Adriana Spent 6 Months in Italy with the ESC Programme | The Testimonial

Here’s the English text. I fixed only small things: the stray comma in “Throughout, the project”, a repeated phrase, and the paragraph spacing.

I had been looking for a change for some time and wanted to move away from the hospitality industry, which was one of the main reasons I applied for this project. I felt that it matched what I wanted to learn and put into practice, and I started the project with high expectations and a strong desire to learn and discover a different way of working. The opportunity to carry out the project in another country and learn a new language was also an important factor in my decision.

Throughout the project, I had the opportunity to get involved in different areas, as the organisation works on a variety of topics, including education, the local community, humanitarian support, agriculture and tourism.

One of the experiences that contributed most to my learning was working with children of different ages and from different social backgrounds. I was able to experience different educational environments, from visiting schools and seeing how classes were managed to helping organise and run activities during the summer, once the school year had finished.

The project allowed me to contribute to several different areas, from agriculture and education to working with the local community and tourism. I also appreciated the freedom given to volunteers to get involved in different activities and propose their own ideas. At the same time, this level of freedom requires a high degree of initiative and independence, as many activities were not fully structured and, in some cases, it was necessary to propose, organise and manage them almost from scratch.

This was also one of the main challenges I experienced during the project. Especially during the summer, I felt that the number of activities decreased and that there were not always enough opportunities to keep developing my skills and contributing as much as I would have liked. I would have appreciated a more structured programme and a wider range of activities, particularly in the social and tourism fields. At times, I felt that I was not progressing as much as I had hoped, and that some of the ideas I proposed did not have the chance to be fully developed.

Despite this, I consider it a positive experience that allowed me to learn, step outside my comfort zone and discover areas of work I had not explored before. It also helped me better understand what kind of projects and working environments I am looking for in my personal and professional future.

I would recommend this project to other young people, especially those who are proactive, independent and adaptable, and who enjoy improvising and creating their own activities.

However, I believe it would be beneficial to improve the planning and offer a wider variety of activities during the summer months, so that volunteers can make the most of their experience and develop their skills more continuously.