From the status of beneficiary to the one of volunteer
The projects financially supported by the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021, through the Local Development Programme, are initiatives conceived and carried out by people for people. Starting today, on a monthly basis, we will try to bring to the fore some of those for which the projects financed by us really mean a chance. We would love for such stories to inspire other people like them.
Today, the team of the Alaturi de Voi Romania Foundation (ADV) tells us about Daniel, an 18-year-old man for whom “home” means the Bogdana Social Services Center, from Bogdăneşti commune, Iași county, where ADV carries out several activities within the project “We invest in inclusive education!”
Daniel, one of the young people known during the counseling and career guidance activities carried out at the Bogdana Social Services Center, is 18 years old and lives, like many other children and young people, in the center. Daniel caught our attention primarily through the age of his classmates, most of them eighth graders. As members of the project team, we were impressed by his desire to stay in constant touch with us. I appreciated his involvement in the actions carried out and the seriousness with which he treated each proposed topic in the context of the personal development and leisure activities that I organized. The summer vacation, the transition to a new education cycle and the sporadic work in the construction field I thought would lead to a decrease in Daniel’s interest in the project activities, but it was not so.
The organization and development of the four day camps, in the second half of July, for children from the communities of Miroslava, Cornești, Horlești and Uricani in Iași County involved a large volume of work, which would not have had the same success without the contribution of our volunteers .
In the third camp, the one in Horlești, an action that gathered 140 participants, to our pleasant surprise, we met again with Daniel, eager to get involved, to be useful wherever help was needed. Even though he was not officially part of the volunteer team, his involvement in the support activities related to the organization of the camp (sharing snacks, water supply, accompanying groups of children with other volunteers, etc.) was effective and quality. The openness that Daniel showed for the volunteer work was proved once again by the fact that, on the last day of the camp, the festive day, he chose to wake up very early, to arrive first at the gym and work on decorating the space on the occasion of the festive event.
Daniel’s involvement in organizing the camps continued in the case of the fourth camp, dedicated to children at risk of dropping out of school in Uricani. Working side by side with the other volunteers, Daniel was part of the team that managed to offer the children in the community an unforgettable experience. We are sure that the joy and gratitude shown by the children towards the unique activities they took part in was also a reason for satisfaction for Daniel, his work being thus rewarded and appreciated.
This is how Daniel, from the beneficiary of our services, turned into a volunteer with full rights.
The project “Investing in inclusive education” benefits from a funding of 1,147,488 euros from the Norway Grants 2014-2021, being implemented by the Alaturi de Voi Romania Foundation, in partnership with the Star of Hope Romania Foundation, the Romanian Literacy Association and Silver Oak LAG Association. The project aims, through a program of integrated services (educational, psycho-socio-pedagogical, occupational, non-formal education and leisure) to increase the school and social participation of 650 children and young people aged 3 and 18 years old, at risk of dropping out of school or with special educational needs, from 3 rural communities in Iași County – Miroslava, Cornești and Horlești – and from Botoșani Municipality.