SEV volunteering at the Răsărit Kindergartens in Bucharest

Beginning in February 2013, AMURTEL received its first EVS (European Voluntary Service) volunteers within the Youth in Action program. The program offers young Europeans between the ages of 18 and 30 the chance to be a volunteer and take part in a long-term project (12 months), or a short-term one (4-6 months), in a European country that is not their country of origin. The volunteers receive pocket money, are provided with food and accommodation, and have 90% of their travel costs to the country paid.

AMURTEL decided to take part in this support program, and it is an excellent way to host new volunteers. We are accredited as a coordinating, sending and hosting organization. In February and March, 5 volunteers came to join our projects in Bucharest and Pănătău: Jana from Germany, Alexandra from England and Elisa from Italy came to work in the kindergartens in Bucharest, while Beatrice and Francesco, both from Italy, came to work in Pănătău at the AMURTEL Family and Izvorul Speranței (the Spring of Hope).

Alexandra from England

In Bucharest, three girls teach their mother tongue in our kindergartens, as part of Neohumanist education. The children have one or two hours a week of non-formal language instruction, and every day the volunteers take part in the kindergartens' morning program and talk with the children in their mother tongue. The volunteers were surprised by the children's ability to reproduce everything and to memorize the songs and games they learned. They were impressed by the children's capacity to absorb another language through games, stories and songs.

Jana from Germany

During the multicultural week in the two kindergartens, the volunteers planned the activities and contents, the games and the stories from their countries of origin. One kindergarten celebrated Italy and England, and the other celebrated Germany. In this project, the children had the unique chance to gain a deeper insight into these cultures, through direct contact with people from those countries. The volunteers led games, songs, typical recipes from their country and also authentic stories from their culture, instead of the 'tourist approach' of a multicultural program that focuses only on monuments and tourist attractions.

All the volunteers are very happy in Romania, they have integrated well into the AMURTEL team, and the new energy they bring will surely enrich our projects in a positive way.

Alexandra Tincu, 25 years old, England
‘Being born in Romania and raised in England, I wanted to come here and see what it is like to live in Romania, and above all I wanted to work with children. Neohumanist education interests me very much, and I want to learn as much as I can from this experience.’

Jana Johana Thenert, 19 years old, Germany
‘I was interested in doing something new and exciting. The EVS program gives you an extraordinary opportunity to go to another country to explore another culture and another way of life. This is an experience I will never forget. It enriches your life with self-confidence, recognition of other cultures, and gives you other skills that will help you in the future. Bucharest is a lively city, with many beautiful things to visit; you can go for a coffee in a beautiful café in Lipscani or for a walk in a park. The children in the kindergartens are beautiful, with a sparkle of pure innocence in their eyes’.