SVAŠTARA

Before applying for EVS I was not sure what to expect. I knew it was going to be a great opportunity to be able to travel and live abroad so when I arrived I was pleasantly surprised.

After being in college for a long time I really wanted to do anything that was remotely new and that could challenge me. I found Mreža udruga Zagor on European Youth Portal and immediately applied. Next thing I remember I had moved to Croatia.

I arrived in a small town called Zabok, not far from Zagreb, where the organisation I volunteer for is based. It is not a huge town but it is big enough and has everything I need. The community here is great and welcoming which set my mind at ease to any worries I had before joining.

For the first two months I was adjusting to the change of being in a different country and being around new people and surroundings. It was and still is difficult to get used to new mannerisms, language and culture. Throughout this period I was getting to understand the dynamics of how the organisation works and how the employee manages everything. In the organisation there is one other long term volunteer on the same programme as me named Alex; for our projects we had to think of something that could somehow better the community and get ourselves a little more out there. I chose to start teaching English grammar lessons to some of the locals and some people in our organisation who are not yet confident with English.

Other roles I have participated in are media promotion for Zagor which included things like taking photographs of events/workshops we have had going on, making videos with our other volunteer about EVS and making gifs/posters regarding on what we do here.

Since being here from March, I have been able to travel around surrounding towns/cities and countries. I have become more comfortable with reading bus/train timetables which in turn has made it easier for me to go to different places whether it was for my organisation or for my own leisure. Evidently, this is a good experience to have on your EVS because you will have a more exciting time seeing the different places and cultures around Europe and become more confident in trusting yourself to navigate around a different country. I am lucky enough to be somewhere where I can easily get to Zagreb quickly therefore I can travel to other countries like Hungary and Slovenia.

Currently, I am trying to think of another project I am able to do throughout the rest of my EVS here. For the rest of my time, I want to be able to implement a project that will be able to have an impact after I leave however; I am not yet sure what that will be. From my experience thus far I have been able to figure out who I am as a person and see how independent I really am. I think once I have finished my EVS I will be able look at what life lessons I have been taught and execute that knowledge on what I will do next.

Autorica: Ellie Leacy, dugoročna volonterka Mreže udruga Zagor

Stavovi i mišljenja autora teksta osobni su i ne odražavaju nužno stavove udruge.

Članak je napisan u sklopu projekta “Dva volontera za lokalnu zajednicu”. Projekt je financiran u okviru Erasmus+programa kroz Ključnu aktivnost 1: Mobilnost u svrhu učenja za pojedince, Volonterski projekti.

Video „40 days of EVS“ prikazuje poglede i emocije koje su volonteri imali tijekom svojih prvih 40 dana sudjelovanja na EVS-u. Volonterka Ellie i volonter Alex od ožujka 2019. postali su dugoročni volonteri Mreže udruga Zagor te će godinu dana volontirati u Zagoru i živjeti u Zaboku.

Cijeli video možete pogledati na linku.

Video je izrađen u okviru projekta „Dva volontera za lokalnu zajednicu“ kojeg provodi Mreža udruga Zagor, a partneri pošiljatelji su International Voluntary Service – IVS GB i Merseyside Expanding Horizons limited – MEH. Projekt je financiran u okviru Erasmus+ programa kroz Ključnu aktivnost 1: Mobilnost u svrhu učenja za pojedince, Volonterski projekti.