Overall, the experience that Everything is Possible gave me has helped me to understand better where my strengths and weaknesses lie – for example I think I would prefer and be better at teaching adults rather than children. It has given me the opportunity to teach English which is something I’m considering doing in future and has enabled me to learn a foreign language and has improved my confidence in many ways.

“I’m coming to the end of my Leonardo project in Portugal, I’ve been here for almost five months and it’s flown by! My host project is Qualify para Incluir (Qualify to Include) in the city of Porto in the north of Portugal and I was lucky to be placed in a beautiful house close to my workplace and with some lovely people who have since become good friends of mine. At the beginning of my placement I taught a couple of English lessons every week to the children who go to Qualificar para Incluir to receive after-school support, it was also my responsibility to plan and prepare the content of the lessons, trying to incorporate games and interactive activities. This was an interesting and challenging experience and sometimes the lessons went really well, other times they didn’t! After a couple of months the English lessons stopped and I started helping the children with English homework when they came for after-school support. Other activities that I have done have included translating (or attempting to!) the organization’s website into English in order to be able to create campaigns to raise funds for the organization. I am currently preparing a campaign to try and raise money for the theatre activities that QPI has.

 
In terms of what I’ve been up to outside of my work, I’ve been trying hard to learn Portuguese, going to a Portuguese speaking evening at a café in the city, I took a course in making cosmetic products (face/body creams) out of natural ingredients which was really interesting, I travelled around Portugal with my flatmates and have been trying to get to know the place and the culture better. For the first few months communicating was difficult but now I feel a lot more comfortable with the language and with life here and am really enjoying my experience here.

 
Overall, the experience that Everything is Possible gave me has helped me to understand better where my strengths and weaknesses lie – for example I think I would prefer and be better at teaching adults rather than children. It has given me the opportunity to teach English which is something I’m considering doing in future and has enabled me to learn a foreign language and has improved my confidence in many ways.”

Amy Assadi, Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility trainee.

Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility project

part of Empowered From Within

and supported by ECORYS UK

and the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission (Now replaced by Erasmus+ )

So arriving at the NGO with no teaching experience and none of the language was interesting but i was very eager to learn and pick up new skills from the people whom i was working with and around. I knew that I had signed up to learn and take everything on, so I was prepared to be thrown in at the deep end and develop as fast as i could. It was difficult at first, with the language barrier and with no experience but it was also the best way to learn. I had no choice to take my time and doss around not learning the language. And teaching along side many different people and seeing how they all worked differently but how they worked as teams and working alongside each other with different approaches to teaching worked well and sitting in on classes helped a lot. Especially in my group at SKIP, I was put with a Spanish woman who had worked in nurseries back in Spain, and her methods were spot on, the children respected her so much, she had time fillers sorted, songs she sang with the children and although she had only been teaching at skip for a few weeks she knew all the children so well, and really thought about them while preparing the work and preparing different levels of work for each group of abilities. She really did teach me a lot, and although we hardly have a conversation together due to the language barrier, watching how she was with the children and how she gained their respect was amazing to watch. At the same time I was being introduced to the economical development side of the organisation. After arriving and learning about that side of the NGO I had mentioned that I would like to work on that branch too, and if it was possible to put me in for a shift with that. But there was a change around of workers at the time and it was all a bit up in the air, with an ex-volunteer having to come over to keep it going as they searched for a new coordinator. So for my first few weeks I wasn’t able to get involved as it was at a bit of a stand still.

As well as watching and trying to help out with the skip group, Myself and Fin, the other EVS volunteer who came over with me, overlooked english teaching at skip to get an idea of what the classes were like and what the teaching style was like, full of games and relaxed with as much verbal involvement of the kids. And we were at first very overwhelmed how the kids acted, running around, climbing on the tables or under them, but you have to take into account their home life and many of them live in single rooms with many people, some don’t even have electricity and most of them don’t have running water…all of this plus the amount of violence that is always around – either if it is in the home or in the neighbourhood. Plus SKIP is also in addition to going to school so they can get a bit restless and i guess the hot weather doesn’t help either. And there are so many things to take into account, and endless list! But after they get to know you they are so eager to learn and really respect you and seem less crazy! Anyway back to the point, I don’t really think the training we were given was very useful, it was very basic and just scraping the surface, and after a while I needed to have quite a lot of additional meetings to help with the problems we were having, which were so much more useful than the training. It took me a while to ask for help as I couldn’t work out why things weren’t working out for me, but then I realised I could speak to the coordinators and they really helped and gave me loads of ideas and were constantly asking if everything was working and going okay, and that was great. Y w as were starting term this week, I have improved and advanced so much with my teaching skills and behaviour management, as well as now being able to speak fluent spanish, I have been promoted to be the main teacher of a group of 18!Which I was kind of doing for the holiday club and it went fine so I am very happy about that!

 
Ate being at skip for a month, the amazing teacher who was teaching our class left, and was replaced by a number of people with now, less experience than me! So as they were the teachers they would prepare the work, but i could see where the problems were and i had many meetings with them as the time went on , to suggest different methods and also to tell them about which child and where they were up to with the work. And as the teachers kept changing with the fast turn over of volunteers I was soon the one to know most about the children and what suited them, and also as there aren’t enough volunteers at skip at the moment I have been given a class! But i am very happy about it and feel confident.

 
After the new eco dev coordinator came I quickly got a shift assisting someone in the workshops, giving ideas to the mothers and helping them, paying them, taking in new products and tagging them. And I really enjoyed it, plus it helped to improve my spanish talking to the mothers. And then in January I was made a head of a workshop, of jewellery. I now have the responsibility of buying the products each week that the mothers ask for, and I run the workshop on my own without an assistant. I have also now been trained in sales force where i have to put up all the information of new products each evening after the workshop, so we have statistics of what sells and also all the information is in one place. On sales force I also have to change the settings if things are sold and go to inventory in the shops where we sell the products of the mothers. Along with this I have worked in the office a little, I have sat in when we have had meetings with mothers who want to get a loan out and seen the questioning procedure and how they sort that out. I have also been on home visits to see mothers who maybe haven’t been to a skip workshop for a while or haven’t been paying their loan back. And I have learnt how to take loan payments. I feel I have learnt a lot in eco dev department!

 
And public school teaching is tiring, waking up at 6 can be hard! and teaching 5 classes of 30 children of 40 minutes each is a non stop morning! But it is very different to teaching at Skip and very fun, and once you get to know the children (I still don’t know any names!) it gets a lot easier. There were a few problems the last term i taught, but just with the schools participation, but it is the worst school we work with and very disorganised and there is always a surprise! But you get used to that, and SKIP are constantly talking to them to try and change how they work but it never seems to make much of a difference! But things have changed and we’ll see how they go this term, but now they have their very own english room which is progress!

Katalina Balcomb, long-term EVS (European Voluntary Service) volunteer

Visit Katalina’s blog: http://katgoestoperu.wordpress.com/

Project supported by the EACEA and the Youth In Action programme of the European Commission.

Testimony from Alice about her Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility project in Italy:

“The weather is becoming much colder here. I am seeing a different side of Italy now that it is winter. People tend to go out less in winter so the town seems to be a lot quieter.

Anffas has started to prepare for Christmas. Lots of beautiful decorations are being put up everywhere, and there is a big Christmas festival this Sunday. The families of the disabled people will come, along with some other people, and we will eat lunch together. I am looking forward to this because Christmas is my favourite time of the year. Also I think it will be nice to meet some of the families because I think it could help me to be more understanding in the future when I am working with the disabled people.

Recently I have felt like I have got to know some of the disabled people a lot more. This is partly due to the fact that I have been here a longer time, but also because now I can have a very basic conversation in Italian. It’s easier to get to know someone when you can understand what they are saying. Speaking and understanding more Italian has made me feel more confident both at work and also outside of work in my free time.

One weekend I went to a service in the local town, known as ‘Sacra Cuore’, with some people from anffas (workers and disabled people). Apparently the purpose of the service is to bless the tractors, to bring them good luck for the harvest, although I’m not one hundred percent sure about this. The day started with a religious service in a church. After, we all went outside and watched the blessing of the tractors. The congregation said a short prayer and holy water was thrown on the tractors as they drove past. I found this quite interesting to watch however it was also a bit strange. The disabled people seemed to be having a good time though, which is what matters. The rest of the day consisted of us all eating together with people from the local community. The dinner lasted for five hours! There were many different courses of all different kinds of food. It was nice to have the opportunity to sample the many foods of Italy, and also it was free!

Since my last report I have visited many beautiful places in Italy with my friends, including some very cute Italian villages and some big country parks. I went to one of the zoos nearby with a friend, which was a very interesting experience. I am enjoying having the opportunity to see different places in Italy and it is nice to get out and do things when I am not working.”

Alice Hinchliffe, Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility trainee.

Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility project

part of Empowered From Within

and supported by ECORYS UK

and the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission (Now replaced by Erasmus+ )

My name is Martha Brown, I’m 32 and I come from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, although I was living in London and working in a cafe before I started my 1 month’s EVS in Malta.

I previously did a 2 month EVS project in Macedonia in 2012, so I already know how good the scheme was, so when the opportunity to volunteer at a cat sanctuary in Malta came up, I thought, “Why not?”. It seemed like a good chance to try another type of work, whilst learning about another country and culture, as I didn’t know much about Malta, a small island south of Italy and north of Libya. Our flight landing in Malta was very rough and bumpy but I was entertained by the maltese passengers’ response to this, which was to cheer, applaud and laugh, and I took this as a promising sign for my time in Malta. The large nativity scene outside the airport gave another clue to Malta, which our host Carmel clarified by explaining that Malta is a catholic country (officially only 5% of its inhabitants aren’t catholic). He also pointed out the unusual maltese practice of putting Christmas decorations on all their roundabouts during our journey to our accommodation and said that there are 365 churches in Malta (1 for each day of the year he joked). We (I’ve come here with 2 other english women) are staying in a hotel in Paceville, a small town that is the nightclub central of Malta, (aimed towards tourists). We share 2 rooms, 1 of which includes a kitchen area and dining area. It’s fairly basic but nice enough. We’re lucky because Carmel, who is the president of Tomiseera National Cat Society (the charity I’m doing my month’s voluntary work at) gives us a lift to the cat sanctuary most days. On our first day he treated us to a maltese breakfast of cheesecake, which turned out to be more like a cheese pasty. They’re a convenient and tasty snack, which along with the pea pasties, are very cheap from most cafes, particularly the local snack bars. We mostly cook our own food, to keep within our budget but, I’m looking forward to treating myself to a maltese meal 1 day before I leave.

The sanctuary is run by the lovely Carmel and Jane along with a few other dedicated volunteers. I was nervous about working at the cat sanctuary as I don’t really like groups of cats, (but I love 1 cat on its own) so I found my first few days very challenging working with about 350 cats! On the first day we were introduced to the cats, the building and the volunteer’s daily routine, which consists of: checking the cats are ok; cleaning the cages of the sick cats; cleaning the communal areas inside the building and in the garden area, (the majority of the cats live in these areas); feeding the cats; and giving the sick cats their medication. Inside my tummy twisted and wrenched from feelings of fear, horror and disgust at the strong smell, being in a small building with so many cats and seeing the ones that were so ill. I managed to push through these feelings though and made myself act calmly and positively towards the cats and I tried to give them equal love and attention whilst I helped to clean up all their mess. I was relieved on my 2nd day at the sanctuary to find I felt much more relaxed and at ease being with all the cats, and this keeps on improving, though I do sometimes dread doing another day’s work of cleaning up so much poo! The maltese people I’ve met so far have been lovely – friendly and welcoming in a very gentle and relaxed way. Most people speak fluent english and I love hearing their lilting, lyrical accents, which sound a bit like the welsh accent. Eight days in, I’m looking forward to exploring more of the island and seeing how my skills improve working at the cat sanctuary.

Project part of YOUth In Europe

and supported by the British Council

and the Youth In Action programme

of the European Commission.

I’m almost half way through my project now and I’m still really enjoying the experience. It’s nice getting to know the disabled people as I spend more time here. It’s difficult to know everything about every disabled person because there are a lot of people at ANFFAS, but every disabled person has their own unique characteristics and personality.

I’m no longer in my training period and am starting to feel more confident now at work. Also, I go to school twice a week so my Italian is slowly improving, and I am now able to understand a lot more when people speak to me in Italian. I have started to work some evening shifts and some morning shifts. I prefer doing this because it mixes my week up a bit and also I can sleep for longer when I am working in the evening. Morning shifts are good because I finish work at half past one and then I have the rest of the day free. Evening shifts are good because I can sleep for longer and go to work later.

Recently ANFFAS had a party for the residents on a Saturday evening with a live band, and all the volunteers were invited. We danced and ate nice food and all the volunteers even got up and sang a song with the band. Seeing all the disabled people listening to the music, dancing and enjoying themselves put a smile on my face. It was really nice to see them all having a good time, smiling and laughing.

Also, the volunteers from Anffas, including myself, have visited a local school a number of times recently to talk about volunteering in europe. We went into different classes with teenagers aged between 15 and 18 and spoke about who we are, what we do at anffas and why we chose to come here, amongst other questions. This was a good experience for me because not only did I get the chance to explain to others about volunteering, I also got the chance to ask the students about themselves and their lives in Italy. It helped me understand the culture here more.

This month has been good and I feel that I am maybe starting to settle in a bit more. Both workers and disabled people are getting to know me better and I’m getting used to working at anffas.

Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility project

part of Empowered From Within

and supported by ECORYS UK

and the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission.

The 5th episode of our comic book ”Empowered From Within” is out!

Discover Carly’s testimony about her Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility project in Italy:

Project supported by ECORYS UK and the Lifelong Learning programme of the European Union.

Testimony from Katalina, long term EVS (European Voluntary Service) volunteer in Peru:

So i guess quite a few things have gone on since i last blogged…went to visit a nearby little town called Pacosmayo with some of the other volunteers, it was our first national bank holiday so we made the most of it! It was a charming little fishing town 2 hours up from Trujillo. And it was just lovely to be out of Trujillo for the first time and the pier there is amazing, one of Peru’s longest piers and also one of the longest piers I think I will ever see! We all tiptoed to the end of it, it was definitely falling apart and although you payed an entrance fee of 10p to walk on it, it would have been prohibited in England it was that old! With a railway track going right to the end of it, and as we got to the end there were less and less planks to stand on and the rail tracks were becoming more and more eroded and rusty, but once at the end we all sat down and saved a trapped crab. It was wedged in between some remaining planks and was really super wedged in but it was still alive 🙁 but we managed to put it out its misery buy very carefully rotating it out with much difficulty and chucking it back in the sea. Also while sat on the end of the pier we noticed that the little fishing boats were all crowed with birds, pelicans! Quite a spectacular sight, I don’t remember ever seeing a pelican and then TADA, suddenly hundreds just chilling on some boats bobbing around in the Atlantic ocean?! And we also saw a man catch a squid and kill it, with his bare hands while it was crazily wriggling around, and then black squid ink squirted all over him. Sad but fantastic sight to catch!Anyway that was alll AGES ago! So I’m going to move on to more recent things that have been going on in my life!

 
Let’s start with things at SKIP and the work I’ve been doing. Group 2 are my favorite job I think, they’re all so cute, with the biggest personalities ever and they can be quite naughty (well to each other, fighting sometimes with the boys and also snatching things off each other, hogging rubbers and copying each others work) but they’re mostly really well behaved and love doing their work. When I first got here they used to LOVE reading (well the ones that can read) and used to come in, settle down, and read quietly and alone for the 20 minutes they have for reading. These days they’re a bit more impatient and unsurprisingly want to play as soon as they get in the classroom! And I also have a pupil named Evelyn who is lovely but has learning disabilities and can be extremely distracting and naughty and never gets round to doing any work, and she is most best at stopping the other kids doing their work, by snatching their worksheets, generally annoying them, stealing their resources…stealing their shoes! bags! whatever she can get her hands on really! But the other children are angles wit her and never bat an eye lid or retaliate. Which I am super proud of because for a 7 year old to not retaliate at all when another child pulls their hair or kicks them is amazing!

 
And then also at SKIP I have been continuing my work in the Economic Development part…I’ve been working in the office, mainly just waiting for parents (mainly mothers) to come in to pay off their loans, which is simple and quite boring as only a few come in in the 3 hours i’m there. But I’ve also managed to see a few new loans being requested and the process for that which is great, and also the questions that they have to answer in order to apply for a loan and really interesting to know more about the lives of the families of skip. especially finding out how many children some families have (8!) and also like how much money they spend on food and electricity and water etc a week. And then i have also been helping out in the jewelry workshop where mothers come in to make jewelry, we provide the materials and a teacher and they learn and pay the cost of the materials they use and then we sell them from a number of shops and restaurants in and around Trujillo and they get all the profit. and they make the nicest things ever, fantastic bags, pencil cases, scarfs, beautiful earrings, and many things more. They are also able to make you anything you want, perfect to what size you are and exactly how you want it! And working in the workshops consists of chatting to my friend Crystal and putting braids in her hair :p and we actually are really busy after about 15 minutes, logging all the jewelry the mothers make, paying them for what they have sold the last week, and putting tags on the new stuff. And I find this fun, it’s nice to have something structural to do! And it’s nice to be chatting and in with the mothers and we’re slowly learning their names!
And then I have the work at the public school I work at with the amazing Hannah! It’s called Virgin Del Carmen and is in Alto Trujillo, about 5 minutes walk from SKIP. School starts at 7.30am for Primary, in Peru it’s primary in the morning and secondary in the afternoon. But recently our school has been starting at 8.10am as the school has decided for some reason to open one lesson later as swine flu is going round and they think that will stop it!? Even though the homes of the children are in no way warmer than the school, not that that matters for viruses anyway? And plus all the kids are at school by the normal time anyway and just play until lessons commence! V del C is fab though, loads of character and right next to Sara Bolongo, a big sand dune in the middle of El Porvenir… schools are mainly just copy copy copy and the teachers write on the board and the kids copy. There is no supply system in place so if the teacher isn’t in the kids just play outside all day. They also don’t have any teachers to watch over break time/play time so there’s quite a lot of rough playing! And they have goal posts which 5 year old girls love climbing up and dangling off…very dangerous!! Here is a pile of chairs that’s just in the school!

Picture by Fin shields.

But recently after we’ve finished teaching both Hannah and I have been getting worn out and drained of energy 🙁 When I started it was so great, and it still is but it’s so hard when the kids on’t listen or you feel like you haven’t taught them anything. These are some reasons why it is hard:
Firstly the teachers are still not supporting us and they should be – They constantly leave the room creating havoc and disorder in the classroom, kids running around, fighting, kicking footballs around! It sounds bad but it’s not awful, just tiring after you’ve taught 5 40 minute classes to kids who haven’t listened! And at least 2 classes each time will turn out well and I feel we have taught a bit but then they’re all at different levels! It’s suggest leaving the room when the teacher leaves but once the lesson has started it is actually really hard to do this. Sometimes…the teacher asks us If they can go to the toilet! But then the teacher will be gone to the toilet for 15 minutes. And at other times the teachers will just say “I’m just going to drop this piece of paper off next door” or whatever, and the next thing you know, 10 minutes later she’ll just be stood outside chatting to another teacher! Also they seem to think that they’re present in the classroom when they’re having a ‘meeting’ with other teachers just outside the classroom. And they don’t speak any English and it’s hard to tell them not to do things as they’re so much older than us and stricter…

 
Plus even with teachers in the classroom they don’t help with classroom behavior. They’ll only step in when all the kids are screaming or running around, and are not absent in the class even if they’re sitting in. They’ll be doing other work, marking work, chatting to pupils, chatting with pupils about their Work in other subjects, (one specific teacher) brings in her daughter to her class! (Why her daughter is not in school, I will never understand) She not old enough to be in that grade, and she’s such a distraction, she runs around while they’re working and plays tig with them, and chats with them and plays games with them clapping and cries)! Also had teachers sleeping… 😮 But Patri, a coordinator of SKIP came in and spoke to theprinciple last time so hopefully this situation will change!

 
Having no teaching experience is also proving hard, We don’t get that much training at SKIP, well just a little on classroom behavior and safeguarding but none on lesson plans and creative, fun interactive activities for teaching English…SO if anyone can think of some please leave me a comment on this post! Help will be muchly appreciated!

 
But I do still love it here and a lot of the work is rewarding, just struggling a bit with the public school side at the moment…But to end on a positive note, when I have a full day at SKIP I manage to stay up in El Porv for lunch and go swimming at the nearby swimming pool which is 23p for an hour! And it’s outside and a little chilly but perfect when it’s sunny and it has goats and sheep just trotting around while you’re swimming – it’s great! And keep an eye out for my next post which will be all about my weekend away in the Sierra, the beautiful rural mountain range, it was amazing!

Katalina Balcomb, long-term EVS (European Voluntary Service) volunteer

Visit Katalina’s blog: http://katgoestoperu.wordpress.com/

Project supported by the EACEA and the Youth In Action programme of the European Commission.

“Just wanted to quickly say how much I am in love with this island! Every single day I feel beyond privileged to be here, and constantly throughout each day I am overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude, from driving the car around like I’ve been here all my life to scooping donkey poop, the list is endless to all the things I am grateful for and thoroughly enjoying. Desiree has a heart of gold & has done everything, above and beyond to make us welcome, comfortable and accommodate us. If I could stay here forever I would! Unfortunately that isn’t possible, but if there is anyway my stay could be extended, I would be the happiest girl in the world!!!! It breaks my heart to think I could only have two weeks left on this glorious island, with my beautiful adopted family (that includes the donkeys)!
I really enjoy the work here, it is so much easier and rewarding than I even imagined. All the team are a joy to work for and being covered head to toe in donkey doo doo dust, hard working sweat and chicken poop each day is a pleasure. Each day I think “this cannot get any better, I cannot possibly be any happier”, and then I am blown away again with how amazing everything is.
Thank you so much for this opportunity.”

Felicia, Leonardo Da Vinci mobility trainee in Aruba.

Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility project

part of Empowered From Within

and supported by ECORYS UK

and the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission.

The 4th episode of our comic book ”Empowered From Within” is out!

Discover the adventure of Andy, Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility trainee in Aruba:

Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility project supported by ECORYS UK and the Lifelong Learning programme of the European Union.

I arrived in Pordenone, Italy, on the 20th August. I’ve been here for a month now and I’m really enjoying the experience so far.

At the moment I’m still in my induction period, working from 7am to 1.30pm. In the mornings I help the workers get the disabled people out of bed and tend to the personal hygiene of the disabled people. At around 9.30am I participate in one of the morning activities, such as taking the disabled people to the park, or working in one of the many craft rooms making things such as pottery or wicker baskets. At lunch time I help feed the disabled people along with the other workers, and after that I help the workers put the disabled people to bed for a nap, which is called a ‘riposo’ in Italian. Working with the disabled people is a great experience and I find it very enjoyable. They are all very loving and appear to be happy and content most of the time. I think ANFFAS is an amazing place because not only are the disabled people cared for, they are also kept very busy and are entertained throughout the day.

At ANFFAS, the workers are very friendly and will go out of their way to help me and make sure I am okay. At times, communication is difficult, but since arriving in Italy, I already feel like my understanding of the Italian language has improved. I’m also due to start attending Italian language lessons at the school at the end of the month which will hopefully help support my learning.

Alice met our ‘Green Message’ participant, Jara

I’m currently sharing the flat with two other volunteers, a French girl and a Danish girl. They are roughly the same age as me and both very friendly, which is great! Another volunteer, a French boy, is due to arrive next month. I am looking forward to meeting him because I love meeting new people! The flat itself is very nice and quite big, as well as being in a great location to get to work and into the centre of Pordenone.  Also, I’ve made lots of new Italian friends who are very sociable, which has helped me settle into my new home. I’m always busy here, either going for coffee with friends after work or to the beach at the weekend.

I have learnt so much already and I have only been here for one month out of my six month Leonardo da Vinci project! I am having an amazing time and I hope the next five months are just as good!

Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility project

part of Empowered From Within

and supported by ECORYS UK

and the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission.