Gvantsa Kvizhinadze is a Georgian volunteer who joined Osvobojdenie-1884, in Bulgaria and carried out her long-term European Solidarity Corps project funded by Erasmus +. Read what she says about her experience:

“Hello, my name is Gvantsa, I’m an 18-year-old university student, and I’d like to share my thoughts and experiences about the ESC project in Kazanlak, Bulgaria.

As I turned 17, I felt the need to leave my comfort zone, which included leaving my home country. I wanted to experience more, so I started working on it, trying to find new opportunities—that’s how I found BITISI. As soon as I turned 18, I started applying for projects as an ESC volunteer. One day, while attending a lecture, I received my acceptance letter from Bulgaria, and I was over the moon.

After a month of making documents for my travel, I arrived in Bulgaria,first days and weeks, were very different and difficult for me. I faced several cultural barriers.

My job as a volunteer involved organizing fun activities for children with disabilities. We had so much fun together, and the children were appreciative of the time we spent. Besides that, my fellow volunteers and I also had to organize activities at a community center for school children in Sheinovo, (a village near Kazanlak.) I soon started to love what I was doing. The difficulties faded as Bulgarian people were so nice, helpful, and welcoming. This project gave me many valuable skills: working with disabled children developed my patience, empathy, and communication skills, as I learned to interact in creative and supportive ways.

Six months passed very quickly. As I packed my things and said my goodbyes, I was overwhelmed with emotion. The friendships I had built, the children I had worked with, and the community I had become a part of made it feel like home. Bulgaria had changed me, and leaving behind those memories and connections was incredibly hard. I am very thankful for each person who helped me experience what I did during this journey from the very beginning to the end” – Gvantsa Kvizhinadze.