EVS: where is the way ?
Toulouse, France, June 2013
My name is Maud and I am a French volunteer. In June 2013 I had just finished a
9 months long project with my team - 7 other French volunteers between the age
of 18 and 25. In France this is called a "Service Civique" - Civil
Service. We mainly worked with elderly people in retirement home but we also
intervened in a poor neighborhood of the city. The aim was to create social
link and get people involved, as well as fighting isolation. I had moved from
my home town - Angers - across the country to do this volunteering. Those 9
months were amazing and exhausting.
I was not ready to quit volunteering yet. I remembered
an informative meeting we had about different options for volunteers who wanted
to go abroad, among other things there was the possibility to become an EVS
volunteer. And I thought "why not ?" " I want to keep on
learning though I'm not ready to go back to university yet." Plus I still
felt the call of the unknown.
Thus I contacted a sending organization in Toulouse
which would help me set up my application, contact hosting organizations, write
then send my resume and motivation letter. It sounded good.
However, I had to move back to my hometown, there the
organization would not be able to support me fully. Nevertheless, I kept on
logging on the database for EVS projects
(http://europa.eu/youth/evs_database_en), I checked it every other day, I wrote
motivation letters and applied on my own to several projects, without answer. I
felt lost.
Angers, France, August 2013
At the beginning of August I moved back to my hometown, spent time with my
family and friends. After a while I understood that without the right support
from a local sending organization I would not be able to go much farther than
my own backyard. So, there I went again. I talked with my friends about my
desire to do an EVS, they gave me clues and contacts. I got an appointment with
"Famille Rurale" which handles projects related to youth in Angers. I
met Adeline Hamard from the organization; she was very thorough, and listened
to me carefully. I realized thanks to that talk and to my previous failures
that I might have I been going at it the wrong way. Finally, she told me about
an EVS project I could apply to - a Macedonian association was meeting the
deadline to find a second EVS volunteer. The aim was to work for a youth
organization and mainly on their radio - the volunteers had to come up with new
ideas, new shows to give a new dynamic to the radio.
I was intrigued and scared. It was different from the
themes I wanted first to deal with: gender roles, immigration etc. Or so I
thought. My priority was to get active again as fast as possible. Thus I was
tempted by the project. And it seemed broad enough for me to get creative and
tackle the subjects that were dear to me. I kind of believe in opportunities,
in life leaving seeds or treasures on your path that you can decide to see and
pick up or to turn a blind eye on and keep on living absent-mindedly. I picked
it up.
September 2013
It all went quick, in a week I met Adeline, send my resume and got a date for a
Skype interview with Mile Dimkoski from the hosting organization - Youth
Council Prilep. I heard from the organization about a week later. Being anxious
about the answer I send emails to Mile as to whether they had reached a decision
or not and smileys were popping up here and there...
18th November 2013
I
was on a plane for Macedonia with Antoine - the other EVS volunteer. Now starts
the real adventure and challenge. This was just the easy part!
