The volunteering project in Poland, Silesia, which was part of the project Empowering regions through volunteering was a proposition by Fundacja Rozwoju Społeczeństwa Przedsiębiorczego.
Hi there. I am Nelly and I am from Armenia. Almost a year ago I decided to fully change my life and try something new out of my country. I came across this ESC volunteering project in Poland for 11 months and understood that it is the right thing for me to do.
In May I went to Poland, Wola town. I was working in Gminna Osrodek Kultury and Kampus-nowa edukacja. My responsibilities in GOK included teaching English, running workshops on different topics with local Polish people and children, helping in the office work. In Kampus, I was working in Montessori school and kindergarten, teaching children English, working with them, having different activities, helping teachers at school lessons, etc.. In summer, I was conducting some indoor and mostly outdoor activities with school and kindergarten children. We were travelling to some other cities, museums, etc..
I managed to have workshops about Armenian Cuisine. With Polish people we tried to make some Armenian dishes so they can somehow imagine what it looks like to be Armenian and eat Armenian food.
This volunteering gave me a big opportunity to make some new friends not among Armenians but among other nations too. In my town we were 5-6 volunteers and when we just wanted to have fun, we gathered in our houses and tried to have fun together.
During those 11 months, I also managed to travel in Europe. I have been to Czech, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Austria and Germany. Due to this project I made my long-awaited dream come true: visit Prague and see its beauty with my eyes. And my friend Lilit, who was volunteering in Czech, welcomed me there and showed me the country.
With Lilit we went to Slovakia to watch the match between FC Pyunik and Slovan Bratislava. That was one of the best experiences in our lives.
I had 22 days off but I have not even used all of them. I used a lot of non-working days and weekends to have my trips.
I have not felt cultural difficulties in Poland. People there are so kind, tolerant, helpful and friendly.
All I can say is that those 11 months just flew so fast that I have not even realised how time passed away. I am really grateful for this opportunity given by Future in Our Hands Organization. It is a cool chance for youth to try to come out of their comfort zones and try something new and exciting.
I will always remember the warm wishes I brought back with me from Poland. I can surely say that it was a successful part of my life story that I’ll always remember and appreciate.
