Reflection workshop for returning volunteers

As usual, in September we held a processing workshop for returning volunteers to help young people evaluate, reflect and share their experiences of the summer volunteering camps.

Let me share with you my personal experience as a returned volunteer participating in the workshop (- the author, Cicelle)

Reflection and evaluation

This summer I attended the second two-week volunteer camp of my life, in Spain, where I once again had life-changing experiences and met a lot of new people. My camp was a fantastic experience, but also a very intense one, so it was a good thing that, unlike the previous year, I joined the processing workshop for returnees.

The processing workshop, organised by Egyesek, is the last step of a short-term work-camper during volunteering, a time to wrap up the experience after the preparatory workshop, the administration and then the actual participation, and to help reflect on the whole process. 
The processing workshop in September will also take those who volunteered in the beginning of the summer or even in the spring back to their camp, helping them to relive the events but with enough perspective to look back on what happened during the camp.

So, not only does Egyesek help with the administration, from registration to return travel, but the coordination also includes mental preparation, so that volunteers don't feel lost in the new situations and intense programmes. Going out alone to a foreign country, putting yourself out into the unknown, building relationships with strangers, stepping out of your comfort zone... all can seem daunting, and the prospective volunteer needs support, and answers to the many questions that arise. The aim of the preparation and then the homecoming workshop, in addition to providing support and tools for the exciting events to come, is to build community, to help connect volunteers in similar situations so that they can strengthen and support each other.

Program

The twelve participants sat in a circle in the Egyesek office and started the introduction with an association task, where they had to describe the place they had been to and the experience they had had, with a picture that matched the camp. This immediately gave room for a more abstract and in-depth insight, but there were many more opportunities to present the camp and talk about the experience.

Throughout the workshop, there was a strong emphasis on evaluating the experience from a certain points of views, so that we can put it into our daily lives.Did the camp meet our initial expectations, what did we get, what was challenging, how far was it out of our comfort zone, culture shock, independent travelling... Anyone who has been to a volunteer camp knows that these are all crucial questions in processing the experience, even if we only think about it in our own minds or tell our friends about it. 
But the workshop is precisely designed to do this even more smoothly, in an environment made up of young people like us, with similar experiences and challenges.

The small group discussion was a great help in reflection, as it gave the opportunity to share more intimate, personal stories, it was good to hear how much everyone had a defining experience, what they got out of the camp, but it was also interesting to discuss the gaps and difficulties.

There were also some exercises that helped us to reflect on our lives and priorities as we emerged from the camp, so we went from more surface-level introductions to a deep level of self-awareness by the end of the workshop.

Apart from the common coordinating organisation, in this case: Egyesek, there were many other points of contact with the people: some of them were people with whom we got on well because of their similar life situation, some of them because of the location of our volunteering, and some of them were familiar faces from the preparation session. It was good to meet these people again, to ask them what they got out of the camp in relation to their expectations and the preparation session.

As usual, the participants were full of fun and exciting experiences and stories, and overall the event was very enjoyable.

If you are interested in volunteering, find out more on our website, click here!