A Year of Growth in Menfi: Pau’s Story as an ESC Volunteer in Sicily

Pau comes from Spain and chose to take part in a long-term volunteering experience with the European Solidarity Corps, finding the project through the European Youth Portal. From October 2025 to April 2026, he spent 6 months in Menfi, a town near Agrigento, Sicily, at Istituto Walden, a community that provides care for children and teenagers who, for various reasons, cannot live with their own families.

It wasn’t his first ESC experience: Pau had already taken part in a short-term project before. But a six-month journey, immersed daily in the life of a care community, turned out to be something entirely different — challenging in new ways, and deeply enriching at the same time.

Here is his testimony, in his own words.

Pau’s Testimony

I found this project in the European Youth Portal and I decided to apply for it. I knew about the European Solidarity Corps because I had taken part in a short term ESC previously, but despite my experience I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I have spent 6 months in Menfi, a town in Agrigento, Sicily. There I have been involved in a community with two groups: children from 1 to 13 years old (the ones I worked with) and boys from 13 to 18. They live in a house where they are assisted by educators and volunteers because they can’t live with their families due to different reasons that in some cases involve drugs, abuse, or domestic violence. My tasks as a volunteer were to be with the kids, take care of them and help the educators. Sometimes I accompanied them to the beach, to the cinema or to concerts. Occasionally we did activities such as cooking and crafting workshops. I played with them, helped them with their homework, we drew and painted together, I bathed the toddlers, changed their clothes, fed them, put them to sleep…

Thanks to this project I had the opportunity to travel around Sicily and other parts of Italy and explore some of the beautiful cities and nature of the country. I have also met a lot of people from different countries and cultures. In this ESC I have learned to communicate with children of different ages as well as adults. It has made me more confident, empathetic and open-minded. I have improved my Italian and English and I have learned a little bit of Sicilian.

It is an experience that I would recommend. Sometimes it can be stressful, chaotic and overwhelming, but it is also fulfilling and rewarding to have a positive impact in the community.

European Solidarity Corps

Pau’s story captures well what the European Solidarity Corps is really about: not simply an experience abroad, but a concrete, everyday, often demanding commitment to those who need it most. Caring for children who have been through difficult circumstances takes patience, empathy, and the ability to keep adapting, qualities that are built day by day, on the ground, not in a classroom.

The ESC gives young Europeans the chance to put themselves at the service of a community, while gaining language, intercultural and personal skills that stay with them for life. For Pau, that meant improving his Italian and picking up some Sicilian, discovering new parts of Italy, forming bonds with people from different cultures, and, above all, understanding just how much value even simple presence can bring to a child’s life.

Projects like the one at Istituto Walden show that European volunteering isn’t only a chance for personal growth, it’s also a real contribution to the wellbeing of the communities that host volunteers. An experience that leaves a mark, both on those who go and on those who are welcomed.