Green Fingers

Introduce yourself! Why did you decide to go abroad and volunteer? 

Hi! I am András, a freshly graduated Geoinformatics researcher. In the past, I had many volunteering experiences. Recently, I spent 2 months volunteering with an ESC project in Zagreb. I found this project via my friend. She helped me to contact the NGO O.A.Z.A. They have been introduced me to the project, and I directly felt that I wanted to go. 

What did you do during your stay in Croatia? What were your tasks? 

Together with the other Volunteers, we had several tasks. Mostly we made workshops with the volunteering team. Those workshops mainly focus on environmental topics, healthy lifestyle, sustainability. Next, too, we also created some culture and language-based activities. Those workshops have been presented at primary and high school’s events for the students. We also created whole day events with specific topics like International Bee day, Garden Festivals etc. 

The other main task has been to build and maintaining school gardens. These tasks have been included planting, weeding, preparing the soil, cutting the branches and many other gardens related tasks. 

What did you do in your free time? 

In our free time, we went exploring areas around the city and enjoyed spending time together in the hostel. On our free days, we got to travel to different parts of Croatia. We visited many beautiful places in Croatia, and in the end, we head a spectacular trip from Dubrovnik to Zagreb. Some of us also joined the local climbing gym, which has been a lot of fun. 

Has the coronavirus pandemic affected your project? 

Luckily, we still got to do most of our tasks. We got to run our workshops with the children outside. Sometimes faced complications because of the weather and spaces in the school but in the and all turn out great. Our office work has been really minimally affected by the pandemic restrictions. What has volunteering given you? Volunteering has helped me improve my team working, problem-solving and self-reflecting skills. Working with children's and improve my pedagogical skills It has also given me the opportunity to meet many people from different countries and experience a new culture. 

What are your plans after the project? 

I plan to go back to University and maybe one day come to be a teacher. 

Would you recommend the experience of international volunteering to someone? 

Yes, definitely, it’s a beautiful life-changing experience.