Volunteering at the Icelandic Red Cross

After college, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Would I start working already or continue studying? I decided to take a gap year to find out. I wanted to gain a longer-term experience abroad, where I could do something useful. Less than a month after my decision, I was already in Iceland, volunteering for the Red Cross with the European Solidarity Corps for 11 months.

At the Icelandic Red Cross, I volunteered for refugees. Here we had two integration projects. One was a language project, which allowed refugees to learn the Icelandic language. The other was a buddy project, pairing Icelandic volunteers with refugees. My job was to develop those projects. 

When looking for a volunteer project, I saw many programmes where you have to pay for it. I doubted whether that was well organised. Then I saw the European Solidarity Corps. I got a language course, a mentor, monthly meetings with other European volunteers, food and accommodation. I lived there with seven others from Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Italy, Germany and Denmark. I'm still in touch with them.

Because of this experience I found out more about what I want in life. At the Red Cross, I found out that I really like this work and that I lacked some knowledge on how to do good research. That contributed to my decision to continue studying. I learnt a lot about myself, about who I am and what I like. 

You get the chance to see more of the world, gain work experience and meet people from all over the world. I would do it all over again and after my follow-up studies I probably want to do something abroad again. Every experience is different, but something good always comes out of it.

Updated on szerda, 16/04/2025