Respect or not respect? RespACT!

It was an EVS on-arrival training for all volunteers staying in Croatia when we were thrown a challenge: make a one-day project that would favorably influence local community, be a new idea and get implemented within 1 day together with a group of people you literally met 2 days ago.

Challenging enough? It is. For me it was about working as a team, for Natia – with a new unknown audience, for Cristina – communicating her ideas in English. And this is how three girls from Spain, Georgia and Ukraine decided to show children of 6^th grade from a primary local school that everyone is different, but it doesn’t necessarily mean bad: we can still make friends, do things together and not get bored by being clones.

Did we expect it to go smoothly? No. Did it go smoothly? No. We couldn’t imagine that our ‘small discussions’ wouldn’t work, that actually our program instead of being too long was shorter than planned, that we would throw ourselves into the pool of English class as soon as we arrive to school.

BUT! Children were happy. They were happy with drawing, jumping, trying to teach us simple Croatian phrases, us translating their sentences into Spanish, Georgian and Ukrainian. And most importantly, they told us: ‘yes, it would be boring if we were all the same, but we still can do things together.’ Mission completed!

P.S. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a try!

         P.S.S. Now Natia has an opportunity to show her NGO that even 1 day is enough to start acting. 

Kisses and hugs, Juliya.