Tamta Saladze is a Georgian volunteer who will join Board School Organization “Docho Mihaylov” in Tervel, Bulgaria and and participate in a long-term European Solidarity Corps project funded by Erasmus +. Read what she says about her upcoming experience:

“It is clear the benefits of volunteering are huge – improved mental and physical health, new friends, and avoiding loneliness, a sense of purpose, and deeper self-confidence. All of these things will help to boost your overall happiness. Volunteering is about giving your time and skills, without pay, for the benefits of others, the local community, and very importantly, yourself!

My name is Tamta Saladze, I am 21 years old. Currently, I am a student, I am studying English translations studies in Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University. I have a lot of plans for self-development. First of all, I am taking one academic year for a volunteering program in Bulgaria. How can it help me? Already in school, I had a dream to go abroad, because the foreign cultures were very extraordinary for me. Explore places and getting different life experience means a lot to me. It won’t be my first experience of living abroad. I had already been with the exchange program, and that was the best experience of my student years. After that, I decided that I wanted to go again. Studying a new culture, a new environment, a new lifestyle is the best experience for my whole life. So, yes it can help me to make my dreams come true. I can help other communities with my experiences, and they will teach me theirs. Furthermore, volunteering allows me to practice important common skills used in the workplace, such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, planning, and organization. I want to be an independent woman and have enough experience to help others.

I have a lot of expectations. I want to learn a new language, meet a lot of new people, study a lot, and teach others too. But I know that this time isn’t little. This will be my first time when I have to live in another county for a long time. And I am trying to be confident, not to think about difficulties, that I can have. I believe that self- development makes a person ‘’full”” – Tamta Saladze.