Workcamp 2019

Being a volunteer is one of the best experiences and something that everyone should try at least once in their life. Volunteering at Anjala nuorisokeskus was a big gift for us. The moment we arrived we were received by our camps leaders who were kind and thoughtful with us every moment. They showed us the camp with a lot of enthusiasm and we immediately felt welcomed. 

In the camp we had the chance to meet new people and to connect with Finnish culture thanks to the activities prepared by the camp host, every afternoon once we had finished our tasks we had the chance to play baseball, freesbe gulf, do some archery or tree climbing.

There were people from all over the world and we became friends and really close to each other really fast. Despite the obstacles due to the different languages and cultures all of us had the same goal: to make a contribution for the Anjala nuorisokeskus.

Everyday we had different tasks to preserve the center. We worked in the garden and painted the walls of some buildings, but there was one task we never thought we could do: we had to build a fence around an one hundred years old tree to protect people from the falling branches. At the beginning we didn´t know how to start, because we were not used to do this daily and some of us had never done that before. We had to  carry, cut and measure big pieces of wood, use heavy tools, hammer and paint, and after four days of a lot of work we couldn´t believe our eyes: We built a fence! it could sound something simple, but the feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment was there.

Disclaimer for the fence:

This fence was built on July , 2019 by a group of volunteers from France, Italy, Spain, Serbia and Mexico.

And now after two weeks of a lot of hard work, new skills developed and a lot of laughs we go back home we a little bit of Finland in our hearts.

 

Silvia Garza, Sofia Brunelli and Silvia Martella. July, 20, 2019