Volunteer Stories

Ten Days at the Herzberg Centre in Aarau, Switzerland Summer 2007

In July 2007 I spent two weeks in Switzerland as a VSI volunteer. I have always loved travelling and exploring new cultures, particularly when the trips are of a slightly more intrepid variety. Volunteering seemed like a new and interesting way to see a different country. It is also an inexpensive way to travel as bed and board are provided. With VSI there are no huge fees to pay either, just a basic registration fee and then your transport costs. As I hadn’t volunteered before I didn’t know what to expect. Therefore I decided to start relatively close to home. I was accepted onto a workcamp in Aarau, Northern Switzerland, about 35 km from Zurich. I had a small amount of information about the workcamp before I left Ireland. I would be staying in a large building that functioned as an adult education centre in winter and as a holiday camp for Swiss families during the summer months. I also knew that I would be expected to do some gardening work. In return I would receive free board and lodging and possibly free time to travel and explore the surrounding areas. Before I set off I was apprehensive as I didn’t really know what to expect. However I needn’t have worried. Everything ran smoothly and I genuinely had an amazing time. Directions to the camp were straightforward and I met some of the other volunteers on the way. We were then greeted by the manager of the centre where we would be staying. In total there were 10 volunteers, three of whom brought children with them. There are different types of camps; the one I attended was a mixed age camp and one which was suitable for children. Collectively the volunteers came from Ireland, Italy, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Slovenia and Belgium. We gelled immediately and I made some good friends, some of whom I’m still in contact with now. Every camp differs and it’s impossible to know exactly what to expect. My own personal experience was great. We arrived at the camp on a Friday and had three days free to explore the area and its surroundings before starting any work. I visited Berne, Basel and Zurich with some of the other volunteers. We also went on guided hill walks organised by the centre where we were staying. When work officially started, a typical day at the camp started with breakfast followed by some light domestic work for an hour. Later we did some gardening in the grounds of the centre, including the reconstruction of an overgrown pathway. We would have lunch and dinner later on. In the evenings we would mainly chat, play cards or watch a film. It was interesting finding out about other people’s lives and their cultures. The experience has had a positive impact on me in a number of ways. It’s shown me a whole new way to travel. With VSI you can visit almost any country in the world, many of which are not easily accessible either when travelling independently or with a companion. You also get to travel cheaply and meet interesting people who have completely different lives and perspectives to your own. It’s also strengthened my belief in myself. I now feel I have the confidence to get on a plane and go anywhere in the world without always needing someone to accompany me. I will definitely volunteer again but next time it will be somewhere further a field. Julie Cadogan

Cana Communities, Sydney, Australia Cana is a charitable organisation in Sydney, which runs a number of homeless shelters, a café, and some long stay homes for homeless and mentally ill people. Its philosophy is very much aimed at creating a community in which it member’s can have social interaction, gain confidence and assistance and flourish once again. It was a tough and challenging project but an immensely rewarding and very fulfilling experience at the end. There was a group of 4 international volunteers with a local leader. We were working in homeless overnight shelters some nights, also working with a core group of individuals staying at 2 long stay houses who had addiction and other problems so there were some tough moments, some tears, some aggro but an awful lot of laughs too..... We brought this group on a 3 day holiday to a beach house up the coast; we planted a new garden at one of the houses, painted a mural at another house and played in Sydney homeless soccer matches. Having lived in Sydney before I saw a very different side of the city, one I had never even noticed existed. I managed to connect with 1 or 2 of the long stay residents and they brought me for a drink before I left, that was nice..!! Cyril O’Connor

Faskruosfjorour, Iceland, September 2007

In September 2007, I took part in an environmental project in east Iceland with other volunteers from France, Germany, Russia, Croatia, Lithuania and Japan. We met in the head office of the host organisation, Worldwide Friends, in the capital city of Reykjavik in the west of the country on a chilly Monday morning to set off for the project. The journey was to take about 10 hours by minibus along the main road which circumnavigates the island. The prospect of this journey seemed quite daunting to me at first, however, it wasn't long before we all got chatting and broke the ice. Also, if you are familiar with Iceland, you will know that one of the best ways to see what it has to offer in terms of natural features is to take this trip along the ring road. At various points along the way, our driver, the host organisation leader, kindly stopped the bus so we could get out to have a look at some of the places of interest. We ended up seeing some spectacular sights such as glaciers, beautiful waterfalls and a lake full of icebergs inhabited by seals. I had taken almost a hundred pictures before I even reached the project! When we arrived at our destination in the East Fjords it was quite late at night. However, we were greeted by our camp host in the old kindergarten where we would stay for the duration of the camp. The host had prepared a hot meal of traditional lamb soup for us which was much appreciated after our long journey. I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of accommodation, but I was pleasantly surprised. The kindergarten was well heated and we had a fully equipped kitchen with dishwasher, washing machine and dryer! We then settled down to rest on surprisingly comfortable mattresses (!) as we had a hard day's work ahead of us the following day. The work on the camp mainly involved cleaning up in and around the small village of Faskruosfjorour. Every morning we would start work at 8 and we would be split into groups and given tasks to complete for the day, such as picking up rubbish from the streets and the coastline, digging the soil to prepare it for planting grass, making hiking paths, and pulling up weeds from the sides of the roads and the shoreline. Sometimes the weather was harsh, which made working difficult, but after the first couple of days I had learned to dress for all eventualities and always wore lots of layers and my rain gear! The work itself was often physically tough as well but we managed to work together as a team and to help each other out to get the job done. I found the work was very challenging but rewarding to see the finished result and as it was tiring, I never had any trouble sleeping at night! Every day we had a coffee break in the toolhouse in the morning and then returned to our house for an hour in the afternoon for lunch and then at 4 or 5 after work. We drew up a cooking rota so that every day, a group of two people were in charge of cooking for that day. For the first week, we had 'International Days' where the groups in charge of cooking made meals considered traditional in their home country. So when it was my turn, I made a somewhat traditional fry up for lunch followed by shepherd's pie for dinner. Luckily, I had packed a few essential ingredients in my suitcase before I left Ireland! Generally I found the food to be akin to what I was used to at home and there was plenty of it so we never went hungry! This was good news as I found that after a hard day's work, I had a huge appetite! Of course, we did have some free time on our hands and we managed to amuse ourselves even in a village as remote as Faskruosfjorour. Every evening, most of us would go to the local pool and sauna and then come back to the house to have dinner followed by a few beers, a game of cards and a chat. On the weekends, we went to the local hotel where the owner kindly allowed us check our email, play pool and football and have a couple of drinks. The hotel owner also brought us out in groups on his fishing boat to catch our dinner for that night. One day, the host brought us to a local farm where we helped out with the local ritual of sheep herding in the mountains, followed by a traditional Icelandic meal in the farmhouse. Even though the public transport in Iceland wasn't always available, our host managed to arrange a bus for us to take us to the nearest big town so we could do a bit of souvenir shopping! When the two weeks were up I must admit I was a little sad to be leaving the camp and the international group of fun and interesting people that I had the pleasure of getting to know and work with. I definitely consider my time on the project as a unique and worthwhile experience and I have many wonderful and lasting memories of Iceland. Laura Duggan

Tanzania Autumn 2007

‘My trip was such a humbling, exciting and frustrating experience all rolled into one. I was humbled by seeing the challenges some communities were faced with and how they face those challenges with much greater acceptance and enthusiasm than I accept mine here. I learned that having a supportive community around you is a million times more important than having two bathrooms and three cars outside your house. But I also learned that access to opportunity and choice is truly a gift that we are blessed to have in Europe. The trip really brought home to me the issues that we read about and see in the media, I learned what it’s really like to live without fresh water and electricity and that actually the hardest thing is not necessarily those challenges but instead access to markets and health care was perhaps more important. I learned to live life at a different pace, to adjust expectations and that we in the West has as much to learn from Tanzania as Tanzania does from us in the so-called West’ Jenny Black

Mexico Summer 2007

I learnt a lot from the experience. It certainly made me think differently about many things in life. I was already interested in development issues, fair-trade and global politics but this has made me even more interested. I now think about every cup of coffee I drink, about where it came from and about the people who grow it. Do they get a fair wage? I think about where we get our food from and how it reaches us, how many people were involved along the way. I also learnt to be patient and that small steps can lead to greater things. The project was only for a short time but hopefully each workcamp will help the community bit by bit and great things can be achieved. The people of Pilateno were wonderful, welcoming and kind. They accepted our group into their houses and families and we all had great fun together. I think that we can learn from such communities. While they don’t have a lot of material things, they make the most of what they do have and enjoy life in any way they can.’ Tanya Kirk

EVS in Austria

My name is Amy Fox and I come from Dublin. I have spent a little over two months now in Salzburg, Austria where I am undertaking my EVS project. My first impressions of the Austrian people have been very positive. My Hosting Organisation Akzente, their EVS Coordinator Barbara Sieberth & the staff have been very helpful in every respect and made me feel very welcome since my arrival in early February. Barbara has organised different get-together's and the volunteers meet quite regularly for feedback and excursions.

Amy Fox VSI EVS Volunteer with other EVS volunteers The house where I am living is a student residence made up of 125 people. It has 15 EVS volunteers and the rest are students, most of who are here on Erasmus study. I had no idea what to expect when I arrived here in Salzburg, but everyone has been open and friendly. We talk to each other about how are projects are going and there is always someone who will listen if you have had a tough day.

My On Arrival Training in Vienna happened in mid-February was four days of fun and learning. I met with 13 other newly arrived EVS volunteers. We will meet again in June 3rd - 5th in Innsbruck for our Mid Way training which I am looking forward to.

My EVS project is based in ARGEKultur which is an Arts & Cultural centre. I am still getting to know the people & the place but my time there so far has been enjoyable. I have completed work on preparing a press pack for a cabaret festival, maintaining their general PR folder and updating their events on-line. I have also recently completed work on an 'In House' Production that Premiered a new piece of Contemporary Music, Opera & Drama. I am very much looking forward to the months ahead as the centre has many interesting avant garde musical and theatre events coming up which I will be able to attend or work on. I am thoroughly enjoying the independence and 'hands on' working experience that the EVS Experience has given me so far. I would encourage anyone interested in doing EVS to go to a new country and enjoy all the benefits of the life long learning and cultural experiences I have been lucky to have so far!

By Amy Fox April 2008.

Dublin Local Group

I found out about VSI Dublin Local Group (DLG) through an advertisement on the radio looking for volunteers. That was back in 2002. I had been looking for voluntary work to do and the practicality of what DLG does really appealed to me. Six years on and the work appeals to me as much today as it did when I started! Work is referred to the DLG via other charities, social workers from the local authorities and by people themselves, who have heard about us through word of mouth. All suitable projects are visited by our volunteers and then the whole group decides on whether we can do a particular job or not. Most of the work we take on is in situations where the standard of living has fallen below the norm due to either poverty or a disability. It is amazing the difference that 10 volunteers with brushes, scrapers and cloths can make and that is not only in the physical sense of the word. There is also nothing like the surprise and delight on peoples' faces when they see their house transformed. As a volunteer I have visited and worked in the homes of people from all walks of life and all across the city. I have discovered that volunteering is definitely a two way thing because whatever I have given of my time I have received back in the form of new friendships and a great knowledge of DIY. A community is made up of its inhabitants but it's what those inhabitants do for each other's good that gives it its spirit. Volunteering in any form is a great way to contribute to the well being of a community and I guarantee that you will always get back more than you give. Roisin Bateson