{"id":3601,"date":"2025-07-15T06:17:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T06:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raa.ro\/?p=3601"},"modified":"2025-07-15T06:17:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T06:17:39","slug":"international-volunteering-esc-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raa.ro\/en\/international-volunteering-esc-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"International Volunteering through ESC: the experience of young people who chose to get involved"},"content":{"rendered":"

International volunteering through the ESC gave Rim and Anna Chiara the opportunity to live a unique experience in Romania.<\/span><\/h1>\n

At the end of 2024, Rim and Anna Chiara decided to become international volunteers – and in doing so, they embarked on a six-month journey filled with both challenges and meaningful moments.<\/p>\n

They discovered and came to understand Romanian culture, while also learning more about themselves: testing their limits, learning to adapt, and finding ways to collaborate. But the road wasn\u2019t easy from the very beginning.<\/p>\n

Rim and Nachi (as Anna Chiara is called by those close to her) arrived in Romania in January 2025. They hadn\u2019t met before – all they knew about each other was where they came from, where they would be volunteering over the next six months, and that they\u2019d be living together, sharing a kitchen and a living room.<\/p>\n

\u201eIf I were to think of a movie title for my volunteering experience here in Romania, it would probably be more like a TV series,\u201d<\/em> Rim told us.<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cI thought of Friends \u2013 it\u2019s one of my favourite shows, and I don\u2019t have a particular scene in mind. It\u2019s more about the relationships. Just like in the seasons of Friends, you learn how to grow alongside each character, and that\u2019s exactly how I feel about my colleagues, the teenagers at the Hub, Nachi, everyone. That\u2019s how I would describe my ESC volunteering experience.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rim is 25 years old and comes from Paris, France. She had a strong desire to get to know Romania better \u2013 during an Erasmus semester in Denmark, she met a Romanian colleague who sparked her love for the language and Romanian traditions. At the same time, after finishing her university studies, Rim was looking for a period of self-discovery and personal challenge.<\/p>\n

Anna Chiara, also 25, from Milan, Italy, was particularly drawn to the organisation and the activities she would be involved in.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough I studied environmental engineering, I realised that my true passion lies in working in the field of mental health and supporting young people\u2019s personal development,<\/em>\u201d Anna Chiara said during her first week in Romania.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t