Month: October 2021

The first week of the Youth Centres UP 2 project (first team of international volunteers for 30 days), in which an unused heating building is turned into a centre for the youth of a neighbourhood within about a month, started with team building activities.
This was followed by a shallow transition to the actual work on the centre, which, if one disregards the two-meter-deep hole in the entrance area, is a good starting point. So, initially divided into three teams with their own areas of responsibility, but ultimately as one team, we set to work.

Within three days, we performed the following tasks:

• Cleaning the garden and the building
• Scraping the walls
• Removing holes from the walls, leveling them and preparing them for painting
• Cutting trees
• Redesigning and making furniture

In parallel, we made a constant effort to involve the community by ending each of the days at the future youth centre with a joint community engagement. We talked to as many people as possible and collected opinions and ideas in order to design the place according to the wishes of the neighbourhood.
So, in conclusion, all we can say is that if we have been able to learn and create so much in such a short time, we can only look forward to the coming period with joy!

The 10th of October is International Mental Health Day.

That is quite a broad topic, but what does it entail exactly?
Of course, there is the prominent part: Mental include all the disorders and illnesses of the mind: Paranoia, Bipolarity, Schizophrenia, Split personality, Anger issues, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Phobia… From the most famous to the less known ones, those often belong to psychiatric disorders. Some are really bad, others lighter to bear; they’re often feared or unknown by a general public full of misconceptions toward them. The way fiction portrays them is generally wrong, scary, full of error and really negative. They at least are recognised as illnesses for the most part, and as such, medical professionals try their best to help.

However, the less-known part is what interest us here: the mental health that has nothing to do with psychiatry: anxiety, sleep disorder, depression, stress, apathy, panic-induced attack, burnout… Those are on the rise in this modern world, brought out by the economic and social models that we are following and the rules and atmosphere of our work and life environment.
Though they tend to be more and more recognised, some people keep minimising the reality of it. They refuse to give them the denomination they deserve, often chalking it up on the person’s character and personality, or passing circumstances.

And still, everyone has some risk of developing a mental health disorder, no matter their age, gender, ethnicity, or social standing. The covid crisis showed us that many people could be developing troubles during hardships and periods of isolation and that mental health care was critical.

It is also alarming that a significant and increasing number of young people across Europe are concerned by the rise of high stress, anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses amongst them. Statistics from the previous years showed a rise in mental health problems among the youth in Romania, especially with those who are part of a minority or whose parents are working abroad. During that time, Romania has set a series of specific programs addressing children at specific risk of social exclusion.

Working on this, different organisations that work with youth, as well as association such as « Mental Health for Romania » (founded in 2020), are doing their best to fight stigmatisation and ignorance by developing informational programs, mental help workshops in school, and promoting the existing services for mental health proposed here in Romania.

Working with youth, they hope to develop a healthier mindset in society, with less competition and more appreciation for individual skills and strengths.

Mental health isn’t always taken seriously or treated equally in the world. Still, by raising awareness of it, we hope to take a step in the right direction. With access to information, mental and medical care, and recognition of the problem, everyone can help or receive help if need be, which is the goal this day is pursuing.

link to the website: https://mentalhealthforromania.org
For those who need it, they developed an interactive map showing all the available services concerning mental health in Romania today.

Sources: Medical News Today, World Health Organisation, Mental health for Romania, mental health briefing sheets from member states in Europa archives.

Before I came to Romania, I thought that one year was too much, but now when I look back, six months have passed so quickly. Even when you move from one place to another in your city, many things change your life. Some of them are conscious, some of them not. So moving to another country is a challenge itself. Putting everything aside and starting a new life for one year it’s like intensive life school.

I am learning by experiencing living with people from different countries. When you get to know more people, you also discover what you are doing, true or wrong, good or bad.

A lot of things have changed in my life. First, I met new people, and some of them will stay special for me. Secondly, you can see yourself more precisely what have you done or what haven’t you done in your life.

We did a lot of different kinds of activities, from cleaning the space to organising activities, collecting signatures, or making videos. Maybe I didn’t give my best in some of the activities, but I had enjoyed them a lot. 

We had some difficult times like everyone during this period. It has taught me a lot: how to be more tolerant, more patient, but also more critical. If you can see or evaluate yourself objectively, you can get the results if it’s worth it or not spending time in another country with many people in the same house.

Last but not least

I wanted to be here because I didn’t have anything to do better and I do not regret it at all. On the contrary, I am glad I am here because I am in the middle of my ’20s and I have time to be part of this team. It’s an excellent experience because when I turn 30’s, I will not have time and motivation for this kind of activities.

Maybe Romania is unknown to many people but it was not the same for me. I have been here before; moreover, my father has been here for a long time ago.

Let’s see what time will decide for me. I already have passed my six months. I hope the next six months will be better than these. 😊

About my travel and first week in Romania.

If people asked me for how long I have wanted this, I would say that I don’t know. Forever, probably.

I think I have always wanted to travel abroad. Even if the plan wasn’t clear for a long time, even if as a child I didn’t know anything about volunteering or long-term services in foreign countries, there was always the notion, the knowledge that one day I would leave for an adventure somewhere around the world. Now that the moment has come, I don’t realise quite well what is going on. But that is for later.

Like every one of us on this planet, Covid and 2020 have thrown all our plans away. Luckily for me, I didn’t really have one, except going somewhere. I had to volunteer in France for a year instead, which was really nice too, but as soon as things calmed down a bit, I saw the opportunity and took it.
Prior to covid, I was able to travel to Moldova for 3 months, and that allowed me to realise 2 things :

• One: I would totally be able to do this on a larger scale. Like a full-year stay.
• Two: This part of the world seemed interesting; why not explore it more?

And so, I found this opportunity for volunteering abroad in Romania for a whole year. Without really believing in anything, I applied. Three weeks later, I was departing to Timișoara without realising what was happening.

Since I never seem to do things the usual way, I took the bus instead of the plane. It was great because it really seemed that I was travelling. I felt the distance, I saw the gradual change of my reality until I lost all my marks and was really in a foreign environment. It was also very stressful and complicated, but that was part of the adventure. In retrospect, I’m glad I did it this way.

But the only real emotion I felt when I finally arrived and met everyone was relief. I was exhausted after all this stress and two days of non-stop travel. My following first week was healing. I arrived at a time where lots of people were on vacation. It allowed me to ease gradually into the environment, get used to things at my pace, learn about this new place, take care of all the administrative paperwork…

I came at the perfect time, both in this project and in my life.
Time to see what the future hold for me. Now, I will just let myself be carried by this project, this place, these people, like I always do.

But this time, I know for sure: I’m in the right place.