Category: Youth Centres UP

Several months have passed since we arrived in Romania to volunteer with the ESC project Youth Centres UP 2. Since then, the experience, which is still intense, has gone through different phases. We arrived in Timisoara without many expectations but with a great desire to give the best of ourselves. We found ourselves in a country of solidarity, open and full of young people wanting to change things. 

After a year of pandemic, in which fear and uncertainty paralysed us, being part of a youth movement in a country that has historically been as undervalued as Romania allows us to grow and see beyond.   

It is necessary to admit that it is difficult to imagine yourself in a project that requires solidarity and unity while going through a dark period like the pandemic. However, Romania has demonstrated to be a resilient country, where people always support each other when it comes to develop and improve. It is a real pleasure to work shoulder to shoulder with them as change-makers.  

Furthermore, Romania is a great country, diverse, with potential, and committed to young people -you just have to see the number of projects, activities, and events that are taking place now-, and we are lucky to be part of them. In addition to this, the number of local people involved and with whom you can share work, experiences, and time is unbelievable. The best way to get to know a country in depth is through its people. In this sense, we could not have been more fortunate.  

In addition, long-term projects with ESC allow you to live and work with people from other countries. They are also an excellent opportunity to learn and adapt yourself to different cultures. Although it sometimes seems a complex challenge, these experiences as volunteers let you grow and broaden your horizons. In our case, being change-makers encompasses all this.  

In the end, the best thing about volunteering is realizing that you are surrounded by people who were strangers at first, and they are now an essential part of the experience. At that moment, you wonder why you have not done it before. 

Esther, Miriam, and Burak

This is the story of the three musketeers, namely Armando, Fatih, and Alperen, or Alpi, as known by many. We three met in Timisoara, Romania, a month and a half after the first of us, Alpi, came here. When we first met we did not know what we might have encountered and undergo altogether. After bounding up on a surface level, we also got to know and observe each other at the working place. We also realised that we got each other’s back during the challenging atmosphere that we went through altogether after some time of bonding.

Our volunteering time here included working with young people, contacting and communicating with locals and learning the authentic, local cultural elements. Looking at the months we had together here in Romania; we see that we acquired a lot; the culture, the language, working methods, communication style, and overall, working as a team.

On the other hand, our experience does not only encompass the socio-cultural aspects. Before our time in Romania, all of us had not lived in a country abroad for a long time, experiencing the live-on-your-own situation before. Therefore, taking care of yourself, cooking, shopping, and basically being a fully-fledged adult was one of the best things we, the three musketeers, have had as a teaching experience and something we would be grateful for ESC and Romania.

Finally, for the young people out there thinking about being a volunteer for the ESC program, having an experience abroad, and impacting the communities in need all over Europe, we suggest and encourage you to go on and do it, and let the experience make you a better you for your future!

With all fun and respect.

The Three Musketeers

I’ve always had the feeling that I should do more for the world. I was always interested in helping other people, but until now, I’ve never had the time to think about it and try to research some ways to get into volunteering. I’ve known about Youth Portal for some years now, other organizations were sending me offers, but it never felt like this is the one I should choose. 

When I applied for YCU2, I knew that my current job contract would end soon, and I would be supposed to look for something new. But just finding a new job was not appealing to me. I was exhausted from the daily routine, the angry managers, and poorly thought targets. I wanted to do something special, to have a new start and, maybe, pursue the call of helping other people. 

One day while browsing the opportunities on the Youth Portal, I found the FITT’s logo. It immediately drew my attention to it. As a side thought, I will add that I have lived in Timisoara for three years previously as a student. I clicked on it and started to read the materials, description, then I got on their website to make sure that the project is active and it’s not like a very old post, and I would just spend my time on meaningless waiting for an answer and keeping the hope of hearing back from them. 

I clicked with the idea they were presenting and how they identified the purpose of the project. Growing up, my community lacked a place that would be a safe space for everyone, a source of information, a source of opportunities, and just somewhere to get away from school and other people. Then I started to imagine how I would be helpful to the project and how I can contribute to the project. Will I be motivated enough to help and bring my contribution to the community? 

I applied, and shortly after we had the interviews, and in a matter of a week, I was ready to get on the road. Then I realized that I would need a visa, and at this point, things started to get harder for my mental health and general wellbeing. Applying for the visa was quite a challenge. They always had some comments about my documents, so I had to go to the consulate 3 times for them to accept my application. After that, every day was a waiting roller-coaster, the worst 39 days. 

Afterward, as I got the visa on my hands, I started to pack, and a day later, I was already on my way to Timisoara. It was pretty nostalgic to see the old things and places that you don’t think you missed until you see them again: the trains, the people, the atmosphere, and just remembering the old memories hidden deep down. As I arrived, I was welcomed by the people I somehow knew from my past, and everyone was extremely welcoming and humble. I felt like I’m back home and not as an alien in a foreign country. 

I look forward to what the future has prepared for me in this project. I believe in the team taking care of the project and the volunteers who have already arrived. I think that together we’ll do great things for the local community.

We are looking for new local volunteers for the second edition of Youth Centres UP.

Youth Centres UP 2 is a long-term project organised by Timis County Youth Foundation (FITT) through the European Solidarity Corps (ESC), in which 10 international volunteers from different countries and local volunteers are involved in setting up 10 new youth centres in the neighbourhoods of Timisoara. Through this project, we promote the participation of young people, as well as social inclusion, human rights, and solidarity. 

The project is a follow-up to its first edition organised by FITT in 2019, which had a real success, resulting in 5 new Youth Centres in the municipality of Timisoara: Calea Aradului, Calea Martirilor, Calea Șagului, Lipovei, Dâmbovița. It was one of the biggest projects organised ever in the county and in Romania: more than 90 international and local volunteers were involved in the renovation of the spaces for the Youth Centres. 

This is an incredible opportunity for the community and the youth of Timisoara and Timis county, an initiative that seeks to make them participate in the development of their neighbourhoods.  

For this year’s edition, they are the volunteers that are already here, ready to break the ground and build the best Youth Centres in your neighbourhood: Burak, Alperen and Fatih from Turkey, Esther and Miriam from Spain, Armando from Albania, Charlie from France and Ion from Moldova. You can meet them all on the 16^th of June, in our  Youth Centre in Sagului.   

As we will start the renovation and preparations to open the new youth centres, we will need more help, especially from the people that live in the area of the youth centres and understand the needs of the local youth, their mates and colleagues. If you are interested in being a part of our amazing team and help us organise the best activities for the local youth and spread the word of the new safe spaces, you can always apply on our website and be a local volunteer. 

And if you are not sure whether this is what you want, come to the Youth House (Str. Arieș 19) to find out more about us. 

Before I start writing about my trip to Romania, I want to express my immense joy of being here because I have been waiting for so long to come here. I waited a year after I was selected, due to the pandemic and the closure of the borders.

And here is how my journey started…

It has been a week since I started the ESC project with FITT foundation and this is how I got into it.

I was working at that time, because I dropped out of college, and it always peaked my interest that a couple of my high school friends were doing volunteer activities, so I got along with them.

I switched to a part-time job, and chose to spend my free time with the volunteering group and do some activities in the help of minorities that had difficulties to integrate in our society. About a month after that, my sister came to me and told me about a project that she found, a long term project that had to do with human rights, social inclusion, solidarity, and that implies volunteers from different parts of the world. It sounded perfect to me: just to meet with all these people from different cultures all together, working on one cause, helping to spread solidarity everywhere it is needed, and all the benefits I could get, like improving my communicating skills in a foreign language, learning to work better in groups and many many others – so I decided to join.

After I passed the interview and everything, the pandemic hit and the borders between countries started to close, but I didn’t let this opportunity go. I waited a full year, and during this year I wasn’t completely detached from the ESC project. I participated in an online workshop where we got a topic to discuss our thoughts on that. The session was two hours a week, but we usually went for more because it was much fun. 

Later, when the Romanian Embassy opened, it didn’t take me long till I got the visa and took off to Timișoara. I finally arrived here, got acquainted with other members of the FITT organization, everybody has been so polite and the hospitality has been great. Immediately after I got in my room I started thinking about the beautiful journey that I’m gonna have here.

Thanks for reading.

This month, the ESC volunteers enjoyed spring at its finest. They took advantage of the great weather and had picnics, were on treasure hunts, city tours, organised and attended various online and offline events. In a word, they weren’t bored at all.  

April started with a great learning opportunity for the volunteers. They had the chance to organise a giveaway for the local youth and see how their audience reacts. Shortly after, another two volunteers, Miriam and Esther, joined the Youth Centres UP 2 project. On this occasion, all the volunteers have visited and examined the Youth Centres in the city.  

Spring revied their motivation, and they were excited to jump into work. Even the less creative tasks seemed easy and fun to do. So they finished the Community Engagement guidelines, created a partnership database for short-term volunteers and sent out offers. They regularly post on Facebook and Instagram fun and exciting things about themselves and their activity in the project. Feel free to follow them! 

As mentioned before, they had experienced spring at its finest, which means they had many outdoor activities. They started the month with a nice friendly picnic, then participated in a treasure hunt in the Youth House to find out more about the building. Then, Ion organised a city rally in which the volunteers and employees discovered Timisoara through a treasure hunt. At the end of April, a cycling event (by Centrul de Tineret Martirilor) near the Bega River to promote outdoor sports in the spring took place. Also, the volunteers took part in a significant project: they distributed flyers and posters in the city to inform local people about the Vaccination Marathon at the end of April.  

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Regarding the current pandemic situations, they also had many online trainings, events and workshops too:  

• Videography photoshoot with Katsia; 
• Online travelling – event organised for the local youth together with the youth workers from FITT, where they presented Turkey and the Turkish culture; 
• On Arrival Training – a week-long training for the volunteers, where they learnt, among others, about the roles in their project, cultural differences, cultural iceberg, non-violent communications, etc.; 
• Public Speaking – an online event that introduced the local youth to the world of confident speaking. 

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The month ended with a tremendous non-formal event between the volunteers. They tasted different national foods of their countries at the International Dinner.  

We’re looking forward to taking all the good vibes of this month and turn them into good energy in the following period!  

This spring is unprecedented… I can say that spring seems a little strange to me. In the spring, the flowers bloomed. With the wind touching your skin, hope spreads throughout your body. It did not feel that way this time. It came to me was like an endless storm that took everything. I felt as if everything inside of me was being thrown somewhere. What I knew flew into the wind. Lost. I tried to put everything I knew together to not lose, without even understanding what was lost at first. Of course, I did not get any results. I found myself silly. I am tired.

Then I decided to take a step back and do what I thought I did best. To observe what is happening around me… I let myself go on the roads I belong to and saw that spring was dragging everyone, not just me, to other places. This spring is unprecedented. It is like a blow to our dreams, tired of fighting like the spring is falling. It seems to distance us from everything, most importantly, from ourselves. Of course, while doing this, it does not neglect to use this potential of those of us who forget themselves while trying to be unique in our similarities.

After realizing this, I did what I had to do to understand the reason and surrender myself to nature. The nature that comes alive in the spring witnesses a different miracle, the miracle of birth and creation in the spring… At that moment, I felt like being reborn and realized that this spring, this time chose to show its face differently.

Nature, which has always welcomed us with unconditional flowers, made us a condition this time. This was our first bloom. In fact, the spring, which I thought had blown our hopes like a storm with its arrival, did not create these storms. We created them and let the beautiful energy within us go. It is our job to blame the spring. After all, this spring is unprecedented. This spring actually reflected what we are inside of us. To understand this, it was not necessary to look but to feel, to live.

Spring is like a field. Whatever you sow, you reap…

Ciao, I am Fatih from Turkey, and this is my first post during my volunteering experience!

They say that every person shapes their destiny. But I think sometimes we just can’t. At least the part of my life in Romania is happening out of my control.

My family’s story with Romania began in 1996. I was six months old and my father worked in a gum company in Turkey. When the company moved to Romania, he had to leave us for six months and embark on his first experience abroad.

After a very long time in 2017, it was my turn to meet Romania. I discovered the EVS (now ESC) program and participated in a short-term volunteering program in Arad. Just like my father, my first abroad experience was in Romania. My volunteering experience in Arad had taken only five weeks. I took a role in organizing sports activities such as public running and football. Still, I tasted the Romanian culture and then I came back to my country and got my bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Public Administration in 2019 but I couldn’t have a chance to work in my field. Then I got a job in Customer Services. After seven months, I felt that it was not what I needed, so I quitted.

I started searching online for volunteering projects and found a 1-year project from FITT. I liked the idea of building and reshaping youth centres for the community, so I decided to take action. I thought that this would be an excellent opportunity for me, so I applied to the project. That’s how I met FITT.

My application process with FITT was very fast. I got my visa in one month. During my university period, I took part in some volunteering projects, but I didn’t have much time for volunteering after graduation. Now I have a whole year as a volunteer, and I want to use this opportunity as much as I can.

Today I am in Romania. I have stopped making plans. Let’s see what Romania will decide about my destiny!

Instead of sunny spring weather, cheerfulness and motivation, March brought moodiness and motivation drop to the ESC volunteers. But, as soon as the sunrays appeared, the work resumed. 

But the sun rose as a saviour for them. Even though the local quarantine extended at the end of March, the four volunteers immersed strength from the sun’s rays and began to plan. They researched group activities and community engagement ideas in order to prepare fantastic programs and projects for the local youth. They also had a creative and very effective meeting about how to promote a survey among young people. For increasing the number of completions, they scheduled, together with FITT, a giveaway for the local youth.  

Compared to how hard things were at the beginning of the month, the volunteers got into the end-of-month project with momentum. We hope this enthusiasm will follow them in April too. 

Although February was a short month, our long-term ESC volunteers were highly productive. They started having Romanian language classes, participated in several trainings and workshops, created databases, and many more. 

Alpie, our newest volunteer in the ‘Youth Centres UP 2’ project, participated in a week-long training called “On arrival” where he met other volunteers that came to Romania at the same time.

Our two volunteers had several marketing and organising-related activities this month:  

• an Excel training where they have mastered the basics of the program 

• a SWOT analysis workshop where they learned how to create a SWOT analysis, and with the help of some ex-volunteers they have even created one for the Youth Centres UP project, based on their experiences and expectations 

• a meeting about marketing practices, and how to use them in social media. They even put into practice their knowledge by posting on the Youth Centres UP social media accounts and writing some blog articles as well 

• the two ESC volunteers created a database of organisations with the possibility of having a partnership and a mail list of high schools from Timisoara for the same purpose 

This year FITT wants to create 10 more youth centres in Timisoara. So, our long-term ESC volunteers shared a form on the Youth Centres UP Facebook page to ask the local youth about their needs. It was necessary for us to have a clearer image of how to arrange these new centres in order to meet the expectations of the youth and be accessible to all youth.