It was a great honor and pleasure for us to be part of the training course “Who wants to be a volunteer?” in Lodz Poland, 30 July-06 August, 2023. The project aim was to raise awareness of the value and importance of volunteering as a form of active engagement and as a tool to combat discrimination, social exclusion and differences at all levels from the perspective of young people in different societies and to develop mutual understanding.
During the project we had different workshops through which we discussed the topic of the project, we learnt new creative techniques and shared existing solutions with and in volunteering together with the other participants. The most motivating of all was the study visit to the Volunteering centre of Lodz, a place where we met wonderful people who explained to us in detail their work and how the center works. Thanks to their inspiring activities for positive changes, solving social problems and creating a lasting impact on the local environment our way of thinking now is developed to another level. We had the opportunity to put ourselves in their shoes and help them with their work, the feeling was indescribable. Another workshop that really struck us was the visit by the main volunteer of the NGO Foundation’s Children’s Home for Sick Children which provides security and upbringing for children suffering from chronic diseases, enables them to develop correctly in a tiny, caring community. He gave us a detailed description of all the children with disabilities who are taken care of by them, as well as his humanitarian actions aimed at improving their health and well-being. Аpart from all the activities, we also had a free day, which we used to visit the beautiful Warsaw, together with the other participants and learnt a little more about Polish culture and tradition.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience where we met wonderful people with many inspiring stories that influenced us to be better people and not to forget the importance of volunteering and helping when needed.
