My Story

Some people can hardly imagine what it is like to be a volunteer and to work for no money, but it is even more difficult to have an idea what this volunteering abroad and the European Voluntary Service are all about when you do not know anyone who has already done it and/or who could tell you something. I have survived EVS and I am an alive example so I have decided to share my story with you...

It all started one beautiful and cold Lithuanian winter, in December 2009. This was my last year in the college and I had no idea what to do later. It was a hard period because I was not sure if I wanted to work in my professional field and I was completely lost. Deep in my heart I had always wanted to volunteer and I had always imagined the places like Africa to give my hand to. Unfortunately, all these projects in the same Africa or South America, Asia, etc. are usually charged with quite a big amount of money. Thus, I do not only give my help to them but I have to pay for my bed, food, daily expenses... No, this did not seem to fit my studenty pocket so I kept looking for something else.

And so, one day I suddenly found one Lithuanian sending organisation and contacted them. They answered to me, sent me some forms to fill in and told me how to look for a project. "To look for a project" might sound quite easy, but it is not at all when you know there are millions and millions of projects. So I decided to choose some areas I wanted to volunteer in the most and some countries that I wanted to live in and learn the language people spoke there. My chosen countries were Italy and the United Kingdom, and the volunteering areas were children, disabled people and elderly. Quite related things, I would say.

Then I really started to look for a project and make all the efforts I could. Day by day I was reading the description of every project and later I learned to read them very quickly, because usually they were very long. Finally, I chose about 50 quite interesting projects and checked all their cities, towns and villages on Google Maps because it was important to me not to live in the middle of nowhere alone, and I wanted to be surrounded by the beautiful nature... Everyone chooses for themselves, but I think it is important to check where you would go.

At the end, I sent about 30 letters with a short description of myself, attached CV, one special form and specific letter of motivation. I got about 12 answers back: 9 of them telling me they were not looking for the volunteers at that moment and 3 of them telling me they were going to think about my candidature. Later on, 2 organisations from the United Kingdom told me "Sorry, but no" and 1 organisation in Italy told me "Yes!" This was the day when I almost broke the ceiling with my head jumping in my room. I was happy!

It might take a lot of time to find a project and to leave for it. In my case, I wanted to do everything by myself and I really cared about where I was going to and what I was going to do there... I got the first "Yes!" in April and the second "Yes!" in June (firstly the organisation has to choose you, but they still have to wait till the National Agency approves their project and give them the financing) and I left for this project in September.

It also might take one night to find a project and you can leave for it in one week or month. This does not happen very often, but you can always try. Especially, when you do not have any dream country or you do not really know which area suits you best. Then anything is welcome, is not it? And the projects just come to you...

Despite the fact I still had to wait for the second "Yes!", I believed it was going to be alright and I was peacefully writing my final thesis while doing my last practice in a residential nursery. I enjoyed it, succeeded in everything and happily finished my studies. In June, when I had to present my final thesis I already knew I was going to Italy so I was just so happy and relaxed... And just because I had a great plan. It was really wonderful.

So I went to Italy - my dream country - for 11 months. Now, when I have to look back I am just not able to describe this experience in a few words. I mean, it is eleven months. Almost a whole year! And every day is different...

To be very honest, my project was not very successful. There were thousands of reasons and facts that my host organisation might had not thought about them or did not even have a possibility to foresee them. BUT. Those eleven months were ones of the most beautiful and full months of my life. It is very easy: I lived in a very nice and culturally rich city (Turin); I met wonderful people who thought about the world quite the same way I did; I learned Italian language; I traveled A LOT in Italy and around and I really mean it, because this was what my heart and soul were always asking me to do; I learned to be even more patient and tolerant; I saw many different things, people, cultures, habits, traditions, heard many different languages, arguments, etc.; I started to look at this life as if it was the gift to me and I worked really hard on seeing every little beauty in every day and every little positive thing in the sea of negation. The people around me were amazing and the circumstances were really good, so I had "the time of my life"... I chose to learn. And I did.

I do not like to complain about the things and I would never tell only about the negative side and hide the positive one. But the warning is necessary - life is life and sometimes it happens that a project is really bad or an organisation is really weak or cares only about money it gets from the European Union. But as long as you can bear and survive all this, you must stay there... European Voluntary Service is not paid, but you get some pocket money, food (or money for it) and accommodation. This is everything that a human being needs. Then you have some voluntary work to do and you try to take everything the best from it. Your free time and holidays are absolutely yours and just you decide whether you stay in your bed or wander around to see some new faces of the world. People you meet, language you try to cope with, life that you get. Come on, is not it THE POSSIBILITY?

I had a chance to meet loads of volunteers from different countries who were volunteering in Italy and everywhere else and I can say that NOBODY ever told me it was very easy, but NOBODY wanted to go home just because of that. Some people stop their projects and go home, it is normal, we are all different. But those who stay learn so much and become much stronger.

This is what the European Voluntary Service is more or less about. My Story is my story, I could tell it in hundreds other ways. Every single volunteer has their own story. But the conclusion is always the same: it is good. Damn, it is really GOOD!

Egle