Hi everyone! I'm Carlotta Vercellone and this summer I had the opportunity to carry out an ESC project for two months in Belgium and I also participated in the Youth 4 Youth project. The experience was so enriching that it is difficult to summarize it, and for this reason I decided to divide the topic into some points.

Position

The activities took place in Ostend, a pretty Belgian town overlooking the North Sea. In summer, there are numerous music festivals and activities such as cycling and safaris to discover the neighboring territories. The peculiarity of these places are the wide, endless beaches and the seals that appear along the coast. Despite the weather, I had the opportunity to try numerous experiences without ever precluding anything new.

Work

I also had the opportunity to work in the Youth Center De Takel with an amazing team coordinated by Isabelle and Celia. Our task was to socialize, play and serve all the teenagers. The most beautiful aspect is that none of them came from Belgium but from all over the world, such as Afghanistan, Chechnya, Nepal, Romania, Somalia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Armenia and many others! In this multicultural context, I could listen to their stories, exchange recipes and dance unknown dances.

Experiences

In the Youth Center we organized many activities such as barbecues, parties, games, kayaking, cooking workshops, cinema, water games and many other experiences. Furthermore, we had a lot of free time and freedom. For example, I was able to visit many exhibitions, European institutions and participate in various cultural initiatives and a lot of festivals. If you love adventures and trains, I recommend buying the ticket of the Belgian railway network which allows you to take any public transport throughout the country: trains, buses, metro, trams, and even a small boat! Thanks to this initiative, I was able to visit 41 cities, discover sensational places and meet a lot of people.

"Thanks to this experience, I had the chance to live unique moments and develop many new skills."

Friendship

The project was divided into two parts, the first took place on weekends in July with other European volunteers. I had the opportunity to meet many people with different cultures and to live in a beautiful house with Nicholas, a long-term volunteer from Rome, and Aghgul from Azerbaijan who remains an inspirational person in my life.

Personal thoughts

For example, with her, we created many mottos like “Life is simple”. In fact, with this experience I had the luck of doing unique experiences and developing many new skills. I am grateful to have done this project, which I recommend to everyone. I particularly thank the Don Bosco team who allowed me to carry out this opportunity and I remain available for any curiosities regarding everything.

Good luck!