Hromadná Evropská dobrovolná služba očima účastnice

Short-term EVS in “Ekologické volnočasové centrum Švýcárna“

In the September of 2012 EVC Švýcárna, which is situated around 20 km from Brno, in the Moravian Karst, was full of energy, action and vitality. 18 foreign young people were invited by Modrý Kámen to volunteer in this ecological center for a period of 3 weeks, from the 2nd till the 22nd of September.

 EVC Švýcárna is being under the reconstruction, so the main task for volunteers was to help to deconstruct the roof of one of the buildings, which will become a  youth club in the future. The volunteers helped to take out the woods from the roof, then to take the nails out of the wooden planks and collect them into one place. Also some other tasks were included – collecting the stones from the area, painting the furniture and bridge, raking grass in the meadow, cleaning the house, sometimes helping in the kitchen or preparing the dinner. Volunteers were working hard (:)), so during the time of 3 weeks, the main goal – totally reconstruct the roof of the building – was completely achieved!

 Work is really important part of the Group EVS. On the one hand, there are tasks that are needed to be done during a project, on the other – there are possibilities to learn new skills - manual work with different tools, division of tasks and cooperation, different responsibilities. So the main goal of this project was to combine manual job with learning process in order to achieve the best results for the both sides – organization and volunteers. Organization itself benefited because of the physical work, which was made during the project. Also members of organization developed   skills and knowledge of organising activities related with voluntary work and multicultural environment. For volunteers it was a great opportunity to explore culture, nature and mentality of a new country, get along with other foreign young people, develop communication and cooperation skills,  learn how to do different handicrafts, also get to know about various projects, funded by European Union.

The stay of volunteers – from Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic – consisted of:

1. Volunteering (working) in EVC Švýcárna. It was described before :)

2. Traveling and exploring culture. One weekend all of them went to Jesniky mountains, Festival of Muně, mailny organised by Brontosaurus organization. There volunteers had an opportunity to explore the wonderful nature of the North of Czech Republic and to see, how the festival is being organised and implemented. Volunteers helped to prepare the area, cook and deliver the food, take care of the scene, etc. They had a chance to get to know each other better and at the same time to acknowledge more about a Brontosaurus organization – their activities and targets.

The other weekend organizers brought volunteers to a didgeridoo festival in Jeskyne cave. For most of the volunteers it was a really memorable and exciting evening – festival in the cave! The cozy and special atmosphere was maintained by the lights of candles inside and a wonderful music created bya folk group, didgeridoos and gongs.

Also, during the staying in EVC Švýcárna, volunteers had some free days, which they enjoyed by traveling in the country, exploring the towns and cities around. Some of the volunteers visited Olomouc, some - Prague and Vienna, others – some small towns in the South Moravia. Volunteers had a freedom to organize their free days and they enjoyed this possibility a lot.

 3. Workshops. During a group EVS, volunteers could also participate in different workshops, arranged in EVC Švýcárna. There were some workshops of handcrafts – volunteers could practice working with wool and wood. Also, some informational sessions were organised – there was a lecture about CV writing and job interviews, also one about youth possibilities in Europe.

             This Group EVS was a complex of manual work, learning, traveling, discovering, experiencing, sharing, challanging yourself and much much more. After the project it is much easier to realise, what were the benefits of it, so I asked some ex-volunteers about their impressions of this short-term EVS. I wanted to find out, firstly, what they learnt during this project:

Arkadiusz, Poland: I learnt some practical things while working on a roof - I had to challenge myself to accomplish several tasks - always good to do something very masculinum outside with the great sun on the horizon; social skills and team management - we worked together, had to cooperate well to make things easier and faster - and we were rather successful here. And obviously the added value that is what everyone of us brings to a group – you (he is talking about me, the author of this article :) ) taught me 5 tibetan rites that I am still doing regularly. Armando knew some scouting tricks and lots of jokes, Vladka and Natalia taught us some yoga classes etc.

 Natalie, Poland: I was lucky, because wonderful, creative, inspirational people participated with me in the my short-term EVS, by whom I was admired every moment. During this project I learned more spiritual than in practice, because taking out the nails, painting and cleaning - I could do before the project:) I learned to look at life with a different way, I changed some of my views, I realized how beautiful life can be in nature, and that there are so many interesting personalities and places in the world.

 Elisabeth, Slovakia: During the EVS I learnt how to take out nails from the wood:) But if to be serious, I learnt about posibility of volunteering for 1 year, I learn about Czech culture and Czech Republic a lot, I learn to cook italian and ukrainian food and to dance lituanian dances.  ;

Also I asked volunteers, what is their opinion about an EVS:

Betka, Slovakia: My opinion about EVS – it is a wonderful opportunity for people, I just hope it will be still working when I will be allowed to use it for longer time :) And of course I would like to do it in future! 

Ivana, Slovkia: I think EVS is a great oportunity for young people to understand what they want to do in future, to make new good friends and to learn something new. I am thinking to do an EVS in my future!

Michal, Poland: Idea of meeting up people from various corners of Europe to share time, space and work together is great and neccessary. We could see how amazed were those one experiencing that a first time - Olesya or Natalia - they simply loved it. Obviously, EVS or Erasmus are being highly criticized from various reasons - and often those concerns would find a firm ground, but with proper organization it might happen to be a life changing experience - and this is a change for better.

Olesia, Slovakia: This is a good opportunity to do lovely activities, to help people, learn and teach, create new projects, develop your own ideas and plans, communicate with interesting people, travel, improve yourselve. Now I realize that I would be happy doing it in the future. But surely it must be connected to my interests. Because only when you're doing what you like, it may be productive, developing and engaging.

And finally finally, I asked these nice people, what are their impressions about EVC Švýcárna! And the answers are:

Lenka, Slovakia: I really liked to stay in EVC Švýcárna for those 3 weeks EVS. It is a nice place with good people ;)  Nature is amazing! I enjoyed our walking to the caves and the forest. And even EVC Švýcárna - historical place, it is reconstructed in ecological style... it's awesome!

Katarina, Slovakia: In general, I really liked the project, the location of the house, our work was mixed by traveling, music festivals and interesting free time.

Marie, Slovakia: EVC Švýcárna, I really really like it! The nature is amazing, the building is beautiful and the people are nice.

Armando, Poland: EVC Švýcárna is a great place to stay for a while - quiet, peaceful with good energy and right people but honestly I wouldn't like staying
there more than a month - does not couple with my temperament.

According to a European Comission, „The European Voluntary Service (EVS) provides young Europeans with the unique chance to express their personal commitment through unpaid and full-time voluntary activities in a foreign country. In this way, it seeks to develop solidarity, mutual understanding and tolerance among young people, thus contributing to reinforcing social cohesion in the European Union and to promoting young people's active citizenship“.

 What an impressive description! :) Of course, there are a lot of big words and abstract ideas in it, but I can assure, that during this Group EVS we gained a lot: by various experiences we got inspired to be more active in our local and civic society, we exchanged valuable information, experiences, knowledge and had a great opportunity to make new valuable contacts! :)

Hope to see you soon, friends! :)

Ema Norvidaite,

 Ex-short-term volunteer and

recent long-term EVS volunteer EVC Švýcárna