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, Konstantinos, 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 his key reference point for task-related support, and a mentor who helped his 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, he 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 he wanted to do. During his first week he participated in the existing activities in Zatik and gradually began preparing his own activities, focusing primarily on teaching English.
The next month he welcomed also two new volunteers from Belgium and Check Republic. Together they continued the English classes, but also they added crafts and arts activities.
In September all the volunteers had their on-arrival training in Georgia, where he had the opportunity to learn more about the ESC programs, meet other volunteers, and visit a new country.
While the lessons proceeded as usual, gradually some children began to leave Zatik, because they stayed at the center for only a specific period. Nevertheless, along with the other volunteers, they continued the English lessons adjusting their lessons and even created several educational games. For example, created a card game, similar to the well-known UNO game for teaching numbers. This month they decided to add to their schedule cooking classes with the children. The children enthusiastically participated and enjoyed the whole process. During the Christmas period, the Greek volunteer participated in the events held at the center and helped with various activities.
As the time progressed he left alone, (considering that Vasilis volunteered in Armenia for 12 months) as the two girls had left. Therefore, during this period, he tried to maintain a balance between play and teaching. The significant change next month was that he began teaching English to a young educator working at Zatik. Besides her initial interest, he also considered it beneficial for an educator there to have a good knowledge of English, enabling basic communication between educators and future volunteers.
End of the Placement
Upon his arrival back home, EKO had a “post-project” evaluation meeting, in which, Konstantinos, 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.
“The ESC program has offered me the unique opportunity to help children in need, explore a different culture, learn another language and make new friends from different parts of the world.”
Together we explored available possibilities in the context of different programs under the ESC or other contexts:
Konstantinos was fortunate enough to stay in Armenia for one year. After he finished his six months, he made some attempts to join another program like this but since he had various obstacles, the organization suggested to continue with them for the next six months. When the project ended, Kostantinos decided to stay as an independent volunteer in Armenia, with the same organization, until he figured out what he wanted to do. Eventually, he returned to Cyprus and currently, he is studying for his master’s degree.