunity to be enrolled in many activities and in many cases, they stay inside their home day after day. This has negative effects in both groups because there is less interaction between them and also it makes the life of people with special needs less enjoyable. Another factor that affects the horse center is that our sessions are not covered by health insurances and it makes it hard for some people to be able to visit more than one time or in some cases they are not able to visit at all. In this scenario, EVS volunteers have a big impact in the horse center, when it is difficult in some cases to even cover the basic expenses of an organization. And it’s not because you are lucky in any business level but because things are how they are. In a situation like this, a second pair of hands can be very helpful. Often, from my experience, EVS volunteers get the chance to practice their skills even if these skills are not related with horses and people with special needs. It is a win-win interaction because from the one side the horse center gets a helping hand, which is really appreciated and needed for their daily activities; and from the other hand EVS volunteers get the chance to strongly affect many aspects of their lives. They have the opportunity to experience something extraordinary and I am taking in consideration not only their experience at the horse center but their total experience from the first till the last moment.

Would you consider applying for it? Why? I have already considered it but it is not one of my priorities for this moment; also because I already had an Erasmus experience. Of course it is not the same, and it can be very different, but as I said, programs like EVS help people to decide what they really want. I would strongly suggest it for everyone and especially for people who are stuck, or they are not sure what to really do. EVS can motivate people in many different ways.

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What makes you feel passionate about horses?

Someone told me that horses make me hold the bad boy I hide inside me. While I work with them, besides the fact I discipline them I discipline also myself. And this is something that I really enjoy.

And what about life in general? What makes you passionate about life?

I like to be free. I l like to be able to do whatever I want, whenever I want. That's why I’m a skipper on sail boats, because I really love to be able to go wherever I want. People talk about freedom, but are we free enough to do what we want?

Are we?

Yes. Well, you talked a little bit about what you do, but I know that the sea has a special place in your heart. Do you want to share something about that?

Seaman say that sea is like a woman: it's vast, deep, and when you think that you can really handle the situation it has the ability to change what you think. Personally I just enjoy the calmness after the storm.

Ok. What do you like to do on your free time?

I like to spend time with horses or by the sea. I like to do sports, to read books, to think, even if I think too much. I like to spend time in nature, and all of those things make me really feel free.

What inspires you?

People and examples of people can inspire me, but usually I'm the one who inspire myself. I like to be focused and motivated on what I do. I think it's important, and I don't look for inspiration. I would appreciate something amazing but I prefer to inspire myself.

What are you afraid of?

I'm afraid to lose people that I love, I'm afraid to fail. OK, when you fail you learn, through your failings. But still I like to avoid these kinds of situations.

Do you have a motto in life?

Yes: a word without substance is a dead word. What people say has to have a meaning. I don't like non meaningful things.

What is your favorite place in Kalamata?

My favorite place in Kalamata is somewhere in the middle of the mountain, where you can actually enjoy the view of Kalamata, but I prefer it during the night. It's maybe the main reason why I'm here in Kalamata. Every time I think about Kalamata I have this picture in my mind where the city looks perfect and beautiful, a place where you can enjoy the view of the sea, the mountains or Kalamata.

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Tell me five things you would like to do or places you would like to go before you die.

I would like to sail around the world. Ok, sailing across Atlantic it's ok also, I don't have to ask about a lot. I would like to visit many countries, I can't be specific on that - but preferably cultures that are not really related to my culture, so I can observe things, and learn things through culture and maybe if I like something I’ll adapt to it. I would like to go to the Caribbean, to see how it is. I like sailing so it's normal that I've been affected to movies like the pirates of the Caribbean or stuff like that. And in the end it's like they have 30 degrees every day, which is quite amazing, it's like having summer all year. I would like to go to the North or the South Pole. If I could go to the end of the world, I would. It would be interesting to see what is there. The last is that I would like to be free enough to travel in the universe.

Where would you live if you could chose anyplace?

Greece. I love the country, I like the environment, we have good weather, beautiful sites, so I don't see any place that it's ideal enough for me to decide to live there, for example when I retire. I want to go everywhere else and when I finish with everything else I'll get back to Greece, and have my own house, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and most probably sail and play with horses.

If you could change one thing, anything, what would you change?

I would change nothing. Because I can't and even if I could I don't see any reason to do it. I'm the kind of person who believes that everything happens for a reason. If I change something that happened then I would not be at the path I’m now walking into, a path which I really like.

What makes you happy?

Simple things make me happy: enjoying a place, a moment, and the company of a being.

For you, to be a volunteer is… …an experience in which you can learn new things, do new things, and flourish in your own way.

Thank you.

You’re welcome.

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It’s the attitude towards volunteerism that tha t I am impressed with Evi Chronopoulou

Evi is a local volunteer in Kentro Neon Kalamatas, Kalamata, since 2011, as well as mentor in EVS programs.

This interview took place on January 17th 2018, in Kalamata

Hello Evi. What do you want to tell us about yourself?

Hello Joana! I am a Mathematician. I teach students from 12 to 18 years old and I love my work! At the same time, I enjoy non-formal education, so I get involved with Erasmus+ projects.

Why did you decided to be a volunteer?

I believe that volunteering improves society from the total to the particular and vice versa.

Whenever I feel to act, I try to find time to do so. The last 7 years I volunteer as a mentor of the EVS volunteers hosted by K.A.NE.. Also in my free time I volunteer in the Youth Centre of Kalamata, as one of the coordinators, organizing events and other actions that we attend.

How did you start to be in touch with EVS programs?

From the time I started volunteering with EVS mentoring, I wanted to learn more about it; about methods, tools that I can use… So, I attended Erasmus+ programs related to Mentoring and non-formal education. In these topics I found connection with my profession as an educator, although I work in a formal way. So I try to find time to attend programs that completes me as a person and as an educator.

How is your experience as an EVS mentor?

Every time is different and every new EVS volunteer stimulates my interest: new person to meet, other experiences to exchange, other moments to live. I have one or maximum two mentees in the same period, so we can find time between my work and his/her EVS for our meetings. I have two fundamentals - also challenges for me: to create a trustfully environment between us and to let them reach their goals. I have gain a lot from mentoring. One of the most valuable is to hear more and not judge.

And how do you see the work of other EVS? How is your experience working with them at the youth center?

I have seen lives changing. EVS volunteers that are not afraid to get responsibilities, finding out that teaching their own language is something they want to follow as a job, learning to cooperate. While other times, EVS volunteers facing problems with lack of motivation, not working on their organizing skills... But this is a learning process for everyone. EVS volunteers are always a part of the multicultural environment in the Youth Centre.

What do you think about the impact of EVS people in your community, in the youth center…?

Effortlessly, the informal knowledge of their origin countries is exchanged with the locals. For the local youngsters, they work also as a model, showing to locals the opportunities they can have abroad. The youth center is a living structure, changing face as the combination of the EVS and local volunteers change by the period. The people that you face in an everyday schedule in the youth center are the EVS volunteers: they host you, they help you. As individuals, with their own personalities, they create a piece of the history of the youth center.

It’s amazing when people come, and are hoping to meet an EVS volunteer that was in Kalamata three year ago…

What is your opinion about EVS as a program? If you could, would you consider applying for it?

Why? I had thought about it once, when I was approaching the age line, but I put my work as a priority. I believe that did well at that time! The funny story was that this kind of conversation, about applying for EVS, I had it for the first time with my mentee. After laughing and sharing her stories about the organizations she applied for and how she got chosen from K.A.NE., she typed me the web page that I could search for EVS projects and told me that I can look for it later, taking my time. It seemed so mature from her side the way she acted. I like this moment!

If I have the chance to do it now, yes I would make an application. Maybe because the work system has changed, so I am not in the point that I was some years ago, maybe because I got wiser... I could lead my work -even the same work-, but also with experience from different fields of education. There are projects about education that I would be interested in. I suggest youngsters to apply to projects that increase their interests.

But you had other experiences in Erasmus+ field‌ do you want to share something about it?

I have attended a mobility of youth workers project INVEP2.0 (INternational Volunteers in Educational Projects) in Malaga, in which I was trained to be a trainer for promoting volunteerism. With the team that attended the training, we organized seminars in the local community here in Greece about volunteerism, in which I was one of the facilitators. Also, I have attended a training course for leaders in Youth Exchanges that took place in Portugal, and then participated in two youth exchanges as the Greek leader. The last one was INVEP3.0 youth exchange, that was a continuation from INVEP2.0 with the same topic, volunteerism, that was organized by K.A.NE. and took place in Kalamata.

Did you enjoy the experiences? When you’re working on a project, what does energizes the most you and why?

Yes, I enjoyed a lot. I enjoy working with youngsters. My participation has a double meaning, as the leader of a team with the responsibilities that goes with the role, and as an active presence in a youth exchange. How not to enjoy learning in such a non-formal way? You act, you live, you learn. The parts that I am attracted the most in a project are the planning of the project, the preparation and the evaluation. In these parts you realize what to keep when you move on.

What makes you feel passionate about the projects you choose to be involved in?

I avoid one thing when I choose a project to get involved with: losing my time! Firstly, I find joy when the project is related with mentoring, leading, education, arts, or photography. Then, I feel passionate when these topics are well organized, according to the aims of the project! And finally, if the team I am working with, or the other participants create a creative and pleasant environment, this is success.

It just popped into my mind one successful project I participated in Montenegro, organized by the NGO Taraba. It was a KA2 project in which we developed non-formal learning methods that the youth workers can use to empower young people, and we analyze the youth policy of each country. In Greece there is no legal framework for youth work as in other countries.

Coming to the question, I connect this project to my ideal, because I had the chance to

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cooperate with youth workers from different countries and create connections with people that we worked in a supportive and productive way.

What have you learnt as a volunteer so far?

To appreciate, to share, to accept, and understand the difference. I volunteer in the level that makes me feel comfort and satisfaction with myself; and time to time I remind myself the limits that I established for volunteerism actions or volunteering time.

What was the most grateful experience so far?

Oh, have to think... I cannot pick one experience as an example. It's the attitude to volunteerism that I am impressed with. Everyone has different motivation to volunteer, but they have similarities in their actions and their goals.

Can you tell me 3 words that describe you as a volunteer?

Understanding, optimistic and flexible What makes you feel passionate about life?

The unexpected!

What do you like to do in your free time?

Walking, taking photos, and spending time with family and friends.

What inspires you?

The landscape by the sea.

What are you afraid of?

Not being able to read between the lines.

Do you have a motto in your life?

If you feel so, it is right!

Tell me 5 things you would like to do before you die?

I was not expecting this question. I like it! Let me think‌ So: Visit the pyramids of Giza (Egypt) and the "lost" city of Petra (Jordan); Create lots of happy memories with people I love and admire; Communicate with a dolphin; Feel proud of what I have reached every day and try for more; Forget that there is a list and live trusting my instinct.

Where would you like to live, if you could choose anyplace?

Somewhere by the seaside of Greece, as now.

If you could change one thing, anything, what would you change?

I would change apathy that is not a result of lack of knowledge.

What makes you happy?

Following my heart.

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Do you want to leave a message for other volunteers or to people who are thinking about becoming volunteers?

If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

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Do a project that you like: it’s a priority Nantiana Koutiva

Nantiana is teacher of Greek language for EVS volunteers in KANE, Kalamata, since 2016.

This interview took place on December 7th 2017, in Kalamata.

Hello Nantiana.

Hello Joana.

What do you want to tell us about yourself?

My name is Nantiana, I’m 25 years-old. I studies Greek philology. I finished my studies almost 3 years ago, I was studying in Patras and then I came back to Kalamata. I started to be a volunteer in the Youth Centre of Kalamata, I used to do the Greek lessons for foreigners. I was working in the same time in a cafe and doing private lessons, and by the time I started to work for KANE doing as well the Greek lessons for EVS people. A few months ago I went to Lisbon to my EVS. I decided to do this, a short-term EVS and I can say that it was one of the best things I decided to do in my life. It was really, really nice. I learnt a lot of thing, generally, both skills and about myself.

We will go there [laugh].

Yes, I don’t want to expand on this.

So, why did you decided to be a volunteer in the Youth Centre?

Because I had come to Kalamata and my life started from zero when I came back, since I was living away for five years. So I wanted to meet new people, to meet people in general, because I didn’t know anybody in the city, so I thought the Youth Centre was the right place.

But I didn’t want just that, I wanted to offer something so I thought that to do the Greek lessons was the least I could do, actually. It was a good choice for me.

Ok, you do the Greek class, but you are also volunteering in other situations. Can you explain us a bit deeper your path as a volunteer?

Yes, I am a volunteer for example, in the Street Festival. It is something that has to do with culture, which is something that I really like, so I want to help in things like this. That way, you learn also a lot of things. I’m also a volunteer in the Documentary Festival here in Kalamata, and now that I was in Lisboa [Lisbon] I also went as a volunteer in the documentary festival there. For me it’s a way to learn things about topics I like. And as a person, it’s really nice to offer something, not to have in your mind just the money. Because you can be very happy without it and this is a way to prove it, that money is not everything and that you can gain a lot by being a volunteer.

Recently you did a short term EVS. What was your project about?

My project had to do with kids. It was in Lisboa, in a Youth Center. The project was +Skills and kids were coming after the school in order to study and to do some parallel activities. We were there in order to help them and play with them, talk with them, generally to spend our time with the kids.

How did it feel to be on the other side of the EVS life?

It was really interesting because, in reference to the [Greek] lessons, I understood some things.

We had a professor there In order to teach us the Portuguese language, and I think that when I use to do the EVS language class here there were things that I was not able to understand. So

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now that I was a student, I can say that I understood some things and that will help me with my job in the future. It was strange but it was good as well.

When you’re working on a project, what does energizes the most you and why?

I like the fact that you have the chance to meet a lot, a lot of people. For instance, in the documentary festival in the last year, a lot of directors came here to Kalamata and I had the chance to talk with them and for me that was really nice. Last year the documentary had to do with Human Rights and refugees, so it’s a topic that I really like, and I had the chance to talk with directors that work on those topics.

What have you learnt as a volunteer so far?

To work in a team, because you cannot only look at yourself, you have to listen to other and cooperate with them. I think that I can organize some things, because you need to organize a lot of things if you want to make a festival happen, so I think I learnt to organize things even when time is pressuring you.

What was the most grateful experience so far?

I think it was in +Skills, when we manage to do activities with kids that make them happy.

Sometimes we did activities or games, in which kids were not very motivated or interested, but when we could realize that the kids really liked the activities we organized I was really happy.

And as a local volunteer, here in Kalamata, what was your most grateful experience as host of EVS people?

That’s difficult; there are so many things… With reference to my job it’s really nice when I see some of them trying to talk, so I have a feedback. A really very nice thing was when an EVS volunteer sent me a message, when I was in Lisbon. She has left from Greece and was back in her country and she sent me a message in order to tell me that she had a Greek lesson back in France and she realized how advanced she was and she told me that she was really grateful for my job and it was very nice for me.

Can you tell me 3 words that describe you a as a volunteer?

To offer; team spirit… what else? Meeting new people.

What makes you feel passionate about life?

Travel, to travel. And being able to be with my friend.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Well, to be with my friends [laugh].

What inspires you?

Culture.

What are you afraid of?

Being alone.

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Do you have a motto in your life?

No… what I’m thinking, for the last months, and I’m not telling just to tell, is that I want to be ok, healthy, because that way I will be able to do anything. And even if it’s something really difficult, if I am healthy and I can focus on this I can manage it.

So, to take care of yourself…

Yes, to take care of myself. It can be something like that.

What did you miss the most during your experience as an EVS? Freddo expresso! [laughs]. Do you want me to tell you something else, something more…?

No, no! There is something in Portugal that reminds you of Greece?

Yes, the fact that I could see a lot of people going out, sitting in the streets… it’s something very common here in Greece as well.

Tell me 5 things you would like to do before you die?

Hum… to travel around the world; to be able to be with my family and my friends. There are two. To be able to live on my own, being independent; to do the job that I want and continue to be a volunteer.

Where would you like to live, if you could choose anyplace?

Ok, I haven’t seen so many places, but I think that Lisboa could be one of those places. And I could live in Kalamata, I think it’s a place where you can have a good quality of life.

If you could change one thing, anything, what would you change?

My independence.

What makes you happy?

Being with people that I love, that makes me really happy.

Do you want to leave a message for other volunteers or to people who are thinking about becoming volunteers?

You have to do it! At the beginning it might be a bit difficult but for sure you will learn a lot of things. First of all they will meet new people, they will make friendships. I can say that I have friends from my EVS, even if it was only 2 months there are still people to whom I speak every day. You should do a project that you really like, it’s a priority. Because even if you are in a very nice city if you don’t do a project that you like you will be sad; and secondly, even if you realize in the middle of a project that it’s something that you don’t like it’s good because you learn about yourself and you learn about the things you don’t want to do in your life and in the future. Because I experienced this, you have to think in a positive way, even if you realize this in the middle of your project.

Thank you.

It is all? I hope it was helpful.

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Ties between people: that’s what can bring us forward Tiago Lila

Tiago is an EVS coordinator in Associação Mais Cidadania, Lisbon, since 2016.

This interview took place on January 18th 2018, between Kalamata and Lisbon

Hello Tiago!

Hello Joana.

What do you want to tell us about yourself?

Well, my name is Tiago Lila, I'm 32 years old and I'm from Lisbon, Portugal, where I was born and where I currently live. I studied Psychology but have been involved in many professional or semi-professional contexts in my life, from clinical Psychology, to social projects, theatre, music, volunteering and peace work.

I participated in an EVS project in Athens, Greece, in 2014 in the organization SCI Hellas. The project lasted for one year and after that, I worked in the same organization for 1,5 years more.

Was that your first experience as a volunteer?

I've been volunteering sporadically since I was a teenager. I had a few difficulties in the process of socialization and volunteering was initially a platform for me to engage with other people and a practical sense of cooperation. My first experience was within a youth organization from my parents' village and it was the reconstruction of a path leading to a public fountain. I think I was around 15.

So you have a long path as a volunteer... what was the most meaningful experience you had so far, as a volunteer?

Hmm... the most grateful was possibly the hardest. I was volunteering for two years in a health unit with people with schizophrenia.

How was the experience?

It was hard to adapt and it required a huge amount of respect for those people and facing some fears as well, because my volunteering there was during the night.

The possibility to create humane relationships with the patients was very impactful.

It looks very challenging. What have you learnt as a volunteer so far?

So many things!!!

Ahahah [laugh]. Do you want to share some?

I've learnt many practical, concrete things, through the different kinds of work I have been involved in and through the people that volunteering allowed me to meet.

Also, I learnt a lot about myself, and in a way it saved myself as well, because I went to Greece to volunteer after a period of turmoil in my life and psychological unrest. Back then, it was my only chance to recover and get back on track.

So some of them you learnt during your EVS‌ Yes, during my EVS I learnt a lot about politics, for example. About peace work, and about general NGO work. It was also during EVS that I was able to coordinate youth projects for the first time, since their inception.

Was your EVS the first contact that you had with an Erasmus+ project?

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Not at all. The first time I participated in a youth exchange I was 18 years old, the program was still called Youth. Before going for EVS, I had been in YEs, TCs, I had organized a TC myself, I had been mentor of EVS volunteers.

So you already knew the project very well...

Yes. I knew it and I knew what I wanted from it.

How was the experience then? Did you get what you wanted?

Yes, almost entirely. In general terms, I wanted an experience in a NGO dealing with topics of peace and human rights and I wanted to understand if this would be the work that I would like to do. I also wanted to live in a big city and have the experience of integrating in a new community, learning a new language and experiencing a new culture from within. All of this I accomplished.

In SCI Hellas, what was your project about?

In SCI Hellas, I was involved in the work camps organized by them, I prepared and implemented campaigns related to the topics of mobility, refugees and LGBTI community, I was doing office work as well.

And you stayed after your EVS, right?

Yes, I was offered a job in SCI Hellas and stayed for 1,5 years more.

How was to be back in Portugal after that experience?

It was good because I came with a purpose Do you want to share it?

I knew better what were the important things in my life and that I wanted to invest in the present and future. There were mainly two: getting more involved in civil society as an activist, and finally giving a try to something that had been my distant dream for a long time, which was to sing fado. So from the beginning, I was doing things that made me pursue these goals.

Was it difficult to adapt again?

It wasn't difficult to adapt back, it felt good to be back.

That's very nice. You are now, again, on the other side of EVS. How does it feel working with EVS after experience it?

I understand better how the program works and the people who go for it, although motivations can vary greatly. I'm also more demanding with people and less apologetic with lack of compromise, for example.

This is very good! What do you think about EVS work today?

EVS volunteers are, most of the times, adult people who took the decision of volunteering abroad for a series of reasons but they took a commitment with organizations as well. I am here to support them in their difficulties but not to solve everything or do their work for them.

I consider them colleagues with a greater amount of responsibility on my side. I'm a bit tired of EVS work, to be honest. The route that the program has taken doesn't represent me so much.

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But this last year was better than the previous one. The people we hosted (and I was the sole EVS coordinator for almost 25 volunteers) were generally more responsible and with a positive attitude.

This is also nice to hear! Do you see any impact of EVS work in your community?

Oh yes, I think it can have a huge impact, especially in small environments, which is not the case in Lisbon. Still, for example, I see that EVS volunteers have impact in the youngsters of our youth center. Or they create projects that wouldn't exist otherwise and create good opportunities for the people of the community. They bring innovation, apart from cultural richness.

When you’re working on a project, what energizes you the most and why?

I think that what energizes me the most on an EVS project is the initiative of the people, feeling that we work as a group of people with a common purpose and excitement.

What makes you feel passionate about a project?

The topic and the seriousness of the people involved. I can't and I don't want to do anything alone.

Can you tell me 3 words that describe you a as a volunteer?

Flexible, responsible and empathic What makes you feel passionate about life?

Art, creation, freedom, beauty, happiness/sadness, meaning. A sense of community What do you like to do in your free time?

I like to hang out with friends, speaking and listening, dancing, walking in the city and in nature, singing. reading!

What inspires you?

Other people, personal stories, nature and Lisbon.

Do you have a motto in your life?

Not really.

Do you remember what did you miss the most during your EVS? My friends/family and speaking Portuguese There was something in Greece that reminds you of home? Do you recall any special place in Athens?

Greece became my home as well, with time.

Did you realize find similarities with Portugal?

Many things reminded me of Portugal, some aspects of the food (I fell in love with Greek food), of the culture, of the social rules (and lack of rules) ahah 61

ahahah. I understand you very well. Tell me 5 things you would like to do before you die?

I'd like to write a book, to sing to a few special people, to have a family, to participate in the improvement of our society and to go to Greenland.

Talking about traveling... Where would you like to live, if you could choose anyplace?

I'd like to try living in some other places but currently I want to live in Lisbon and I think I will always want to come back to Lisbon.

If you could change one thing, anything, what would you change?

Inequality in the world What makes you happy?

Connectedness.

Do you want to leave a message for other volunteers or to people who are thinking about becoming volunteers?

The message is: Yes! Engage! It doesn't have to be a full-time occupation, you don't have to go to another country or to devote entirely to something. It can be as simple as helping a kid with school difficulties. Or anything else. But we need to keep this alive, the inter-dependence and the ties between people. It's what can bring us forwards.

Thank you Tiago, it was a pleasure to make this interview. I wish you'll keep all that energy in many projects for the future.

Thank you, Joana. It was very interesting for me too to answer to your questions!

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[See it happen as dreamers do] do]

When this project started in my mind, I did a lot of research about volunteerism, and not only in the context of EVS. I wanted to understand why people do it, I wanted to grasp the impact it has, the potential for change it carries.

This was not my first experience as a volunteer, but it was the first time that I dedicated all my time, for 12 months, to it. It was not always easy, it was not always fulfilling, it was not always productive. After one year away from home, would I do it again? Yes, for sure! Would I change things? Probably some.

Asking questions to someone else is always a way to ask them also to ourselves. And through my own questions, the ones I asked and the ones I kept for myself, I found out some things about the world, some other about volunteerism, but I mainly found out things about myself. I found out that as a volunteer I need “responsibility” and “challenge” to be the key words and “shared” the link between everything: shared responsibility, shared challenges, shared fears, shared dreams.

There is a general idea that a volunteer is someone who saves people; during this year, and also with this project, I learnt that volunteers are dreamers. In different ways, with different levels of engagement in the dream, but they are people who believe that change is possible, who can see it happen (as dreamers do) and who know that change starts with each one of us as we are, with what we have to offer. And what follows is a path full of doors, not just for others to come in, but also for us to come out.

Lisbon, February 2018

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The volunteer responsible for this publication is hosted in Greece in the framework of the European Erasmus+ programme, KA1/youth - European Voluntary Service. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.