During my voluntary service in Kryoneri I worked in the FILOXENIA office. My work there varied greatly and consisted of many different projects and tasks.
Part of my daily jobs for instance, laid in the preparation of materials for various events and workshops. This also included little organizational tasks, like cutting out and preparing materials or assisting in the planning of programs.
With the dawn of spring, our duties diversified greatly. We were involved in different projects and seminars, where we worked together with people from different countries. Topics under which these were organized included sustainability and environment, language, sports, feminism and history. Here we weren’t limited to being just little helpers but at times were full on teamers and were able to make a contribution with our own ideas.
Also a very important part of my work was the confrontation with the history of Kryoneri and Greece during the Second World War. Together with other teamers I planned a summer camp for young people here. For that we prepared workshops about the local history. We also renewed a hiking trail leading to a cave, in which a Jewish family found shelter and hid from the Nazis during the Holocaust. During the summer camp, as a teamer, part of my duties was to look after the participants.
I was especially thrilled about how much responsibility was placed on me. I didn’t get the impression at all, to just fulfill little tasks or be someone’s helper, but instead I had opportunities to integrate myself into projects and fulfill my own ideas. An example of that would be our personal project in the office: Together with my fellow volunteer companion, I designed and painted a map of Kryoneri, depicting all the important places of the village.
Through my work I got to know so many different people, working in international teams, while at the same time learning so much about the history and life here. All of that made my day-to-day work life so diverse and showed me how manifold such a voluntary service truly can be.
