Irine Machabeli is a Georgian volunteer who joined ULAMIR du Goyen, in France and carries out her long-term European Solidarity Corps project funded by Erasmus +. Read what she says about her upcoming experience:

”Hi!

I am Irinka 23 years old from Georgia. I have just graduated university and as I studied French for 4 years I decided to be a part of French society, culture, the way of living by being a volunteer of the European Solidarity Corps. When you are searching, changing you have a great opportunity to think, to reconsider your values, your habits for a long period of time by being a volunteer. By helping others, you help yourself. You grow, you study, you receive a lot of information that gives you a chance to be a better person, to develop your skills, a chance to decide.

I have already been a volunteer for a short period of time with elderly people and I can say without any doubt that volunteering can make you happy, it can change your personality for better and it can change the life of the ones around you. Living in France surrounded by French people, talking in French was a dream for me and it came true. Georgia is a developing country and we as citizens need to grow, we need information for protecting our environment, for being more responsible, for helping our country to be a better place for everyone and I think this experience can offer me all the things mentioned above.

I should also mention the pleasure of learning and talking a new language. You can have a lot of fun, you can meet a lot of people and understand a lot about culture with a help of a language, not to mention the positive influence it has on you professionally.

The fear of living home, your loved ones might be a great deal, but it should not make you say no to the opportunity of your life. The home can be found everywhere with the help of right people. So, I hope this year will help me to become a better person, better citizen. I hope I will find another family here and I advise all of you to seize the opportunity and discover the world” – Irine Machabeli