ACTING LOCAL, CHANGING GLOBAL: WHY WOULD I RECOMMEND VOLUNTEERING WITH THE EUROPEAN VOLUNTARY CORPS?

 By Naiara Erezuma*

* Naiara has taken part in a volunteering project with the European Solidarity Corps called: Acting Local, Changing Global. The Sending Organization has been LÊWASI and the host one The Portuguese Red Cross Youth. She has been there for 12 months starting in June 2019. The place was the city of Vila Nova de Gaia (Portugal) 

Why would i recommend volunteering with the European Voluntary Corps?

The first thing that comes to my mind as an answer is a big: "and why not?" Why don't trying?

Many times, we try to look for the why; Thus, I want to turn around this question and focus on the following: “why not?”.

I am thinking of these kind of people who may be are at this moment wondering if it is worth going on a mobility, people who want to travel; other people, who want to know new cultures; people who want to get involved in society to help in multiple possible ways; people who want to discover, discover and learn new things; people who want to experience in some field or people who simply want to prove themselves, to know themselves; live a different experience.

 

All those people who already have a predisposition of this kind, I would like to ask you: Why not? 

 

I invite you to react; to take the step, the one that you possibly need to take.

 

I cannot put into words all what my European volunteering experience have meant and means to me: Typical but accurate: INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE!!  perhaps two short for everything I have experienced: Living in Portugal, knowing its culture, its people; being in a world organization like the Portuguese Red Cross; being in a team as professional as human, learning, working, supporting each other, new ideas, new activities; friendships; new language; self-knowledge; new things you never thought you would do; even different food!!!

 

These are things that, perhaps, I could not imagine, but now they are part of me. 

 

A personal growth that can only happen in oneself. 

 

A change that could only come from experience. 

 

Because at the end this is the point: EXPERIENCE! and that can only be lived for you.

 

Therefore, I encourage you to go out and find your own; 

 

Because I can tell you about my experience… But there is something better than this…

 

Why don’t you go out and find yours ;-) ?