A Lois está a fazer Voluntariado Internacional em Portugal ao abrigo do programa Corpo Europeu de Solidariedade, no âmbito do projeto Citizenship Lab Volunteering, coordenado pela Rota Jovem e em parceria com a Gap Year Portugal 🌍
Lê o testemunho da sua experiência 👇
"For me, my volunteering experience so far has been a journey of resilience, self-discovery, and finding joy in the simple moments. Few things have worked out as I imagined prior to my arrival, and I have faced many challenges, but I can see a real difference in the way that I handle these obstacles and come to accept and adapt to certain circumstances.
In addition to this, I can also say that some of my expectations have been greatly exceeded. In terms of personal relationships, I feel as though I have formed many strong connections here in Lisbon, especially with other volunteers, and I truly feel as though I am surrounded by people that love and support me unconditionally.
These relationships have also changed the way that I view myself; I feel much more confidence and self-appreciation now.
One interesting thing that I've noticed is that despite my love for travelling, I enjoy my life here in Lisbon so much that there have been times that I found it difficult to leave even just for a short trip, such as trainings and going home for Christmas! One of my foremost conclusions that I've realised recently is that I actually have less of an idea of what I want to do in the future than I had upon arrival on October, but I don't think that this is necessarily a bad thing, because at the same time I've discovered some of the things that I definitely don't want to do!
This experience has certainly confirmed some things; I want to continue to explore the world with an open mind, learning new things and connecting both with different people and with myself."