Noortevahetus "Help others, help yourself" Slovakkias

20 juuni- 27 juuni toimus Slovakkias noortevahetus, mille teemaks oli “Vabatahtlik töö”. Tuldi kokku 8’st riigist, kokku 48 osalejat. 

Esimene päev keskendus üksteise tutvumisega. Korraldati mitmesuguseid nimemänge, koostöö

mänge jms. Järgmisel päeval viidi meid ratsa ülikooli tribüüne värvima, kus kõigepealt eemaldasime rooste ning pärast värvisime tribüüni üle. Oli huvitav näha, et nii mitmetest riikidest noored tegid ühiselt ja vabatahtlikult tööd. Teise poole päevast anti meile valida, kas tahame külastada koerte varjupaika või jalgratta parki. Koerte varjupaigas oli võimalik jalutada koeri, nendega mängida ja nunnutada. Tohutult armas oli näha õnnelikki koeri, kui nendega tegeleti. Hiljem ka selgus, et koerte varjupaigas veedetud aeg meeldis osalejatele kõige rohkem. Jalgratta pargis oli meil võimalus aidata MTÜ-d, kes seda parki tegi ja hoolitseb selle eest. Oli põnev, sest see park on ainuke “dirt park” kesk Euroopas. 

Järgmisel päeval külastasime Kosice lossivaremeid, kus meile tehti ekskursioon ning räägiti ajaloost. Soovijad said käia vaatetornis. Hiljem olime abiks ümbruskonna koristamisel, söögi tegemisel ning uue palkmaja ehitamisel. Vastavalt soovile sai iga osaleja osaleda just temale meelepärasel tegevusel. Päeva teisel poolel oli võimalik tutvuda Kosice linnaga lähemalt ning näha linna vaatamisväärsusi.

Järgnevatel päevadel viidi läbi mitmesuguseid töötube, mänge, arutelusid. Rääkisime vabatahtlike kogemustest, kuidas on olla vabatahtlik. Tutvustati ka European Solidarity Corps programmi. Oli kurb lahkuda kodumaale teadmisega, et enam üksteist suure tõenäosusega ei näe ning maha jäävad juba kalliks saanud sõbrad. Jäime projektiga rahule ning nüüd oleme kogemuse võrra jälle

rikkamad.

------------

From the 20.06 to 26.06 six young and adventurous people from Estonia took part in a youth exchange called “Help Others, Help Yourself” which took place in Slovak Republic. The name points to the theme of the project which was volunteering. We stayed in a recreation centre in Zlata Idka which was close to the second biggest town of Slovakia, Košice. Apart from us, there were people from Cyprus, Finland, Latvia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain.

We didn’t only have workshops and activities in the project venue in Zlata Idka but we were also taken to different places around to help the local community through volunteering. This involved for example painting the podiums where people watch horse riding competitions; spending time with dogs at a dog shelter; helping to clean the area of an old castle ruins and helping with construction work at that historical site. 

We also spent time with people who had

mental disability, mostly down syndrome. They had prepared a play for us and after that we all took part in games which develop acting skills. It was a very touching and memorable experience and we learned a lot about how the process of making theater have benefits in the development of social and interpersonal skills. We had the opportunity to see with our own eyes how the community theater practices have a good effect on vulnerable people. Many people with the down syndrome were much better in acting than we were.

Last days of the project were dedicated to the meaning of volunteer work. We shared our personal experiences of volunteer work, good ones and bad ones. We discussed what we

learned from the volunteering actions in Slovakia. Also we were profoundly informed what opportunities the European Solidarity Corps offers and people who had been volunteering in different countries through the European Voluntary Service program shared their experiences. Of course, we had time to stroll around in the charming old town of Košice and to marvel the mountainous landscape of Slovakia. There was not missing the legendary intercultural evening where we learned a lot about other cultures. 

All in all, I am sure that the project inspired all of us to contribute to society through volunteering in the future and also gave us knowledge howto organize volunteer work effectively.