One of my new friends here in Italy asked me: why Italy? I had no answer to it, I still don’t. If I’m being completely honest it was a decision made on a whim. Not the volunteering itself (I’ve been looking into long-term projects since I was 16) but the decision to accept an offer from this particular organisation. It felt right, it felt like a good match.
Ciao! I’m Kateryna from Kyiv, Ukraine and I’m twenty-five years old. I’ve been volunteering in Ukrainian organisations (NGOs) since I was thirteen, maybe fourteen, years old. A couple of years ago I finally became an official employee of one of them. So here I am, a social media manager for a Ukrainian Women empowerment and rights protection NGO.
Now, Looking for a volunteering opportunity my only two criteria were:
our interests and values should align;
it should be warm.
You might not be impressed but it is what it is. I’ve spent many, many hours looking into every call for volunteers, that I found interesting, and applying, applying, applying. And I want to tell you that finding the right project for you makes all the effort worth it.
It’s been a month since I came to Brattiró, a beautiful town in Calabria, Italy to become a European Solidarity Corps volunteer. I’ve been exploring, and learning and, even though it sounds cliche, getting out of my comfort zone in my everyday life and work. It is the best way to challenge yourself, and discover sides of yourself that you would never find otherwise. Best way to broaden your horizon, make new friends, learn new skills and just have a lot of fun.
As a final remark here are some things that I’ve learned living in Italy (so far):
No latte macchiato or cappucino after midday. It’s just the way it is and no Italian could tell me why.
Even if you speak Italian (which I don’t, yet) you don’t speak Italian… mainly because people in Calabria speak on dialect and I think it’s beautiful.
You wouldn’t like to explain to Italian people how your country cooks or serves pasta. It will break their hearts and the sight of heartbroken Italian people that you already like will then break your heart and we don’t want it.
The monthly products and food haul turn into a disaster if you have never done this before. I’m getting better at planning and organizing and it is definitely a challenge I was not expecting to face, but I’m working on it and I’m very proud of the progress I’ve made.
Becoming an ESC volunteer was the best decision to be made. It gives you a certain amount of unexpected freedom, a healthy dose of challenge, and a safe space for self-growth.
Here’s to new adventures!
Kateryna