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
Michael is our new volunteer (funded by the European Solidarity Corps – ESC). Having participated in e.p.a. youth exchanges, the e.p.a. team was happy, when Michael accepted the opportunity to work with us as a colleague. Michael has been playing and working with us for nearly 3 months now and will stay until the end of 2021. We asked Michael for a little first interview. There are more to come! Stay tuned, because Michael will report in regularly during his voluntary service in Hamburg!
Please tell us, who you are?:
My name is Michael, I am 23 years old and I am from Liverpool in the U.K.. I have been participating on e.p.a. youth exchanges since 2014. I also love to travel, talk about/watch/play football, watch movies and read books.
Why did you decide to be a volunteer?
Last year, I was part of the host group on an exchange in Liverpool, where one of the e.p.a. team (Remo) gave a short talk about the European Solidarity Corps, and their mission and values. After hearing this, I spoke with Remo about how his talk had given me some motivation to join, so he told me to sign up for the ESC. The ESC’s values mirrored my own, and I was beginning to become dissatisfied/bored of my work. So I thought the opportunity to go somewhere new, learn a language, meet new people, and to try to give some young people the same opportunities that I had received was too good to turn down.
How can one become a volunteer?
Just go on to the European Solidarity Corps website, and join the corps! While joining, you will be shown a checklist, giving you the opportunity to show what you are interested in/would be willing to do. After signing up, you can either wait for an offer to come from an organisation that has seen you on the database, or you can browse the ongoing projects on the website and get in contact with those organisations. Then it’s just a matter of waiting for the right offer, or finding the right project for you.
Tell us about your first month as a volunteer:
It has been a pretty eventful month all in all! I’ve been busy learning German, helping around the e.p.a. office, travelling to Scharbeutz and Berlin-Buch in preparation for future projects, gone canoeing with a youth centre, and falling off a bike enroute to a meeting! It has been so much fun though, and I have really been enjoying my time here! There are obviously things that I am still not used to yet, but I am sure that will come with time, and there are always new projects/encounters right around the corner, just next week I will be going to Weimar in central Germany to meet other ESC volunteers and to talk more about our experiences!
