Newsletter April 2013 for hosted EVS volunteers

Open publication - Free publishing - More evs

For more testimonies, visit everythingispossible.eu

Everything Is Possible has got now a brand new website! Much clearer, you will find on it info about our opportunities abroad and in the UK, but as well testimonies from our volunteers and trainees.

We hope you will love it!

www.everythingispossible.eu

First testimony from Reunion Island of our two trainees Aurelie and Fin

Bonjour! After a 14 hour overnight flight from London Heathrow, with a change in Mauritius, we landed into the airport in St. Denis, the capital city of French island and our home for the next few weeks, Ile de la Réunion!

 

Very tired but very happy to have arrived, we stepped off the plane into the mid-day 30 degree heat and were greeted warmly by Philomène, our contact here for Mission Locale - the charity we will be working for during our stay. The journey wasn’t over yet; a two hour drive taking us to our hostel in the southern city of St. Pierre followed. We skirted by the sea along a coastal road, mountains of indefinite height towered over us from inland, their peaks obscured by thick clouds. We pass deep ravines coated in green foliage, forests composed of trees we’ve never seen before, men selling exotic, multi-coloured fruit stacked in piles by the roadside. 

We make a quick stop for food by a busy beach, white sand and turquoise blue crystal clear water, a marina filled with well-kept boats, hundreds of holiday goers eating in a plethora of restaurants.

One of the things that first strikes you about Reunion is its multi-cultured-ness and variety of religion, and more so, the mingling and mixing of those religions and cultures. People from many different backgrounds have settled on the island and live together with little segregation. Indians, Africans, Malagasy, Chinese, Europeans, Christians, Muslims and Hindus alike have all made this place their home and it’s common here to see families and groups of friends made up from a mixture of all the above.   

We awoke early after a welcome night’s rest at our hostel Pension Ognard and gathered our things to move to our accommodation for the next two weeks. The hostel we had originally planned to stay at was full due to the touristic season, and by a stroke of luck, Mr. Ognard, the owner, offered us two spare rooms in his home in the nearby city of St. Joseph. The house was wonderful; we didn’t expect to live in such luxury – a garden surrounding a swimming pool, our own bathroom and rooms with two very big beds.  

On Monday we were introduced to Mission Locale South for the first time, everyone here at the office has received us with a warm welcome and we’re already feeling at home. We have to give special credit to Philomène for being such a fantastic host, she has guided us through our first days here with incredible patience, taking us to places, introducing us to her culture, and she always manages to do everything with enthusiasm and a smile on her face.

The Mission Locale charity has 5 branches all around Réunion and works with young people in difficult circumstances, helping to arrange opportunities to work, to volunteer locally and abroad, to get involved in various activities and to give them a space where they feel free to follow their pursuits.

Before our arrival there was a major concern about how useful we would be, especially for Fin with his limited French. The previous two volunteers felt that their time here wasn’t as fruitful as they would have liked, and there were worries that we would face the same problems. We soon realised that our fears were ungrounded; there are many opportunities to do something good here – from English lessons, multimedia workshops, designing and creating promotional posters and videos, to helping to write CV’s in English.

 

On Thursday we worked with Mission Locale at a huge event, AKS (Alon Koz Santé – Let’s Talk about Health) at St. Joseph’s School of Sport and Culture, attended by various charities and organizations and with over 700 young participants from local schools.

Stands were erected to promote healthy diet, sexual health awareness, drug and alcohol responsibility, road safety and more. A mass-scale Zumba took place in the auditorium, tournaments were held for a new sport named Franc Balle, taekwondo black belts sparred, drumming Maloya acrobats showed off for the crowd, a theatre group performed a play about responsible living. Aurélie’s role was to present the Leonardo organization to potential trainees; Fin spent the day taking photographs of everything (almost literally) for use in promotional material.

 Our weekend included a difficult 7 hour hike to the 2600m top of one of the most active volcanoes in the world, Piton de la Fournaise. We hiked uphill following white dots painted on rocks over the wrinkled and furrowed lava flows from the previous years; the last eruption was only 10 months ago. A sign in three languages told hikers not to stray from the marked path, as vaults created by lava could be hidden under a thin layer of unstable ground. We reached the summit safely, (except for being a little sweaty and sunburned) to find an incredible view of the volcanic crater and the surrounding caldera.

 It’s the end of our first week here in Réunion and we’ve already fallen in love with this island. We’re feeling very optimistic about the work we’re doing and the weeks to come, our only concern is that there isn’t enough time to do everything! 

Aurelie and Fin, short term Leonardo Trainees.
Project part of Empowered From Within

and supported by ECORYS UK

and the Lifelong Learning Programme
of the European Commission.

Second testimony of Rebecka, our long term volunteer in South Parade Baptist Church (Leeds)

Hej hej! 

My name is Rebecka, I’m 24 years old and come from the cold but beautiful country Sweden. 

For the past two years I’ve been working with children and teenagers in a church, carrying out different leisure activities (many of the including music), but a couple of months ago I decided I wanted to do something similar but in a different setting. I applied to some EVS-projects that seemed interesting and after a long waiting; I ended up in South parade Baptist church in Leeds, England. 

It’s already been five weeks since I first arrived here and it feels like I already feel “at home” in my project. Three days per week I help out in the parent and toddler groups of the church. There I get to do both practical (for example chopping fruits for snack time, play the ukulele during singing time) and social things (talk to the parents, play with the children etc). Three times/week I work in the church coffee shop with some lovely ladies who teach me a lot about life and I also help out in different kid’s groups and in a youth club for 11-16 year olds.

I’m so happy that I get to try so many things during the week. The schedule I’ve got is very diverse so I haven’t gotten bored yet

So long! 

Rebecka, long term volunteer in South Parade Baptist Church (Leeds).

Project part of With YOUth in Mind
and supported by the British Council

and the Youth in Action programme

of the European Commission

For more information about WITH YOUTH IN MIND,

 visit the special webapge in clicking here.

Third testimony from our Leonardo trainees in Aruba

Hello again!

Adrian cleaning the donkeys sanctuary.

This week in the donkey sanctuary we have been mostly alone the two of us, without other volunteers, because we know already what to do in our daily job. Apart from clean and feed the donkeys we have to explain to the tourist the donkeys’ history on the island, and we do a small tour around the different stables with the babies and old or sick donkeys. After the tour, they can buy some pellets to feed them, donkey souvenirs or drinks (it is really hot there).



Eva explaining to the tourist the donkeys’ history on the island


 

Adrian cleaning the coast in the national park.

Moreover, we have been on the 11th Coastal Clean Up as volunteers. Dos Playa was assigned to us, a beach inside Arikok National Park, where we were given a pair of gloves, bags, a couple of drinks, some snacks and really good company. Many local people was with us and the atmosphere was great! Even the rangers of the park were having fun driving us through the difficult roads where we couldn’t go with our cars. To be honest, instead of driving they were doing a rally, but it was really fun!!



Adrian and Eva with local volunteers at the National Park.



When we finished the Coastal Clean Up, we took advantage of being in the park for free and we visited the rest of it. We entered in two different caves with some paintings and many bats due to its darkness. It was great to discover the park in this way and we enjoyed a lot.

As we said in our previous testimony, we are doing the open water scuba diver course. This week we will finish and we will get a certificate to dive all over the world! We are loving this experience and we recommend everybody to do it as it’s an amazing experience!

Adrian and Eva during their Open Water Scuba Diving course.

Video of adrian and eva in their first scuba diving:

Adrián and Eva, short term Leonardo Trainees.
Project part of Empowered From Within

and supported by ECORYS UK

and the Lifelong Learning Programme
of the European Commission.

Testomony from Jamie Cecil, short-term volunteer in Orfeas forest, Greece.

"This project has really helped me to figure out what I want to do in the future as well as help me become more confident and more knowledgeable about how others live and think."

''Hi my name is Jamie Cecil I am 19 years old and I come from Manchester.

I did a short term 1 month E.V.S. volunteering job in Xylocastro Greece. It consisted of me helping to protect the local Orfeas forest and the coast line.

I was living in a house located not far from the town square with 8 female volunteers. The house its self was very nice it had all of the essential equipment that you need and was very big and everyone had their own space. The volunteers I stayed with were very friendly forthcoming and came from all over the world for example Portugal, Latvia, Italy, Poland, Austria and France. 

My day to day activities consisted of getting up at 8:30 and going to work in the forest by removing any rubbish I find along the pathways and to help plant new trees and remove any plants that had died as well as paint the fences along the edge of the forest. 

In the night’s me and the other volunteers spent our time at the local bars having a laugh or in the house just talking and spending time talking with the locals and learning more about the Greek culture. 

I also helped out the other long term volunteers in their projects which was very enjoyable because you can see the project from a whole new angle as well as learn a new skill you might not have known you could do. 

This project has really helped me to figure out what I want to do in the future as well as help me become more confident and more knowledgeable about how others live and think. I would definitely do another E.V.S. project as I found this one very enjoyable and enlightening as the local people and the other volunteers were very friendly and forthcoming. I would definitely recommend E.V.S to others as it is a life changing experience. As you have the chance to meet new people and make new friends from all over the world and to learn about different cultures and different ways of life.''

 Jamie, short-term volunteer in Greece

Project part of INCLUSION FOR ALL

and supported by the British Council

and the Youth in Action programme

of the European Commission

For more information about INCLUSION FOR ALL, visit the special webapge in clicking here.

Our Leonardo Trainees on a Newspaper in Aruba

WOW! Eva and Adrian, our Leonardo trainees, were last Friday on a Newspaper in Aruba. They spoke about their Leonardo Da Vinci project and the support from the European Commission.

Good job guys! You are the perfect ambassadors of the Leonardo mobility programme!

 

 

 

 

Leonardo Da Vinci project part of Empowered From Within

and supported by ECORYS UK

and the Lifelong Learning Programme
of the European Commission.