Hello everyone!
My name is Maria, I'm 22 years old and I'm from Rome. One day in early August, I stumbled upon the European Solidarity Corps page, a program funded by the European Union, and without thinking twice, I sent in my application. That's how my adventure in Porto, Portugal, began.
In mid-September, I landed in the beautiful city of Porto, to begin what have been six months filled with smiles, hugs, and, above all, immense satisfaction. I volunteered at the Onda Verde association in the small village of Avintes, Vila Nova de Gaia, alongside my fellow adventurers, Magdalena and Maria, both from Poland.
My goal, and my greatest desire, was to bring my enthusiasm and creativity to a receptive environment, to serve others, and to apply my skills. My degree in design allowed me to help the association not only from a humanistic perspective, supporting the children with homework and the various afternoon activities, but above all by taking the association's communication to the next level, creating graphics, posters, institutional newspapers, and numerous other public communication materials, all of which maintained a consistent visual identity and were easily recognizable by the community.
My volunteering was therefore a combination of everything that characterizes me: the creative side, but above all the strong desire to get involved and learn from the little ones in a previously unknown language. The smiles the children gave me were priceless, as were all the little touches and every relationship built step by step, until I became not just an adult for them, but a friend they could trust, ask for help, and play with.
The language aspect was certainly a little unsettling at first, as most of the children between the ages of 7 and 15 spoke absolutely no English, nor did some of the staff. But this experience taught me that language isn't the only way to communicate: there's also room for gestures, glances, and above all, the desire to be understood by others and the ability to broaden one's horizons.
My favorite activities were definitely Monday afternoons, when Joana, one of the organization's workers, and I conducted activities related to environmental sustainability. Every Monday, we managed to create something the children loved, but that also conveyed a concrete message. We made recycled paper with sunflower seeds to plant, and we created little jars with water snails with the children so they could have their own pet. We recycled, created little figures with waste materials, and learned about the importance of water and how essential it is not to waste it. It was magical to see how we managed to convey such important concepts in such a simple way, truly managing to convey them to the children.
My fellow adventurers, Maria and Magdalena, and I had the opportunity to meet other volunteers during our experience and collaborate with their organizations to create an international environment where everyone could express themselves. Therefore, I think it's important for me to also mention Mariana (Mari!), a volunteer with the NoGordio association, also in Porto, who introduced us to these wonderful opportunities. Thanks to her, we were able to meet other volunteers from various organizations, who later became true friends.
A volunteer ESC It's a valuable experience, one that I'm sure has enriched me immensely. I think it's an excellent opportunity for anyone who wants to challenge themselves and try to understand what it would be like to live in another country, always having a safety net and a springboard towards something greater. It's an experience where you bring a lot of yourself, but at the same time you start learning from scratch and grow a lot. It's an experience of adaptation, curiosity, and discovery. It's certainly a one-of-a-kind experience.
Maria Zaharia