My volunteering at Svitac (Firefly) – Alexander Likic, Germany
My volunteer year is coming to its end. After many highs and a few lows, I now return to my home country with many new experiences and contacts.
I have met many different people from many countries like Argentina, India and Australia and have not only exchanged experiences with them, but have made a close contact with each of them, something I will continue in the future. I had the opportunity to see how the organization got involved in many different projects and with each new volunteer always got new ideas. Beginning with Eleonore and ending with Merve and Seref, I have been able to observe the change within a year.
I have also contributed to this by organizing weekly workshops for young and old, sports-workshops with the participation and support of many other volunteers. I have independently worked on tasks and worked with them alone or in a team, have gained experience as a “teacher” and got to know the working process in a youth organization.
I look back with many positive aspects on the year, which was not only beneficial to the organization, but also to other volunteers and myself.
I have discovered new interests like drawing and writing and have introduced these into the workshops. The volunteer year was also very beneficial in many other ways, such as learning the local and English language, independent life that included cooking, preparation for workshops, and a better understanding of myself and others.
I especially liked the work with the older group, with the children from 8-14 years, because with them more complex projects were possible and it was a lot of fun working with them as well as with my short and long term fellow volunteers.
Alexander Likic, Germany
Svitac (Firefly) volunteer, September 2016 – August 2017
