Pandemic volunteering
Natalia, Romania“I got to better know my European identity, but I also discovered and learned about other cultures, religions and ways of living.”
All my friends started university last year. It was only me leaving for a volunteering mission in the city of Marseille from Southern France, far from anything familiar or habitual. But this choice of becoming a volunteer in the middle of the pandemic brought me incredible personal growth and different insights on life.
Volunteering in an association that works on themes such as international mobility or non-formal education, having flatmates and friends who come from Tunisia, Italy, Germany, Spain or Turkey, getting involved and organising projects around subjects such as interculturality or non-violent communication enriched me indeed. I got to better know my European identity, but I also discovered and learned about other cultures, religions and ways of living.
The European Solidarity Corps is such a valuable source of opportunities! Thanks to this year of volunteering, I learned enough French in order to start my university studies in France, became much more competent in the digital work space and met some of the most authentic and inspiring people. Not even the pandemic stopped the volunteering, so our fears should not either. Volunteering transformed me and given me new perspectives.
Updated on Monday, 26/07/2021