ERASMUS+/ CAPACITY BUILDING IN THE FIELD OF YOUTH
JOB SHADOWING IN K.A.NE KALAMATA – GREECE 3rd – 17th Oct, 2016 Nguyen Thi Thanh Vy Coordinator of SJ Vietnam
WEEK 1
Day 1: 3/10 Arriving day After long journey including 13 hours on and airplane and 4 hour on a bus, I arrived in Kalamata City at 19:00. Ms. Fotini picked me up at the bus station and took me to the flat where I would stay for 2 weeks. After that she took me to the youth center where a lot of activities and workshops are taking place, organized by local and EVS volunteers. I was introduced with all the community at the youth center including local people and EVS volunteers
Day 2: 04/10
City tour with Ms. Fotini in the morning. The city is very peaceful with a lot of narrow streets, small churches, small shops‌ Free time in the afternoon, I went to the beach nearby.
During the evening, 3 new EVS volunteers arrived, we had small welcome night meal with them until midnight.
The busiest time of the day is from 17:00 to 22:30 when the youth center is open for everybody. There is a weekly schedule of activities and workshops so that people can know the time and arrange to participate in the activities they are interested in. On this day, there were French, German, Brazilian dance and other workshops.
Day 3: 05/10 There is a local market on every Wednesday. We had an interesting tour.
Free time in the afternoon to enjoy the sunshine on the beach
I participated in the 1st orientation session with 3 the new volunteers. The orientation gave them an overview about the roles of sending organization, hosting organization, volunteers, and mentor., as well as of the rights and responsibilities of an EVS volunteer.
There was an event at the youth center for the local people to get to know the local and EVS volunteers. We played games, talked and shared our stories together. It was really great that you have chance to be around with amazing people who have rich experience in their life.
Day 4: 06/10 Joined the second orientation for new the EVS volunteers. This time to let the volunteers express their expectations, fears, and what they can contribute to their EVS projects, as well as to learn about the 8-key competences and the YouthPass
Made interview with Fotini, the project coordinator and Sara Amghar – EVS volunteer from France
Participated in the workshop of Krav maga selfdefense led by Ruya Hazar – EVS volunteer from Turkey
Had dinner with the new volunteer from England - Molly
Day 5: 07/10 • Big meeting with all the volunteers. The volunteers shared about their previous week, what did they do, how did they enjoy their free time, how are they feeling, is there any matter that they need help, any ideas that they have… • The coordinator gave an update and new information. • We visited some project sites around Kalamata
Conclusion • • • •
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Kalamata is a nice and peaceful city. The local people here are very hospitable. The food is delicious. The beach is beautiful. The volunteers at K.A.NE organization are very active and easy going. Each of them has their own skill that they can contribute to the youth center and other projects in Kalamata. The people who come to youth center are good at English, so it is a good condition to help the EVS volunteers to do their workshops successfully. K.A.NE has a group of very good staff including Fotini, the coordinator of K.A.NE.’s projects, EVS coordinator Jelena, and a good team of mentors who are always available to support the EVS volunteers and give them useful information. The way of running the youth center is very creative. The Youth Centre is an independent structure run by volunteers who all, both local and EVS volunteers, use their abilities and skills to offer things for the local community. A nice example: the EVS volunteers have the possibility to lead language exchange workshops where they teach their languages and, in return, the participants teach some Greek to the volunteers. Other workshops include: boxing, different dances, self-defense, … all these attract a lot of people and are offered by local and EVS volunteers.