Pre-departure training.. what?!

My name is Anna-Kaisa and I’m the coordinator of this project. My responsibility is to look after that our volunteers are aware of all aspects in their volunteering activity. And there are quite a few things behind, that I’m also taking care of. Such as funding, insurances, communication with partners etc.. I’m glad that I’m not alone, instead I have a big group of great colleagues doing the work with me. But let’s get to the topic.. 

“Okay guys, it’s 2 weeks and you’ll be in Ireland, Thurles to be more precise. There are few things, that we need to go through. And I’ll bet you might have couple of questions as well.. “

"What are the feelings right now? Vesa, Juuso, Allu and Susanna wondering what picture would best describe their feeling."

And so started our first pre-departure training in this project. Basically, it means that we go through all possible things, which need to be taken care of in order to build a successful experience. 

“Do you have valid passports?... How about vaccinations?... Do you have enough pills for your hay allergy?... Remember to inform your sports club that you are out of country for a while!... Did you check your employment plan in the electronic customer service?... Do you have a trolley where to back your belongings?... Remember to shut down the data services in your cell phone when you’re there!... Are you going to take a buss to the airport or is somebody driving you there?... The travelling takes long time, take some snacks with you!... How does your girlfriend cope the time without you? … And how about your mum? Yes, she can call to me whenever she needs to. “…

The list is loooong, as you might understand everybody’s situation is different. Somebody has to focus more on leaving family and friends for a month, and the other might be more worried about who’s looking after pets and taking care of post. And even more it is about the feeling that volunteers are ready to start the journey.

Going through insurance matters and the house rules for volunteer's apartment

EVS is about learning, experiencing, jumping out of the comfort zone and reflecting what happened. In the training we focused a lot on communication and surviving in the foreign country, in the middle of different culture and a bunch of unfamiliar faces. And when you’re placing yourself in your imagination into the summer fun activities for the local kids in Thurles, the only way to do it, is to look in a mirror and ask a question: Who am I?... What are my values?... What am I afraid of?... How do I react?... Why do I react the way I do? 

In EVS it's very useful to think about personal goals in order to get most out of the experience.

This is a learning tree.This is also first lesson of Finnish to our partners..  :) My goal: what will I learn / become aware of? What competences / skills I need for that? What competences I already have? What have I learned before, that will help me?

Excitemen is competing with slight insecurity. The more we go through, the wider the smiles get. Yes, it will be a great experience! 

Juuso

Allu

But wait a minute! Who are these two other guys?

Susanna

Vesa

They are my colleagues Vesa and Susanna who are going to travel with volunteers and spend the first 2 days with them. This is first time ever when we do EVS in co-operation with Youth Work Ireland Tipperary. We have visited there once, but for a different reason. And we met Laura already in APV and got loads of information. But still it is good to assist volunteers all the long way to Tipperary and help them to adapt the fact they will be spending the whole month there. And Irish people speak super fast, so it’s good to have two extra pairs of ears and brains. ;)

I can’t wait to read and follow the stories and updates that Juuso and Allu are going to post during their time in Thurles.

Anna-Kaisa, coordinator

Yep, that's me!