From Catalonia to Lille: Volunteering, cooking and learning along the way

My ESC Experience

Hi, I‘m Africa, from Catalonia, and I’m doing a nine month volunteering project with SCI France in Lille. After quitting my job and traveling for a year; I felt I needed to do something more meaningful and grounded and that‘s how I ended up here.

I have been volunteering for a bit more than a month and I have taken part in some different and meaningful experiences.

Preparing to Go…

One of the first things I witnessed was a training that took place in Lille for six French volunteers getting ready to go abroad with the Service Civique (SC): four to Tunisia, one to Belgium and one to Italy. Through non-formal education activities led by Elie, they explored what it really means to volunteer, the difference between volunteering and voluntarism, and what their rights are. It was a mix of reflection, laughter and team-building. It also made me realize how important it is to feel supported while stepping into a new context.

La Guingette de la Paix

Another highlight was La Guingette de la Paix, a community lunch that takes place regularly at SCI’s building in Lille. The aim is to bring together people from different backgrounds, in this case older locals and youth people looking to get into the job market.

That day, we made spring rolls, meat with mushroom sauce and a lemon cream dessert on a cookie base. I understood that even If communication was not very fluent as my level of French is still low, cooking together is a powerful tool to feel connected.

ESC Training in Calais

Lastly, I took part in the ESC (European Solidarity Corps) training in Calais, together with other international volunteers doing projects in France. It was five days of getting to know our rights, understanding the role of our mentors, and finding ways to connect with others nearby: through different platforms or using the Tandem language method. The sessions were held both in French and English, whose aim is to help us learn French, which is one of the big opportunities of this journey.

I‘m still at the beginning of this experience but I believe volunteering isn’t always about doing big things but also about the small meaningful moments: a shared meal, a conversation in a mix of different languages or being present and open to everyday life