Hello! Here’s Margherita! I’m writing from Leszno, Poland, where I started my volunteering project about two months ago. This time has been a real rollercoaster for me, but I honestly couldn’t be happier.

I would be lying if I said that this new “life” didn’t require some getting used to – as you can imagine the climate isn’t the best, we’re going from cloudy day to rainy day to, guess what, cloudy day again – but what I’m getting out of this experience has no price. In only a bunch of weeks I have become part of what I now consider a second family and learned more than I could’ve ever imagined, both in and out of work.

My work consists mostly in developing activities for the community of Leszno, whether it’s cooking workshops or artistic workshops or music or movie nights. With another volunteer we also recently developed a “pride” club in order to create a safe space for youngsters from the LGBTQ+ community and, even though its only been a couple of times, it’s by far the thing I’m most proud of. Besides that, an important part of my project is spreading the concept multiculturalism that characterises us so much. I share my culture and traditions and language through presentations and classes in schools, libraries or directly in our foundation. On top of that I take care of creating a monthly newsletter for the foundation. The aim is to let people know what we do and, mostly, why we do it. Engaging the community, whether it’s children, teenagers or adult, in different kind of educational and fun activities and giving them an accessible space to experiment or develop new passions or interest has always and always will be our primary goal, and I’m very grateful of having the chance to be a part of that.

My road in this project is still long, but I can’t wait to see what everyday holds!