What is the idea of the project?

In this project are many ideas. The volunteer is not just working with elderly but also with young people. He is in touch with them every day, from Monday to Friday. One of the ideas is to meet a foreign culture and to mix them. It is important to know other cultures and to see that there are always some differences even if the volunteer comes from the country next to Poland. Elderly people may have not the possibility to travel but with exchanges with the volunteer they can know a little better other country. It is something new for the elderly as well for the children. Another idea is that the volunteer can develop a few competences. He leads classes for seniors, children and people with disabilities. It is a great tool to learn how to lead and prepare classes for each group. The volunteer learns how to organise himself better and how to write a lesson. He shares all his knowledge during the activities with seniors and children.

But also, every institute has its own strategies. One example is the point system. Every child gets points for doing different tasks, if for example they do their homework well and without any help get plus ten. At the end of the week the three best get a little surprise and at the end of the month they take the best candidates for bigger activities such as cinema. All this new method can help the volunteer in the future. If he chooses to work whether with children or elderly people, he will be more advanced because of the project. It is also a good advantage to help the volunteer to choose his future studies or career. If he is not sure if he wants to work with children or not, this is a good opportunity. At the end of the project the volunteer may say that he prefers working with old people, with children, both or none of them.

During the project, the volunteer receives a certain budget. In this budget is included the transport, the subscription of the Polish Phone Number, the food and some pocket money. The volunteer has its own Polish Bank Account, that he opened with the help of its coordinator. It is a good opportunity to manage his money during the month. There he learns how to organise and spend his money.

Another idea is that the volunteer not only shares his knowledge but also get some new. He learns the polish language in the university but also through OLS. Other than learning the language, he learns how to live in a foreign country. Every country function in its own way and the volunteer learns how to integrate himself in the system. For making it a little bit easier in integration the volunteer will go on an On-Arrival training in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. He meets all the volunteers that are also doing a project in Poland.

Finally, a volunteer is also there to courage young people to also do some volunteering in the future. It is a great experience and sharing it with others may motivate young children to do the same. To courage them to go out of their parents’ home and live an experience that one will never forget.

Karima from Luxembourg
The ESC Volunteer at Centrum Usług Społecznych in 2019/2020

 

What are the tasks of the volunteer?

A volunteer has multiple tasks. He is in touch with young and elderly people. There are some obligations and rules that he has to follow.

First of all, a volunteer provides his time and work for presentations and lessons that he will give to the people whom he is working with. Especially important, most of the presentations and lessons are in English. It would be good if the volunteer has a good base in the English language. You do not need to be an expert. The presentations are mostly about the volunteer’s culture and country. The volunteer is there to show the differences and similarities of his and the Polish culture. It is important for the people to know better the other cultures.

Secondly, the volunteer participates in the activities with seniors and children. He works in five different places. Two of them are with children and the rest are seniors’ institutions. The volunteer is there to help the personal but also to spend some quality time with the people whom he is working with. He is working from Monday to Friday and on Weekend he has free time. He can use this free time by for example visiting countries through Poland or making social contacts.

Also, the volunteer writes some articles. Those articles are for the website of Centrum Usług Społecznych w Swarzędzu but also for the newspaper of Swarzędz. The article is going to be translated from your coordinator in English. Beside the volunteer is also going to do TV interviews. The volunteer has the choice to speak whether English or Polish. If he feels comfortable with the Polish language than he is free to use it but if it is not the case, he can of course speak in English. A week before the volunteer gets the questions, so he can prepare himself for the interview.

And then, the volunteer also learns the Polish language. He has lessons in the university. The volunteer has the choice to choose what lesson he wants. He can get two lessons of 1 hour 30 in one week or just one lesson of 3 hours. He also gets access to OLS (Online Linguistic Support). This platform is only provided to volunteers. He is free to work in this platform whenever he wants. Every minute that he spends in it, will be counted and rewarded at the end.

To end, the volunteer has to participate to an On-Arrival training and a Mid-Term meeting. The On-Arrival training should be at the beginning of the project. The volunteer will go to the capital of Poland for one week, where he is meeting all the volunteers that are in Poland. He is going to meet a lot of people all across the world, all with different cultures. This training is there for the volunteer that still has questions but also to help him with his project and integration. He has the opportunity to share his experiences with others and make new friends.

The Mid-Term meeting should normally be in the middle of the project. There the volunteer meets again new volunteers but this time in Toruń. It is a good opportunity if the volunteer still has questions or difficulties with his project or environment. There he also can make new contacts and get some new knowledge about the experience of others and compare them to his.

Karima from Luxembourg
The ESC Volunteer at Centrum Usług Społecznych in 2019/2020

 

What the volunteer gets from the host organisation?

When you applied for the project and got accepted a lot of questions pass through your head. How will I get there or who will help me, will I be alone? What really important is, that even if you are the only volunteer, you will never be alone. On your side will always be your coordinator and mentor. You will see with your mentor how many times you will see each other. A mentor is someone that is not involved in your work. Your coordinator is someone that works with you and is involved in your work and project. Before coming to Poland, you will already know your coordinator because he is the one who will help you the most and gives you as much information as possible.

Then, you researched some ways to travel to Poznań but you are not sure how to get there. You can ask your coordinator and he will help you and find the best solution. If you do not want to ask him you can ask other volunteers. Your coordinator will give you their emails. This is a good first step, for not being afraid to ask and if you never travelled, to gain experiences on how all of this function. Once chosen how to get there, there are still a lot of questions unanswered. Let’s try to answer some of them.

When you arrive, your coordinator will wait for you and he will show you around. The first day you will directly make your transport card and you will also get money and your Polish Phone. At the end you will go to your room, where you will normally stay until the end of the project. While you were driving around you should definitely remember some places. Maybe not the same day but the day after, it is important to familiarise yourself with the surroundings. This you should try it by yourself. As you see this project provides you from the beginning the benefit to be responsible for your own. During the project, the coordinator will show you how to get to your workplace and university. After he showed you, you can take the bus or tram by yourself without any help.

Every month, you will get money. This money is divided on multiple parts, one is for the transport, the other is for your phone card and the rest is for pocket and food money. You will always get the money on time, at the beginning of the month. They are never late, so you can organise your month and see how you can spend it without going bankrupt after a week.

Then as you know you will be the only volunteer. This might be afraid at the beginning but there are solutions on how to meet others. This project gives you the opportunity on how to socialise and integrate in an unknown culture. First step is that you have to accept your situation as it is, you cannot change the culture, so if you want to integrate you have to get some habits that they have too. You do not need to only have polish habits, but the perfect solution would be to mix yours with theirs. So, that you melt better in the society. It will take some time, but you will see it will not be that long, after you feel more comfortable you will meet people without any problems.

This project is also a good opportunity to gain more self-confidence and responsibilities. During your work you will stand in front of people and at the beginning you may be shy but with some practise you will be more and more confident. You will know better this people and feel more comfortable. Then you have responsibilities to take, whether in your work or dormitory. It is your responsibility to prepare the lessons and in your dormitory to respect the rules.

Karima from Luxembourg
The ESC Volunteer at Centrum Usług Społecznych in 2019/2020