- 27 June 2024
- Posted by: Team for Youth Association
- Category: Volunteering Stories
If, like me, you had never volunteered before, it is difficult to imagine what you will actually be doing there. So yes, it’s true, we have the description of our project, we theoretically know what we are heading towards, but there is always this unknown part that is present and can make us doubt!
As for me, I remember being very skeptical about the activities I was doing. I was mainly in schools giving presentations on various subjects, which were indeed interesting, but in which I didn’t see myself particularly investing. There was this “hope” of wanting to believe that I was going to save people in need. I quickly learned that being a volunteer does not mean being a hero. Being a volunteer simply means giving the best of yourself to try to make people happy and satisfied.
“Volunteers are humans who try their best, that’s all.”
And after having this reflection, I thought it would be interesting to give a chance to what seemed, at first glance, “flavorless” in my volunteering. I started giving French lessons/activities in schools and that’s when I realized the impact I could have on young people. Seeing them smile, being happy with my presence, made me understand that no help is better than another. You help where there is a need for a community. And this community does not need to be in extreme poverty for your “volunteering” to make sense. You will learn throughout your volunteering to focus on what is important to you. As for me, I saw myself helping impoverished communities on a daily basis, and I still wish to. However, I think my strength of action is in high schools, allowing young people to disconnect for a moment from their daily activities.
“Remember, don’t consider yourself heroes. If you have to be, you will be in someone else’s eyes. But you will never know it.”
Jordane from Belgium
We’re human, not machine.
