Suzanne’s Testimonial: 9-month ESC Project in Italy with Guardavanti: per il futuro dei bambini

I really enjoyed my volunteering experience in Lombardy. Living in the heart of a region surrounded by lakes and mountains, with excellent transport links, was a real privilege. There was always a new place to explore, a town to discover or a landscape to admire, which made the experience all the more memorable.

One of the best things about this adventure was meeting people. I was lucky to make a friend for life in Klara, my Swedish colleague and roommate, and also to meet lots of other volunteers during the ESC training sessions. Together, we travelled across Italy, had stimulating conversations, discovered different cultures and made connections that really enriched my experience.

This voluntary work also gave me the chance to go on several trips I’d always dreamed of taking: Turin, Florence, Lake Como and, finally, Venice. I had the immense pleasure of returning to Rome, which remains one of my favourite cities in the world. I also explored the province of Varese, both by land and by lake, and discovered some wonderful places that will remain in my memory forever, like Laveno-Mombello and Porto Ceresio.

On a professional level, I really enjoyed the tasks I was given. I was given a great deal of freedom to put forward ideas, whether for communication projects or educational activities. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the various teams, whom I found to be very supportive, optimistic and driven by a genuine passion for young people and education. I also had the opportunity to take part in charity events, a fundraising campaign and courses at the University of Milan, where I even obtained a certificate.

Children hold a very special place in this review! Over the months, I have built many relationships with them. I have watched them grow, make progress, gain self-confidence and open up to others as well as to me. I treasure their drawings, their words and their laughter in a memory album I created at the end of my volunteering period.

This volunteering experience was marked by both some wonderful moments and periods of doubt, loneliness and anxiety, particularly towards the end of the project. It taught me to live more in the present moment, but also to become aware of the privileges that come with being French and living in a country like France, as I discovered, through the other volunteers and some of the children, political, economic and social realities that are far more challenging. I feel immense gratitude for having experienced this adventure, which has allowed me to mature, to gain confidence and independence, and to realise that it is always possible to explore new paths, to rediscover oneself and to forge a path that suits us.