Ketevan Mtvarelidze is a Georgian volunteer who joined CESIE in Palermo, Italy and carries out her long-term European Solidarity Corps project funded by Erasmus +. Read what she says about her upcoming experience:

“I have always wanted to travel to Italy. In my mind, Italy represents romance, love, and passion thanks to my literary mind and thanks to those Italian movies and TV series that I watched as a child.

I am Keti Mtvarelidze and I studied International Relations at Tbilisi State University. As a high school student, I participated in FLEX exchange program and spent one academic year in the US. I dreamed of going to Italy for years, so I decided to make my dreams come true and went to Agape Centro Ecumenico (A youth center close to Torino) as an international volunteer in 2016. There I spent amazing 5 weeks full of unforgettable memories and enjoyed the beautiful landscapes, food, and culture that Italy has to offer.

The European Solidarity Corps voluntary service in Italy has always been my dream ever since I visited Agape but it always seemed unreachable, firstly because of my studies at the university and later because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

However, to whoever who is reading this right now, I would like to say that it truly is never too late and you should never give up on your dreams. Each one of you can find your project and spend few wonderful months or a year abroad!

“Seek and you shall find” – they say. That is exactly what I did and applied for the position of an ESC volunteer in the project MAPPING SOLIDARITY happening in Palermo, Italy. I remember myself smiling and laughing in the street when I received the confirmation letter from my hosting organization – “CESIE”.

Before starting a new role, it is hard to have an exact idea of what I would be doing. Therefore, I would like to get more competences about project management and I would like this experience to get me more experience in the working world especially in the international cooperation field.

In addition, I really expect to get to know Italian culture better and I would really love to learn Italian language. Also, I hope I will get the chance to travel to different parts and regions of Italy in order to discover the beauty of the country.

Nine months are, in my opinion, the right amount of time to make the most out of an experience abroad. It is not too long, it is not too short. Thus, it allows me to set realistic goals. In my case, I am hoping this volunteering will make me learn many new hard and soft skills, but also improve the ones I have. One of my main goals is also to make my own contributions to CESIE’s work and express myself fully” – Ketevan Mtvarelidze.