By Iwona Olkowicz | Board member, trainer
English version:
After the first online meetings with youth from 5 rural primary schools, over 80 young people got involved in voluntary activities. We worked with each group of volunteers in schools using the method of games. Our activities were aimed at giving young people faith in their own abilities through independent planning and implementation of social campaigns. Young people experienced volunteering in practice, got to know their surroundings better, established cooperation with the local community to help those in need - they engaged 43 local institutions and organizations to cooperate. But most of all, the youth believed in their driving force, learned how to cooperate and sensitivity to the needs of others. By November, they had carried out 10 social campaigns, very diverse and very necessary: they raised money to help animal shelters, organized a blood donation campaign, supported lonely seniors with necessary goods collected in Smile Boxes, they collected blankets, food and necessary utensils for an orphanage or a single mother's home, cleaned a neglected cemetery Protestant. It was the implementation of these actions that gave them a sense of agency, they saw that helping is not a difficult activity, as long as it is carried out in a group. The young people understood that cooperation, not competition, gives better results. Moreover, the young people took courage in speaking publicly about what they were doing - during the preparation of films from the activities of the School Volunteer Clubs, as many as one third of the students appeared in front of the camera! In the film, the young people talked about what the project gave them - it made them sensitive to the needs of others, helped them overcome their fear of public speaking, gave them great satisfaction that they could do something good for others and gave them more courage to act. Films in Polish can be viewed here: https://www.wiatrakimazur.org.pl/wolontariat-w-szkoach (soon in English also). These activities also give us a lot of joy that we release such fantastic energy and commitment in young people! This is just the beginning! What's next? We'll see in a few months!
Polish version:
Po pierwszych spotkaniach online z uczniami 5 szkó wiejskich, do dziaan wolontariackich zaangazowao sie ponad 80 modych osób. Z kazda z grup wolontariuszy w szkoach pracowalismy metoda gier i zabaw. Nasze dziaania miay na celu danie modym wiary we wasne mozliwosci poprzez samodzielne zaplanowanie i zrealizowanie akcji spoecznych. Modziez doswiadczya wolontariatu w praktyce, poznaa blizej swoje otoczenie, nawiazaa wspóprace z lokalnym srodowiskiem, aby pomagac potrzebujacym – zaangazowali do wspópracy 43 lokalne instytucje i organizacje. Ale przede wszystkim modziez uwierzya w swoja moc sprawcza, nauczya sie wspópracy i empatii. Do listopada zrealizowaa 10 akcji spoecznych, bardzo róznorodnych i bardzo potrzebnych: zbierali pieniadze na pomoc schroniskom dla zwierzat, zorganizowali akcje oddawania krwi, wspierali samotnych seniorów zebranymi darami w Pudekach Usmiechu, organizowali zbiórki darów na rzecz domu dziecka czy domu samotnej matki, sprzatali zaniedbany cmentarz ewangelicki. Wasnie realizacja tych akcji daa im poczucie sprawstwa, zobaczyli, ze pomaganie nie jest dziaaniem trudnym, o ile realizuje sie je w grupie. Modzi zrozumieli, ze wspópraca, a nie rywalizacja daje lepsze efekty. Ponadto, modzi nabrali odwagi w mówieniu publicznym o tym, co robia – podczas przygotowania filmów z dziaan Szkolnych Klubów Wolontariatu, az jedna trzecia uczniów wystapia przed kamera! W filmie modziez opowiadaa, co im da projekt – uwrazliwi ich na potrzeby innych, pomóg przeamac strach przed wystapieniami publicznymi, da im wielka satysfakcje, ze moga zrobic cos dobrego dla innych i da im wieksza odwage do dziaania. Filmy w jezyku polskim sa do obejrzenia tu: https://www.wiatrakimazur.org.pl/wolontariat-w-szkoach. Te dziaania daja nam samym takze duzo radosci, ze wyzwalamy w modziezy tak fantastyczna energie i zaangazowanie! To dopiero poczatek! Co bedzie dalej? Zobaczymy za kilka miesiecy!
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