Participating in Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange helped Ivan, Ivo and Alex from Bulgaria, prepare for their experience in Uganda with the European Voluntary Service. Their initiative: "Empowering Youth with EVS in Uganda", is focused on empowerment as a change making process on the lives of young people and children.

“The skills we learned during the Training to Develop Virtual Exchange Projects and the Facilitation Training, have helped us with the work we are doing here and to become more open to a new culture ,'' explains Alex. 

“People from Uganda have different values, so communication is not always easy, you need to adapt and find a common ground. I think Virtual Exchanges have the potential to shape and widen our worldview. Virtual Exchange has ‘activated’ our minds and improved our knowledge and connections,” adds Ivo.

 “People here don't rush, nobody has busy, intense routines like we do in our countries. Once, the guy who came to fix our washing machine fell asleep on our couch while waiting for his colleague to come with a missing piece. Then, he woke up and left. The next day he fixed it though!”, Alex continues.

All three are volunteering in Kawempe, an area about 20km outside the Ugandan capital, Kampala. They are part of a multinational cohort of 9 volunteers from Romania, Turkey and Spain. During their stay, they are expected to work with several fields related to the needs of their community, including: gardening and construction work; crowdfunding and fundraising and vocational education. 

Ivan highlights that the most important skill Virtual Exchange taught him was ‘deep listening’: “Listening to what someone is saying is important, but also what he is not saying. After, you can ask the right questions. Communication is crucial, we need to understand what is needed, to see what we can offer, he continues.” 

They all describe this experience as ‘life-changing’ and are proud to be transferring their knowledge and contributing to strengthening the competences of young people and children in Uganda. “I wake up happy in the morning because of what we’re doing here”, confirms Ivo. Ivan adds: “I can appreciate the things I take for granted back home: shelter, food, water, clean parks and gardens, public transportation, etc."

The most rewarding part so far, is that their fundraising effort for a water filtration system for the village has been successful and is being set up right now. 

Congratulations on all your efforts!

Learn more about Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange