My name is Marie. I am 24 years old and I am French. I arrived in Palermo in October like Meryem and Evelina. So, I live with them and with three other guys who also do volunteer work here in Palermo. I discovered with pleasure – and of course, I still discover today ! – many things that make the city of Palermo, at the same time a wonderful city, crazy, dynamic, warm, open and many other things!
I chose to do an EVS after my studies as a specialized educator because I wanted to take a break before working in France. However, I also wanted to do something in my line of work. So, I found a project in the social sector, with social workers. I have always loved traveling but not just traveling as a tourist, but actually traveling in the country, with the inhabitants to live in their culture, tradition… So, the EVS was the perfect solution! At the same time, I work in a center for people with disabilities and migrants, and I work, escor, with Italians with whom I can learn their culture.
The center welcomes four adults with different disabilities and four migrants who have health problems – they need to have an operation or something else. They all sleep in the center and live together. There are five operators, a manager and a cultural mediator who work in the community.
A girl from downtown during an activity
My job consists in accompanying the different people of the community in their daily life. So, we do the shopping together, we cook together, we do different activities, we watch movies, we go for a walk in the cities… I also do a job with the cultural mediator and the migrants of the centre. As I speak French and English, I can help understanding between operators who speak only Italian and migrants. For this reason, I also accompany the boys, for example to the doctor, to other centres…
Me (left) and an operator
CASA ANCH'IO is a truly familiar place where I take pleasure in learning about the operators, their work and functioning. The coexistence of the two different audiences is a very interesting approach for me, because we don't see many centers like this in France, so it's an enriching experience for me and for my future work in France. I also think that working with people from different countries brings something new; for the person coming to another country, and for people already working in this country.