Armenia ESC
ESC11 Individual Volunteering – “SOS – A home for every child”
General Information
In the context of the “SOS – A Home for Every Child” project our Volunteer, Angeliki, was hosted by the Armenian Volunteer Service “HUJ” in the city of Yerevan, Armenia, and became part of their multicultural team. As is the case for every ESC project, our Volunteer had a designated coordinator (tutor), who was her key reference point for task-related support, and a mentor who helped her smooth integration into the social and cultural life in Yerevan and facilitated his self-reflection and personal growth through this learning experience!
Activities
During the first week, she observed all the activities taking place at the center to understand its functioning, get to know the children and staff, and gather ideas for what she wanted to do. During the first month in Armenia, the volunteers mostly helped in the Diaconia program to promote a charitable Christmas bazaar and sell crafts and clothes made by the children and mothers receiving services from Diaconia. The Bazaar had a charitable purpose, with proceeds from the products sold going to the children’s families. So, her first task was in the food warehouse, where she helped pack food parcels for economically vulnerable families. There she met many volunteers who had grown up in the villages supported by the center. When they were children, they participated in the activities and now they felt the need to give back.
Another activity that shared with her colleague from Germany was teaching English in two groups. The lessons were held regularly throughout the year every Tuesday and Thursday. Working with children who don’t speak English was a challenge at first and complicated their communication, it simultaneously makes them more creative in finding ways to make the lesson understandable and fun. From the second time, they tried to teach the lesson as an interactive game so that the children could participate and learn.
Moreover, another activity the volunteer helped the hosting organization with was sewing and pastry workshops, where she offered her assistance to teenage girls and their mothers. In the pastry class, all volunteers acted as “teachers” and presented a recipe from their home country. They thoroughly enjoy their experience in these workshops as they provide participants with the opportunity to acquire knowledge that they can use as an asset for future work.
As for the activity she suggested, she had proposed to her supervisor to organize a workshop where she would teach traditional dances from her countries to the children. Of course, in this workshop volunteers from other countries could join with their traditional dances. The goal was for the children to learn about different cultures and better understand their own. Another idea was an event for Carnival, aimed at entertaining the children. She purchased face paints to do face painting with their favorite characters as well as balloons to make various animals.
End of the Placement
Upon his arrival back home, EKO had a “post-project” evaluation meeting, in which Angeliki, could make an overarching evaluation of their volunteering experience and reflect on how they could utilize their experiences in their future pursuits for further education, employment, or civil society engagement.
“I’m deeply grateful for the invaluable experiences I’ve gained. From engaging in community workshops to organizing cultural events, each moment was rich with learning and collaboration. These experiences have not only improved my skills but also broadened my perspective, fostering meaningful connections with people from diverse backgrounds. My time in Armenia has been transformative, and I’m eager to apply the lessons learned as I embark on new adventures.”
Together we explored available possibilities in the context of different programs under the ESC or other contexts:
Angeliki left the project one month before her volunteering period ended. That is because she received a very important offer. One organization in Ireland offered her a job position related to social work and to this day she lives and works there. The organization was impressed with her work during the ESC project in Armenia and chose her CV based on this experience.