Hello everyone. My name is Jovan Terzioski – Joki and I am an ESC volunteer in Riga, Latvia in the Youth Studio BaMbuss. My volunteering experience started six years ago when I did my first EVS short term volunteering project in… well the same studio I am at the moment, Youth Studio BaMbuss. This time I will be here for ten months from which three already flew by so fast.

This journey started on 6th of September when I flew from Skopje to Riga and landed on Latvian soil once again, ready, excited and more than happy to volunteer and meet new people along the way. That day I met two of my six other housemates in our new piece of home for the upcoming year. We bonded quickly and after two days of my arrival, we welcomed another of our housemates and our little ESC family was more than 50% completed. But we were missing one thing, a name for our house/family and we were thinking of what would be the perfect nickname for it.

One day while walking in the center of Riga we stumbled upon a writing on the ground saying “Yolo” which we just happen to say while crossing the street, legally of course, and the sign just popped up in front us like it was meant to be. So we were like “Yolo iela”, it sounds nice as a nickname for our ESC family, because it’s once in a lifetime experience, hence the “yolo” part and “iela” is the Latvian word for “street”. That’s how “Yolo iela” was born.

But enough about my family here, let’s talk more about the volunteering part, shall we?

I chose to come back to BaMbuss because I was familiar with the place, the idea, the goals and aims of the studio itself and the people that work there. What can I say in short about BaMbuss? BaMbuss is a youth studio which is part of the NGO called Baltic Regional Fonds from Riga, Latvia. As a youth studio, BaMbuss is a place where everyone can participate in an event or a workshop from which we all learn in a way that is called “non-formal education” and also gives chances to everyone who is willing to have their event or a workshop in our studio, to do it for free. School visits are also another thing that we as BaMbuss volunteers do, meaning we go around the schools and promote to the youngsters what Erasmus+ or ESC are, and what is Youthpass, as well as what are the benefits of taking part in these programs. I was more than happy to help them achieve everything in our path, because once a Panda, always a Panda (pandas are people that work in BaMbuss, regardless if they are locals or internationals, everyone can become a panda). 

Following in mid-September, we had our on-arrival training where we met a bunch of volunteers that are scattered across Latvia with whom we bonded pretty easily and are one of our best friends here, pretty amazing I would say. After our on-arrival, me and my colleague Mariana from Georgia, we had the chance to do our first event in BaMbuss which was an intercultural evening. We shared fun facts, stories, things about our countries and cooked traditional dishes so the others can experience our cultures even from abroad. And yes, I cooked one of the most iconic Macedonian dishes – tavche gravche. Everybody liked it and the pans were almost clean in an instant.

After this event, September was pretty much getting to know the team and setting goals for October which was the “busy” month for us and also the #Eurodesk and #DiscoverEU month.

In October we had the chance to do our first individual events for the #DiscoverEU campaign where we shared with the youngsters what is Erasmus+, ESC, Eurodesk and much more, but also with a twist, with activities for the youngsters. I held an event called “ErasMūza” (mix of the words Erasmus and muse), where youngsters shared their favourite project memory one to another and had the chance to draw or paint it on canvas and papers to create amazing artworks. Apart from the event creating part of the volunteering, I also manage the social media of BaMbuss together with my colleague – posts, stories, videos and everything in between. 

Later, we had the chance to hold a training for the new local volunteers that joined our studio where we showed them what it means to be a local volunteer and the benefits you can get in the future regardless of your aims, because being a local or international volunteer is a huge plus not only in our CV’s, but in our lives and personalities in general, because of the growth we gain from it. Apart from working, I got the chance to also travel in and outside Latvia during the weekends which as a volunteer is a huge benefit to explore and experience more and to meet new faces and get new connections which will be useful for hopefully a lifetime, and yes, I mean new friends.

The week from 9th to 12th December we had Christmas workshops week. Every day we had different topics and the youngsters had the chance to be in the Christmas spirit and create everything, from Christmas cards, through gingerbread houses, to Christmas tree ornaments or decorating candles. I am writing this just past this busy week where I am also preparing for the Christmas party that will happen in BaMbuss with all the locals and internationals involved in making BaMbuss a better place.

So, this is my volunteering experience so far in these three past months. I tried to capture the best and biggest things that have happened so far but I cannot include everything, for now. That being said, I will have more stories to share in the future as my volunteering project goes on and on. Среќни Божиќни празници и Среќна Нова Година, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone back home, warm hugs from Latvia and till next time, atā!

Jovan Terzioski – Joki

Hosting organization: Foundation “Baltic Regional fund”