Participant Report Form - KA1 – Learning Mobility of Individuals – European Voluntary Service

Here is my questionnaire about my EVS experience. Actually I do have to admit that it was a really good and amazing experience for me and I’m so happy for that, but I have been in a horrible organization in Lithuania, really horrible, who made my life more difficult. Everything that I have written is in English, but the questionnaire is just in Spanish, however that’s not a difficult point to translate.

Also I really wanna say that my Coordinating Organization in Lithuania was VSI CREATIVITAS and their web site is http://www.creativitas.lt/en/.

The boss from the organization and the woman who made to us the bad experience, the read responsible is ALINA BECHTEREVĖ, and the second one responsible is VILMA INDRIKONIENĖ. Don’t trust them, really, no one of the volunteers from this organization have something good to say about them.

This organization is working in Birzai (Lithuania) with the EVS project, but I know that in Vilnius they do have more activities.

I hope that this information could be useful for the next volunteers or organization who would like to work with them.

PARTICIPANT REPORT FORM - KA1 – LEARNING MOBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS – EUROPEAN VOLUNTARY SERVICE

EVS quality

The two trainings that I have done were very satisfied. We could learn about the EVS life, how it’s going, what to do after EVS, Youth Pass and to know more volunteers from different cities, also the trainers were very great guys. Actually I think that this kind of trainings could be more usual and to have more than two.

The just one problem that I have seen was the National Agency from Lithuania because when we were speaking with them and asking about our questions and problems, they did not answer to us anything and just said "life happens", so I really think that the Lithuanian NA has to change their behaviour and at least try to help the volunteers from different countries.

Sending Organization “ASOCIACIÓN BUILDING BRIDGES” from Madrid

Before to departure to Lithuania, they informed to me about the EVS, about Erasmus + programme, about Cigna, etc., but it was around one hour via Skype with more volunteers, so all the information that I received was correct but I knew it before that Skype meeting.  I would have really liked to have a training as the “on arrival” or “midterm” and then be able to know and learn more about the EVS.

Also, the information about the Hosting/Coordinating Organization or the country where I would go was null because first of all, the others volunteers whom were in the Skype meeting were going to Hungary and I was going to Lithuania, so we did not receive any information about the country, and second of all, the Sending Organization did not know anything about my Hosting Organization so if I was asking something to them, they told me to speak with the Hosting Organization. Also I do have to mention that I do have everything write from that Skype meeting and I do not have any information about this topic.

With the information about the project, responsibilities and activities is exactly the same than before, we did not speak about this topic, which I think is very relevant for the EVS.

About the assistance when I was there, I spoke with then two months after to arrive there because all the volunteers there had few very important problems with the Coordinating Organization (VSI Creativitas) from Lithuania and they basically told me to speak with my mentor, tutor and the CO again and try to solve the problems, but that was exactly the thing that we were doing all time, so I do not thing that their assistance was helpful.

Coordinating Organization “VSI CREATIVITAS” from Lithuania

I had with the others volunteers from Birzai (Lithuaunia) a meeting with de Coordinating Organization where we were speaking about the EVS and a the Erasmus + programme, but it was exactly the same information than the Sending Organization, so that is mean that I knew the information, and also it was around two hours one day.

About the activities training from the kindergarten, I did not receive anything because is the kindergarten did not teach me how to do the things, firs of all because they did not know how to do it because they did not receive a correct training according how to work with volunteers, their training it was exactly the same than mine with the CO, around two hours, and second of all, in the kindergarten they did not speak English, even my tutor and mentor did not speak good English and it was very difficult the communication with them and they were understanding everything wrong. So in conclusion, we could not have a good communication and they did not know how to work with me because the CO did not teach them correctly.

About the accommodation, this was the most horrible point and the bigger problem that I have had (and also the others volunteers). Our living conditions were the worst one in comparison with the others volunteers living in Lithuania. We were sharing the sleeping rooms, we did not have a real beds, just a couches to sleep for a year, the flat was very dirty and disgusting when we arrived there because no one from the organization take it off to clean it before we arrived (even the bathtub curtain was with mold), the flat windows were very old and the cold was coming inside to the room, so we needed to be with two jerseys inside of the flat because the organization told to us that they cannot do anything and in consequence we were sick many times, we just had one table and one chair per room when we were two persons per room, we have been more than two weeks without light in the kitchen and bathroom during the winter (that is mean than the sunrise is at 9:00 and the sunset at 16:00) because the electricity in the flat was very bad, we have had bed bugs in one sleeping couch and they solve it in a week, when the girl from that sleeping couch was sleeping in another couch with another volunteer, we ordered few simple and necessary staff for the flat and we did not received everything because they said that they did not have money for us, when they did not pay for anything new in the flat because everything was there from the previous volunteers and even of that was second hand (all of our staff from the flat were from the organization personal before and they did not need to buy it for us, and in the beginning we just received few tuppers and containers for the bathroom because we did not have anything of that), when we arrived, I had close to my bed an open plug, I mean, it was working but not fixed, so the plastic tap it did not exist, and they needed around a month to fix it.

Everything that I am writing here is true and I do have some pictures from the flat from the beginning and few more pictures and a video from the middle, where I’m showing everything from my flat and how it was.

Also I do have to mention that we spoke everything of this with the CO and they did not do anything to solve our problems. In the beginning I was sharing the room with a girl who was snoring and after to use ear plugs every days I started to have a wound inside of the ear and they did not care.

On another had, the CO was coming to our flat many times without asking us and when we were working. One day they came to our flat and took some pictures and uploaded in internet because they wanted to sell the flat when we were there, and they have never asked to us about our permission. Also they were showing the flat to the people who was interested to buy it when we were even inside of the flat, and sometimes we could be working in our room, sleeping, naked or whatever.

Because I was sharing the room and I was going early than my roommate to work, I needed a small light during the mornings just not to wake up my roommate, and they did not give to me any light, in case the organization told me to take from another volunteers who had one because she needed.

And the last point that I am going to mention is that in winter, when we were sick and we were telling that to the organization, they told to us that we did not need to inform them about it and to do not have a child behaviour.

Always that we had a problem, we spoke it with the CO and they did not help us, basically they did not care about us. And I do have to mention and the principal responsible from this is Alina   Bechterevė and the second one Vilma Indrikonienė, from VSI Creativitas.

About the Cigna insurance, they explain to us how to use it and that was all.

About the mentoring, I have had occasionally meeting with my mentor because when my mentor was Ramune Čigienė, she was very kind person but she was not able to speak good English and as a mentor she needed to know English and to have a fluent communication with me, her volunteer, so during the meetings, if I had some problems or important things to speak with her, it was impossible and unproductive because she could not never understand me and she was understanding wrong the information that I was giving to her. From the middle of February until the end of March I have been without mentor because because she was sick and the CO did not give to us any solution during this time. After March, Alina Bechterevė started to be my mentor, but she was living in Vilnius, not in Birzai. I had one meeting with her at the end of March with the other volunteer from the kindergarten speaking about the Youth Pass and when we tryed to speak about the kindergarten problems she just told to us "I understand you" and she did not do anything. After that I just had four more meetings in June with her. The first one was to let her know about my early termination project and to tell to her about the Youth Pass, the second one was about the Youth Pass information and no more than 15 minutes meeting, in the third one she did not have time to me and I just gave to her the Youth Pass documents, and the last one was about to download the Youth Pass and have it ready to print, no more than 15 minutes.

About the tutor's meetings because during the first month I was having the tutor's meetings every Monday and we were programing this schedule that I wrote, but we did not prepare any different activity. After that and until the beginning of April we did not program anything together. We started to program again together after to have a meeting with the CO, HO and volunteers where I spoke about my null communication with my tutor. We were programming the activities for April and May, but we never did the programming for June because during the months of June, July and August the children have holidays, so the volunteers do not do anything in the kindergarten and they do not need volunteers during this project.

About the Kindergarten project, I am going to speak about the schedule. The volunteers were working from 8:00 until 16:00 from Monday to Friday. The daily schedule was from 8:00 until 8:15 gum class, from 8:15 until 9:00 coffee break, from 9:00 until 11:30 work with the kids, from 11:30 until 12:30 lunch break, from 12:30 until 15:00 nap for the kids, and from 15:00 until 16:00 work with kids. As you can see, from 11:30 until 15:00 the volunteers have free time and they do not do anything but they have to be in the working place, so in my opinion could be better to work from 8:00 until 11:30 because when the kids are sleeping the nap, the volunteers do not do anything and it does not make happiness to the volunteers.

Also I do have to mention that during the moths of June, July and August the kindergarten  does not work as kindergarten because is holidays period, so it make no sense to have volunteers during this period because they do not do anything.

I have already told to the Lithuanian National Agency about this problems with the kindergarten schedule and holidays as well.

European youth card

I could not use it in Lithuania because it was almost nothing to use. All the volunteers from Lithuania do agree that it was necessary to add the European Youth Card to the buses and then to have a discount.

Knowledge about the language

During the EVS in Lithuania we received Lithuanian language lessons, but the teacher that we had was teaching to us totally irrelevant things so we could not learn much with her. We communicated this information to the CO and they changed to teacher for the next wave of volunteers after mine. We learnt more Lithuanian in our working place.

The normal language that we were speaking every time and all time was English, so I really feel that I have improved my English language skills.

Personal development

Actually, even with the bigger problems that I have had during my EVS experience, I do have to admit that I have grown up personally very much in many aspects. So I really think that the EVS is a good project and it has to keep it alive, but also I do think that the European Commission should control better each organization and project, and to offer to all the volunteers the same conditions and the same opportunities.

Future

Before to do the EVS I wanted to try to be kindergarten teacher, so after this year, even if I was not a real teacher because I did not have a common language with the kindergarten teachers, I really would like to study it in the University. Also I do have more project on mind for my future and ideas, things that I did not have before to the EVS or I was shy to do it.

Youth Pass

I did it as better as possible, but I really know that in Spain they do not use it and they do not valour it well, so my expectations about it are nulls. Even of that I will add it to my CV.

Aditional information to the National Agency or European Commission

I do have to admit that I am very happy and satisfied with myself after to do the EVS, but about the CO from Lithuania that I have had during this year I am not satisfied at all. I really think that the Lithuanian National Agency and the European Commission have to check and control the organization name’s VSI Creativitas before to get new volunteers, because as I mentioned before, it is necessary to change the volunteers living conditions, the mentoring and tutoring with the volunteers, to teach to the different Hosting Organizations (working places) how to work with volunteers and to check if they really need volunteers, to check if in the working places the personal speak English (really needed) and to train again to Creativitas how to work with volunteers and let them know that they have to help to their volunteers because the volunteers are persons that they just want to have normal conditions in their life and be able to live without problems.