Posts Tagged ‘EVS’

How would it be,
a place to feel free?

Where energy flows, in the middle of nature,
so humankind grows, to finally be mature..

There is a place on earth, that is looking like that.
I want to create it, it’s all in my head.

First thing we need, is a steady organization,
where young people go, and find inspiration.

(Idea 1.a inspiration factory) http://www.youthnetworks.eu/Members/IdeaComments.aspx?IdeaID=93

When this is launched, we can talk one on one,
then we start to get serious things done.

Let’s get back to that place where we feel free to live,
to experience, to learn to create and to give.

(Idea1.b. sustainable energy park) http://www.youthnetworks.eu/Members/IdeaComments.aspx?IdeaID=94

A place where we live and invite life to us,
we see how it goes, we experiment, plus…

we create an environment to get us on top,
on top of the world, the future nonstop.

How is the future? No person knows,
the future is us, the youth is who knows.

I have NoBorders, and together with youth,
we don’t follow orders, we inspire the good.

So let us all unleash our light,
and fight for the things that we think are right.

ADVIT Moldova experience report by: Ingrid van der Heijden, The Netherlands

“Bine at venit!” echoed though the Charity Centre for Refugees in Chisinau on the 8th of May 2010. The sign to start the day was given and “Ziua copiilor” (Children’s Day) had officially started. After a short presentation of the day, given by Alf and Chris, two international volunteers, the 141 exited children could start to discover what was waiting for them. Some of them knew immediately were they wanted to go to, while others looked doubtfully around for a few minutes before they made a decision where to start.

Only a little later all the children managed to make a decision between activities such as football, making bracelets, twister, limbo dancing, face painting, making windmills, origami, dance workshops, juggling and the big bouncy castle. Between all these activities there was special guest “Clown Jozef” walking around, ready to make the most amazing figures out of balloons for the children. “Ziua Copiilor” was initiated and organized by four EVS volunteers hosted by ADVIT Moldova. The activities were prepared and carried out by the 25 of ADVIT’s international volunteers. Read the rest of this entry »

ADVIT Moldova experience report by: EVS volunteer Maxie Riemenschneider, Germany.

I started my EVS in Chisinau, Moldova in September 2009. At this time, my only hosting project was an “Animation Centre for Children and Youth”. The first month there were ok, not always easy (as I had to get used to the mentality at first), but always interesting. After a while the feeling that I also want to do something else as just working with children grow in me. At the same time, I got more and more concerned about the Moldovan stray dog problem. A dead dog is lying on the sidewalk for more than 2 weeks and nobody cleans it, on a walk to home at night dogs are following me with the hope to get some food or just some minutes of affection, while another dog is dying just right in front of me on a poisoned peace of food.

Reasons enough to search for an organization which work with dogs, and try to help these, in my eyes, wonderful animals. With the support of Marina, one of the ADVIT-angels, I found the dog shelter “Casa Katharina”, situated outside of Chisinau, based on and financed from a German organization. Already on my first visit there, I completely fell in love with this place. You enter the gate and immediately 120 dogs start to bark, run to you, jump up on you and try to catch your attention. Right away it was clear: This is meant to be my second EVS Project! Read the rest of this entry »

Volunteer. Meet new people. Connect to the community.

ADVIT stays for Association for Development, Voluntary Service and Information for Youth. ADVIT Moldova aims to promote cultural understanding and youth empowerment through opportunities of international exchange and voluntary work. As the recognized charity working in the area of youth development; ADVIT Moldova sends and receives young people, who want to broaden their horizons, develop themselves, make a difference, live and work with communities in Moldova and throughout the world up to 12 months. Through volunteering with ADVIT in Moldova, participants gain valuable work experience, learn a new language and develop important vocational, interpersonal and cultural skills, while in turn offering their skills, knowledge and enthusiasm for the benefit of the projects that host them.

ADVIT Moldova offers a unique, ethical volunteering experience. They know every one of their volunteers personally which means that they provide excellent support. Their volunteers live and work with local people and form an integral part of the community. Their volunteers are matched to the projects based on their preferences, skills and interests. To find out more, please contact: advit_ewb@yahoo.com or visit the ADVIT web site.

Below you can read some short impressions from EVS volunteers in Moldova and in our blog category ‘EVS experiences’, we will publish -in the next weeks - some ADVIT Moldova experience reports from EVS volunteers. So watch this blog regularly to be informed! Read the rest of this entry »

EVS!? What is that? “Just a crazy good time”

That’s just one of  the many positive quotes I heard while watching short movies about EVS on YouTube. But it’s not the words that make me go crazy and gets me excited. It is the smiling faces of young people that have a good time in a foreign country.It is the faces of toddlers and elderly people who are affected by young volunteers in many ways. The curiosity you see in a young Bulgarian child’s eyes while playing with the ponytail of a German young adult, and the music in the background that gives me goosebumps. It’s young people being themselves, inspire and try to help another.

It’s only happiness we see on YouTube, even though there might not only be happiness on an EVS experience. There can be hard times, when you miss your family and friends, or when something happens that might be weird in your eyes, or when something sad is happening that affects you. But that’s also what EVS is. You learn by experience, about other cultures, you get rid of prejudices, actually, you get closer to your inner core. You learn what’s important in your life, what you want to do with your life. Actually, EVS gives you the opportunity to meet yourself.

What I’ve discovered by just looking at short EVS movies on YouTube is that EVS changes you in a direction that gives you more meaning in life, and all the new friends you gain is worth mentioning as well.

ADVIT Moldova experience report by: EVS volunteer Hannah Rees, United Kingdom

After a day of travelling I sighed a breath of relief as I met my mentor at Chisinau airport. We jumped into a taxi, not a seatbelt in sight, and one of my very first impressions of Moldova was the roads, or in places the lack of. Pot holes were swerved round on the lane-less roads as we drove up the wide highway and entered the capital through the ‘Gates of Chisinau’; two vast apartment blocks on either side of the road reminiscent of the USSR era. Yet, these were exactly the stereotypes of Moldova that I had heard back home; poor infrastructure and vast concrete blocks left behind from the Soviet times.

However, I was soon to discover that Chisinau, and Moldova as a whole, has far more to offer than what fits into these stereotypes. One of my favourite things about the city is its greenness. Vast parks are found in every district and tall trees line the majority of the streets. Another favourite is all the markets selling fresh produce from the countryside, second-hand clothes at bargain prices and flowers in all the colours under the sun. Read the rest of this entry »

1. Making friends:
EVS brings like-minded people together in a common setting where they’ll all be working towards a common goal.
2. Networking:
You can also network with others who might be in a position to help you turn your voluntary work  into a paid career you’ll enjoy.
3. CV improvement:
Employers recognize the value that voluntary work adds to a CV in terms.
4. Decision making:
Sometimes you need a little help in determining what kind of job or career path you wish to follow. EVS helps to decide the type of work you might prefer.
5. Building self-confidence:
EVS is a useful way to increase your self-esteem and confidence.  

And last, but not least…You make a difference that far outweigh any form of financial reward.

Ioana (23), an EVS volunteer from Brasov (Romania), is currently working from the Joetz office in Brussels. She started her EVS project in March and at the end of May she launched a blog about her Belgium experiences with its ups and downs. On her blog she talks about EVS in general, EVS at Joetz and EVS in Belgium. Ioana hopes the blog will one day become an instrument for all young people in their search for an EVS insight and she it will providing a platform for dialogue around EVS. Do you want to get an insight of her Belgium experiences and read more about EVS? If the answer is yes, then visit her Joetz EVS blog.

Ganziantep Training and Youth Association is an EVS hosting organization in Turkey. On their website you can read comments from volunteers about their EVS experiences. For example about the experiences of Johanna Smit (20) from Germany, who worked with and for children in various associations like nurseries or centres for young people with disadvantaged backgrounds or difficulties in their daily life. She gave English lessons and organized leisure activities such as excursions and games. At the end of her EVS project she wrote this letter to the children.

Johanna: ‘My project can be described as 8 months full of joy, feelings, friendship, activities, adventures, tears, experience AND baklava. One of the best things about the association was that we had the possibility to meet lots of new people from different countries. Now I have friends all over the world.’ Are you curious to other EVS experiences in Ganziantep? Please visit their website.

creACTive: the world of creative and active young people
creACTive is a youth association from Macedonia for support of creativity and active citizenship of young people. Formed in 2007, creACTive has a main aim to assist the personal development of young people by providing them with a variety of non-formal education activities. creACTive currently has one Youth Centre in Kavadarci and two Youth Clubs – one in Skopje and another one in the village of Drenovo.

‘It was a big experience for me to work in creACTive. During the work I improved my language skills (English, Macedonian), I learnt how to organize events involving many people. Last but not least I learnt about work with young people, how to solve some problems and how to improve the work with them.’ – Adam Gazda from Czech Republic Read the rest of this entry »