When I was in nine and attending third grade we started talking about human rights and the UN in school, and I found myself finding deep interest in the topic. When one of our teacher students told us that she had worked as a volunteer with Unicef, I made a note to myself; to at some point in my life work as a volunteer. Ten years later, in the summer of 2021, I graduated from my three years of university preparations where I studied social science. And a year later I became a volunteer at AICEM, a youth organisation that works for human rights.
After graduation I was immediately aching to get a way, move abroad, start my own adventure and experience something new. I remembered that I had wanted to volunteer at some point in my life and felt like now was the perfect time. I have lived my whole life in Stockholm, Sweden, and as much as I appreciate all it has done for me, its coldness has never matched my pull towards the warmth. I am happiest in the sun, by the beach and that's where I wanted to go.
My name is Emilia and this is how I became a volunteer and moved to sunny Sardinia, Italy at the age of twenty.
To move abroad when you are nineteen and just graduated from school can be difficult. Therefore, I was looking at the best and most affordable options to do so…And I had difficulty finding something manageable. Fryshuset is a youth center in Sweden where I have spent a lot of time growing up. They introduced me to the European solidarity corps (ESC) and the possibility to volunteer, as they had the opportunity there too. To be transparent with you, I had not heard about ESC before and did not know what it would entail, and I was working at a school at the moment as a substitute teacher. They offered me to work as a short-term volunteer in Stockholm for two months and I accepted. I volunteered at the international department with social media where I took a lot of pictures and videos. I also did translation in Spanish, Swedish and English. The two months I volunteered were so giving and I had some of the best experiences and made new friends. At the end of my volunteering period I started to apply for volunteering opportunities in other countries, since that had been my dream from the beginning. A few months went by and I realised how much I wanted it but also started to give up on the idea that it would happen for me. When I suddenly started to get responses back, one that especially caught my attention was AICEM in Sardinia.
Three days after my 20th birthday I packed my suitcase to move to Sardinia to start my volunteership. And I have truly enjoyed the beginning of this journey. I have found solitude at the beach, the people I have met are lovely and I really like the surroundings. It is satisfying to work with an organisation that shares the same values as you. During the first weeks I got to create the design for posters that we got to put up and hand out flyers with the same design, which was really cool. Right now I work two times a week with communication and social media and the other three at a sports center with kids. It can be frightening and lonely to move to a country where you don't speak the native language. Which is an obstacle I was concerned about when we began working at the sport center, especially since one of my favourite parts of working with kids is interacting with them. But I was happily surprised when some of my first conversations with Sardinian locals (outside of work) were with children. They were a bit confused at first as to why I didn't speak Italian but quickly changed their attitude to finding a solution and excitement in it. They started teaching me words in Italian and I, in return, taught them words in English. Additionaly, sometimes in Spanish since it's similar and was easier for them to understand. In spite of my lack of understanding in Italian, mainly in the beggining, they kept speaking to me and I believe that it's one of the reasons for how I have learnt some Italian words. One of the most rewarding things has been seeing the kids get happy when I arrive at work and some kids even told me that I was their favourite instructor, language barrier and all.
Yet, one of the things I am enjoying the most is figuring out how to live on my own and create my own life and routines. Along with all the lessons I'm learning, learning about myself is one of my favourites. No matter how overwhelming and scary it can be to dive into the unknown, if you never do you will also miss out on all its beauty.
Emilia