The European Solidarity Corps is a volunteering program launched by the European Union to connect young people from different EU countries to create a better society by supporting vulnerable people and responding to societal challenges.
This time, FRSP together with the partner Aventura Marão Clube from Portugal organized a team volunteering project in Amarante, during which young people spent two months organizing a performance for children and teenagers and taking part in various activities. We encourage you to read the first part of the memories prepared by the Ukrainian and Bulgarian participants. Enjoy!
The beginning
- Meeting each other
- We got to know each other and learned about each other in the first week. We played different games, also expressed ourselves in different ways.
- Theater presentation
- We learned what types of theater exist: puppet, musical, drama, comedy etc
Theater activities
We devided into groups to work on our main task – Christmas performance. One group started writing the plot. Also our music team wrote a beautiful song. Decoration team started doing sketches to work on scenario and costumes. Then we chose actors on main roles.
Performances
We showed 15 performancesfor:
- Schools
- Kindergardens
- etc
- Open
Travelling, exploring Portugal
During our two month long stay, we had the chance to explore Portugal. It is an amazing country with rich history and unique culture. Portuguese people were cheerful and polite. Even though we were there in winter, there were flowers and lively greenery. The bright colours of the buildings also made an impression on us. Among the cities we visited are Porto, Braga, Coimbra and Lisbon.
Final feelings
We’re grateful for the chance to participate in this project and happy with our results. Seeing the smiles and excitement of the local children during our theatrical performances was priceless. For those two short months we learnt a lot about ourselves and grew, all while getting acquainted to new cultures. We come out of this experience more mature and tolerant.
We recommend to everyone, especially to young people, to try volunteering if they have the chance.
Karina, Vira and Mira.
