Results of the Photo Contest - July 2020 (working with elderly)
Beata from Poland The picture you can see is a reflection of a unique connection I felt between the elderly and me during Christmas Eve 2019. Being a volunteer at some point I realised how beautiful it is to share moments with the elderly. They really appreciate our attention, presence, energy and smile we can give them. It works both ways - once you indulge in conversations with seniors it may even surprise you how much joy they can share.I believe that nowadays in the Internet era it is crucial to appreciate the presence of others. The relationships with the elderly are unique since both sides can share numerous opposite things. I want to say a big thank you to Centrum Współpracy Młodzieżowej from Gdynia who gave me this wonderful opportunity to explore the world and hence discover how important the elderly are to me. Just look at the way they smile while being with you - it is so good to see them happy and curious about the world!
José Maria from Portugal This picture was taken in the senior house where I volunteered for 1 year. This is literally "A picture
is worth a thousand words”. I went to Latvia, in a tiny city called Rūjiena, really close to Estonia, and people from there are completely amazing. This includes locals, people with whom I lived and, the best ones, "my seniors" of Rūjiena Senior House. I tried the whole year, to give them a smile, to bring my happiness inside them, to make them comfortable with volunteers from different countries, cultures and habits, to have joy doing all the activities organised by us (I was volunteering in the senior house with a German and Turkish girl). I feel that I finished my project with 100+ grandmas and grandpas. I brought a little bit of all the seniors inside me, back to Portugal, and at the same time, a bit of me staid in the Rūjiena Senior House.
Kübra from Turkey In the beginning, the idea of working with seniors felt very scary. I was so worried before my project started
in Latvia because I had no idea about how I should behave towards elderly people. Or which kind of activity would be better for them. But then, I started my European Solidarity Corps volunteering project in Rūjiena and I saw that they are seeing me like their child and feeling comfortable in my company. They removed all my fears because they did not have any doubts in me. This photo shows one of these magical moments with them. They were showing me their traditional “piparkūkā” which is popular at Christmas time. We were enjoying making their own Christmas cookies, and of course a day after, the cookies were eaten with great pleasure together with tea.
Francesco from France How to define solidarity and friendship? This picture, taken in front of the volunteer’s home, is a perfect example. In
the car, two Italians, one Greek, one Austrian, two Polish, one French, one Danish and two Cypriots (counting the priest of the village who brought us back to home), fully happy and also a bit tired after the working day they had: cleaning a small church. The World Wild Village project has shown and confirmed to me how much the inter-culturalism can be powerful. Nothing can break the strong feeling of community and solidarity that characterizes this group. A feeling resumed in these smiling faces that we can see here, during one of the best after-work time of my life. A feeling that brings the thought that, sometimes, everything is possible. A feeling reinforced also by the incredible place where we all live and by the presence of the locals, who give us food, home, and a very pleasant company in exchange of work we do for them.
Serhii from Ukraine During my European Solidarity Corps volunteering in Bugibba, Malta, in 2018 we volunteers used to work with
more than 20 elderly in our Center, Leli was one of them. He was living literally next door to the Center and we spent lots of time together: preparing parties for children and elderly, giving useful ideas for activities, helping with cleaning.Once I wanted to make an activity, which was flying a kite with children, but I had never done it before. So I tried it with Leli first. And when he saw that I did it a bit wrongly, he started showing me how it works. I was 26 and Leli 69. We had so much fun!