Our volunteering at Svitac (Firefly in Bosnia) – Mustafa Yücel and Berika Göksu, Turkey
Volunteering through the European Solidarity Corps brings a lot of new experiences!
Hello, we are Mustafa (27) and Berika (21). We come from Turkey. We are both studying at Muğla University. One of us (Berika) is an undergraduate student, and one of us (Mustafa) is a master’s degree student. We met through this project.
We both learnt about this project from teachers at our university. Before coming here, we were participating in volunteering projects in different cities in Turkey, so this project was a great opportunity for us. We both wanted to explore new cultures, learn a new language and meet new people. We fulfilled the application requirements for this project and held a meeting with Dina, the group leader in Bosnia, and our coordinator Milos. After giving us the necessary information, our tickets were bought and we set off for Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 10th.
When we arrived in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, we were greeted by our coordinator Milos and our mentor Nikolina. We could feel that a beautiful month was waiting for us. Having volunteers from other countries in the youth center was a great opportunity to improve our language. Our first week was observation week: what is being done and how it is being done. In our second week, we worked on the activity we would prepare for the children. We helped other volunteers by participating in their activities. We prepared a presentation about the city we live in Turkey.
In the third week, we prepared and made our presentation about cities in Turkey. We also organized an activity with the children. We danced with the children and jumped rope together. We gave them all medals to show that they had won competitions. It was extremely enjoyable for us. In the fourth week, we organized an event for the children again. We taught them the colours of the rainbow in Turkish and drew rainbows together. Every moment we spent with the children in the youth centre was very precious and enjoyable for us. In addition, we learned enough to use the local language in daily life. We attended language classes with young people. We participated in presentations made by other volunteers.
Brčko was a vibrant place for us. We never had time to be bored because there were so many activities. We made plans with other volunteers. We had the opportunity to visit other countries on daily tours.
We are very happy to have taken part in this project. Culturally, linguistically and with many other things, this place has given us a lot. We would like to thank the GAP Association for this beautiful experience. We would also like to thank Svitac (Firefly in Bosnia) for welcoming us here perfectly.
Mustafa Yücel and Berika Göksu, Turkey
Svitac’s (Firefly in Bosnia’s) volunteers, May-June 2022
