EVS Camp in Amarante!

For what turned out to be a very memorable weekend, Casa de Juventude da Amarante hosted over 50 EVS volunteers, myself, Carlotta and Alifya included, from across Portugal at their organisation in order to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of European Voluntary Service. Concurrently the municipality of Amarante had organised Há Fest in the city, a festival targeted at the young people in the city, meaning there was plenty of events going on throughout our visit.

The first day we went to a small village called Vila Meã, where we were taken to see a few historical sites, before heading to the river running through the village. There, we experienced our first event of Há Fest, with a surprisingly large set-up for such a small place. A large sound system had been set up and it was definitely power hungry as the electricity cut out on more than one occasion! It was a great environment for us all to start getting to know each other and everyone enjoyed taking a swim in the river. In a rather odd moment that I still don’t understand a few people started releasing some fish into the river and it left a few of us perplexed as to why. The circus equipment had also been brought along so everyone tried their hand at different things; I tried my hand at juggling with clubs but it is a difficult thing to master so I will have to stick with using balls for now.

Vila Meã

The next day really commanded a lot of energy as we were due to make the 10km journey from Vila Meã back to Amarante on foot. Not a large distance to cover at all but certainly tiring, especially considering it was the hottest day here in Portugal so far. I was extremely grateful for a cold shower upon arriving in Amarante but the walk was pleasant. In the afternoon there was a circus workshop for those who wished to attend but a lot of us took the opportunity to rest after the walk.

En route to Amarante

A sweaty group photo upon arrival in Amarante!

As well as having all of the EVS volunteers at Casa de Juventude, they also had about 30 young people participating in a youth exchange at the same time. That evening those on the exchange all produced a buffet of food from their home countries meaning I got to experience some traditional cuisine from Georgia, Armenia, Macedonia, Slovenia and of course Portugal as well. It was all very delicious and certainly added to the experience; I definitely did not ever expect to be eating Macedonian food whilst living in Portugal!

A very international meal

After dinner we had another Há Fest event, this time on the bridge in the middle of the city, where a couple of sound systems had been set-up; I keep thinking there can’t be that many different ways I will find myself listening to bands and DJs but I continue to be surprised. It was certainly a great way to end the day, enjoying a few beers and the atmosphere, before trekking back to our campsite for the weekend.

The Saturday brought another day of varying activities, surprisingly starting with a trip to the golf course. There we got to have a go on the driving range and try our hand at a bit of putting. I’ve never been particularly good whenever I’ve tried golf in the past but I surprised myself actually hitting quite a few decent balls on the driving range. However I do know now I have a habit of hooking the ball right so better get myself a coach and sort that out. Whilst I certainly wasn’t expecting to play golf, as EVS volunteers we do get to experience such a wide variety of different things. At its core this stems from living and volunteering in a different country and this is one of the reasons why EVS is such a valuable and worthwhile journey.

Everyone in golfing action

The afternoon started out with a talk from Miguel, one of the first ever EVS volunteers, about the work and values of Casa da Juventude. It was interesting to hear about all the interesting things they have done there, including all the different European projects as well as the opening of the first Fairtrade shop in Portugal. Following on from this, we relocated to the forest for a seminar of sorts with a member of the municipality and a representative from the national agency. It was good to hear just how highly they regard young people and how important they feel projects like EVS are.  In the evening there was a performance by Dengaz, a well-known artist here in Portugal, but for a lot of us it wasn’t our favourite music so we found ourselves a pool bar and chilled there for the rest of the night.

EVS volunteers in abundance!

Sunday, the final day of the camp, was no let up on the previous few days, with another early start. We spent the day at Fisgas de Ermelo in the Parque Natural do Alvão, a beautiful place with the views extending for miles. In the morning we hiked up to the most scenic lagoons I have ever seen and of course this meant more swimming. The water was absolutely gorgeous and we were able to jump from the waterfall into the lagoon below. Afterwards we hiked back to the coaches and were driven to the site for lunch, another BBQ Portuguese style.

Fisgas de Ermalo

Following this was the perfect opportunity for a siesta before the Volta a Portugal passed by, the equivalent here to the Tour de France. The two breakaway riders came hurtling round the bend but unfortunately only one continued his race. The rider failed to slow down enough and went flying into a rock wall, damaging his arm badly enough to be forced to retire. In the evening it was time to do some racing of our own, participating in a 5km night race to round off the camp. Whilst a few of us ran, and I actually surprised myself in how well I completed the 5km, the majority walked and it was a good experience to see so much of the city out to participate.

Volta a Portugal

EVS being repped at Amarante Night Run!

It really was a great experience meeting so many people undergoing their own EVS journeys and getting to be a small part of them; I hope I made a positive contribution. Hearing all their stories and about the work they do makes you realise we are all doing something amazing and how fortunate we are to be doing so. EVS has given me so many opportunities to do such amazing things and meet such incredible people and this was one of those occasions, of which there have already been many and I hope there are many more to come.

Amarante

JCV in Prado

Last week I got the opportunity to take a break from the normal routine and go and help out with the summer activities for the young people at Juventude Cruz Vermelha in Prado, a small town about 5km outside of Braga. Here they work with several Roma communities in a similar way to Geração Tecla, providing various types of support to the families.

One of the great aspects about Prado is that they have a beautiful river running next to the town and during the summer, with the centre only a five minute walk away, it is a great place to take the kids for them to have a swim, play games and just enjoy the good weather. We went to three different beaches during my week with them and each one was just as beautiful as the first. I don’t think I have ever experienced a river like it before with the water so fresh and clear; I could literally see tiny little fish swimming around my feet.

We were also able to go kayaking and the young people really enjoyed being able to do something different and go out to explore the river. There were sand banks where we could stop and have a quick dip in the middle of the river, and they also really enjoyed hearing the echo of their voices as we passed under a bridge near the beach from which we set off. I did end up getting rather wet in my kayak though as some of the kids’ techniques at using the paddles did result in a lot of splashback.

There was one rather amusing moment on Wednesday afternoon. We had been to visit the swimming pools in Braga in the morning before returning to Prado to have a picnic and spend the afternoon at the river. Out of nowhere a bag of make-up was produced and out came the nail varnish. I was more than happy to put my feet forward to be painted and I must say a rather impressive job was done on my nails.

A lot of table football was also played before and after activities, with the games highly competitive. The young people were keen to see how I shaped up and a few of them were a lot better than me to say the least. However this was a really good opportunity to build up my relationship with the young people and to communicate with them as best I could with my limited Portuguese.

If we had not also spent at least one afternoon playing actual football then I would have thought that something was wrong. The football club in Prado is located behind the centre and we were able to use one of their smaller five-a-side pitches to have a small game. This was a lot of fun and it also descended into something of a water fight due to the high temperatures that we have recently been experiencing as everyone tried to cool down.

We also spent one afternoon doing some art and craft. By taking a load of wine corks and a hot glue gun, you are able to make a really simple mat for your hot pans. You glue the corks together in pairs and can then arrange them in a way to make a neat pattern. After this you can decorate it in any way you see fit; by using varnish you can keep the simple appearance of the corks but you can also paint them and even add a bit of glitter. The results were excellent, with the young people working together and helping each other to create the mats.

I had such a great week getting to know the kids in a very relaxed environment and they equally seemed to enjoy having me around to take part in the activities with them so the week felt like a very worthwhile and rewarding experience. I really enjoyed communicating with them and getting involved with their activities; it was a massive help for my Portuguese and a few of them even relished the opportunity to try speaking a bit of English with me, something I was more than happy to do. 

Geração Tecla

Last week I spent a lot of time helping out at Geração Tecla so I thought now was a good time to explain what they do there and how I and the other EVS have been getting involved. Geração Tecla is a project that works for the social inclusion of young people and young adults from vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds. They look to provide equal opportunities and foster social cohesion. The project works with the young people from the Social District of Santa Tecla which includes a large Roma community with whom a lot of their work is primarily with.

The overall aims of the project are:

• To promote school inclusion of the children and youth of the Roma community
• Promoting community and citizenship of children and youth of the Social District of Santa Tecla
• To promote vocational training and employability of young people and young adults of the neighbourhood

During the summer a number of activities are run for the young people to enjoy and I was also able to help out with a number of them over the last couple of weeks, including one I organised myself!

I’m going to call the activity organised crazy games which explains itself in a way; I prepared a number of games for the children to just get stuck into and have some fun. These included an egg and spoon race, three-legged run and a leap-frog race. The best game was probably a water race where the teams had to fill up large jugs from a large bucket but the only way they could transport the water was with cups that I had cut a number of holes into. It is safe to say everyone got very wet.

We also spent a morning at Bom Jesus, a beautiful site, high up the valley side. There we all split up into teams for orienteering which gave everyone the chance to explore the area on a glorious morning. I went with one team and it is safe to say I probably did most of the map reading for the young people.

The day after the visit to Bom Jesus, I again went on an excursion with some of the children from Geração Tecla. This was very exciting as it was an opportunity for them to try American Football, a sport very few of them had experienced before. At a number of stations they were able to try kicking, passing, making runs and catching the ball and also flag football. Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves.

It is really good to help with these activities as it provides opportunities to those who would not probably get them and being able to help in delivering that, even if it is in a small way, is very rewarding. I also like to think that I have already developed some good relationships with the young people at the project and with another nine months of my EVS to go, I hope I can continue to develop these. The work those at Geração Tecla do is vital in equipping the young people and young adults with the skills that can help them as independent people later in their lives, whether it is a hard skill such as helping with academic work or soft skills such as communicating effectively or team work.

Another really exciting thing that happened last week was the painting of the stairs leading up to the building. Carlotta, with the help of Alifya, worked really hard to add some extra colour to the building and the results are excellent. I could try and describe it but I think the best thing to do is add a picture.

I also continue to go and play football with the young people, though the amount of times I have now been nutmegged by a number of the kids is starting to get embarrassing; they just have a technical ability that I am not able to contend with. Though I suppose not having much in the way of technical ability is pretty typical for an English football player; please refer to Euro 2016 for evidence. However what really continues to amaze me when I go to play football is the respect shown by everyone to one another. The young people are all extremely competitive but they are very good at refereeing the game among themselves and very rarely is there any disagreements, something which you would not find in England from my experience.

It was also a very important week for Geração Tecla as they held their party to mark the end of the academic year. A large chunk of the community was in attendance as well as a number of special guests, including the President of the Red Cross in Braga. Following some speeches a number of awards were given out to the young people who had shown excellent commitment to school over the course of the year. An important part of the work of Geração Tecla, celebrating those who have demonstrated this commitment is a way of continuing to highlight the importance of this to everyone. After the awards had been given out, we were able to enjoy some traditional Roma dancing by some of the older young people before some food and cake was laid out. A mad rush by the children ensued for all the good food before the adults were left to eat the healthy bits remaining.