My volunteering at Svitac – Trang Pham
“My name is Trang and I am from London. At the moment I am studying for a BA Fine Art degree. I have just finished my 2nd year and decided to volunteer with Svitac for 3 months, during my summer holiday. For me it was the right time, the right place and the right amount of experience. I feel that the three months have gone by really quickly but at the same time I feel as though I have been here for a very long time.
As a summer volunteer I coordinate Fun day with another volunteer, we plan activities 2 days a week and they are fun activities for 8+ kids. I personally really enjoy doing this because I feel that I have the freedom to make it my own. I get to know these kids and they get to know me, I also personally believe you learn the most whilst you play. I wanted to co-ordinate an activity that fits in with these kids while also challenge them a little bit. Unfortunately,this programme only lasts for the summer but I have learnt a lot about myself and I feel that this is the beginning of something that I wanted to develop myself more in.
I also help plan some Art and Craft workshops for the daily activities, which is something that I wanted to gain more experience in before coming here. I really enjoy process, experimental art and making. This is something I love and I wanted to make the kids here experience and learn about the world, their surroundings whilst having fun. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to come here to volunteer. Another reason is because I wanted to be in a new environment, I wanted to experience a different culture and travel. I saw the programme, the outline and the organisation from the website which I just stumbled upon but straight away I felt that it is the right one for me.
So now near the end of my volunteering I can truly say that I was right, it was the right thing for me to do. I came in with a different expectation but have come out with more knowledge of informal teaching and more understanding of myself. I have learnt to plan workshops, to use my initiative more, to be more assertive and last but not least to ask for help when needed. In the end I have achieved what I had set out to do and I feel that I may have gained more.
My advice for anybody who is reading this and wanted to volunteer is: go for it. You never know until you try, no matter what your reason for doing this, you will meet amazing people, be in a new environment and there is so much for you to experience. At the end of the day no matter where you are or what you do, it is up to you to make use of it so I would say go for it and really try to get involved and bring your experience and skills.”
Trang Pham
Svitac EVS volunteer 20th June – 20th September 2016
