My name is Ariadna Ràfols and I’m currently finishing my European Voluntary Service (ESC) project in Padua (Italy). My volunteering started at the beginning of October and will finish now at the end of July. My activity consists of working in two educational houses. One house with mothers and children, and the other one with three children who cannot live with their families, all of them referred by the Italian social services.
My tasks in general are diverse and can be summarised as: shopping, going to the park or doing activities, helping to cook, helping mothers and educators in the day to day, accompanying with the van to different places, among many other things. As a more concrete activity, it is true that during all this time, every Monday I accompanied one of the children to the speech therapist. Apart from being in these two houses, we have also carried out trainings and other activities, but much less frequently.
I liked doing this voluntary work very much because I was able to see professional fields that I had never seen before and also to work with children with different abilities and it gave me the opportunity to learn new ways of working.
Apart from everything I have experienced in my working hours as a volunteer, in my free time I have been able to meet many fantastic people, go on excursions or activities with workers who have become my friends, learn the Italian language through a popular school, I have also played in a basketball team and I have been able to visit a lot of Northern Italy. It has been an unforgettable experience and I am very happy I chose to do it.