“Remembrance Trails”, is a team volunteering project taking place in Kryoneri Korinthias (Greece), consisting of four volunteering team projects, involving 5 European programme countries (Greece, Italy, Austria, Finland, Spain) and 1 of the third countries associated to the programme Turkey. The first team volunteering project took place during the period 2.5.-1.6.2023, the second round during the period 17.09.-16.10.2023. Our main focus in this project is on memory, rural and sustainable development in terms of historic and environmental protection. Memory and environment as our cultural heritage!
"This project is Founded by the European Union."
"Volunteering in High Priority Areas" 2023
Article written by Andrea and Jacopo (Italy)
„We are Andrea and Jacopo and we are from Italy. We have taken part from Sunday 17th September to Monday 16th October 2023 in a European Solidarity Corps volunteering project in Kryoneri, Greece organised by the Greek association Filoxenia.
The project has the aim of taking care of the Kryoneri’s footpaths and making memory of its history. We were young people from different countries and we have had to work all together as a team, without excluding everyone.
In fact the most important goals have been the cooperation and communication. Those have helped us to improve and challenge our empathy and personal skills. We have had the opportunity of meeting new people, that we would have never known and understanding more about the others. Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Austria and Finland are the countries that now I can feel closer to thanks this project and I hope I’ll have the chance to visit one day.
It is really astonishing how fast the time has passed. One moment we were at the airport waiting the flight to Athens and almost in an instant, we have to leave our new international friends. This month has been the best lesson of our lives!“
Article written by Lola and Claudia (Spain)
From the first moment we arrived in Greece we felt very welcomed, it is a country very similar to Spain, both the people, the place and the food.
From first day we started with on-arrival training, with activities to get to know each other and we didn’t start until a week later, leaving us some time to adapt both with the house and with the companions and with the Kryoneri people, in which the people are very kind. We found the activities very fun and original, we also loved the town, with lots of nature, cozy, like the house, beautiful views. The first days of work were intense, as is typical in Spain, after working and eating we took naps of two or even three hours some days. But always satisfied and proud of the work we had done, with music, singing and always happy and with attitude.
When the weekend arrived we went to Kiato beach, the first impression was very good, clean and transparent water, the fog also caught our attention, we couldn’t see the infinity of the sea, we took a spectacular swim, we played with the ball, We sunbathed and did a hairdressing session. The hitchhiking experience was great, it was the first time we did it, since in Spain it is very dangerous.
After another week of work in the garden, we decided to go to Nafplio, a charming and beautiful city, with a beach, a castle and very beautiful views. We regain strength for another week of work, opening the way to the Karamanos cave. On our days off we went to the capital (Athens), walked through the market, visited the acropolis, ate pita and went out at night to have some beers and dance. A very endearing trip.
In summary, this project has given us a very good experience, giving us the opportunity to meet wonderful people from different countries, learn about their customs, some words and phrases in different languages, learn to live together, travel, work and cooperate, improve our English, help and get out of our comfort zone.
We are very happy to have had this opportunity and to have made the most of it, we would repeat it again and again.
Article written by Freja and Fanny (Finland)
“We are Freja and Fanny and we come from Finland. We came to Krioneri at the end of September to take part in a volunteering project of Filoxenia organisation. Coming out of the train in Kiato we didn’t know what to expect, but as soon as we had met everybody, our nerves started to calm down.
During the first week of our volunteering project we got to know everybody and build relationships with each other. The impact the first week had on everybody was amazing! You found your place in the group and a family started to be born. The next coming weeks we worked on the footpaths that we came here for. Because this projects name was called ”Remembrance Trails” it was something that was going to be focused on a lot. It was something that neither of us had done before in our lives and it opened our eyes for future projects.
During our free-time and days off we got to visit Athens, Nafplion and Kiato. We had so much fun and the bond between us only got stronger. We loved to discover stuff by ourselves and to plan the trips independently. We also got to eat traditional Greek food and take part in Greek lessons.
This was the first ever volunteering project for both of us and we are very positive it won’t be our last! Not only have we found friends for life and new connections allover Europe, we have also discovered that you just have to try something new even though you are not 100% sure about it. The best things come from not being well thought out!
We would like to thank Filoxenia for this opportunity and also Villa Elba for introducing us to the volunteering project!”
Article written by Baki Omer Arioz (Turkey)
“What a month!!! From the first moment I came here, I already thought that this month would be good. But I couldn’t have imagined this. First of all, I want to talk about Krioneri. Krioneri is a small village, about 800 people are aware of why they live here and live in harmony with nature and greenery. They do not forget to raise their heads and greet people passing by and smile. I think this is a very important point because this is not possible in big cities. The number of people here is low, but the level of communication is high. In addition, Greek culture, food, music and warm-hearted people seriously influenced me.
In addition to local people, we became like a family in a very short time with my teammates who participated in the project with me. This was the best thing that this project brought to me. While sharing the same house with a group of people from different parts of the world, each of them affected me in different ways, reminding me once again that love is something far beyond languages, races and cultures. We made memories that I will never forget throughout my life and we worked, had fun and learned together in this beautiful Greek village.
I think living in nature has a big part in everything progressing so positively, because living an orderly life in nature makes you happier, more patient, and more enjoyable in everything you do. The breath you take is sweeter, the sleep you get is better quality, the food you eat tastes tastier.
Krioneri will always have a special place in my heart, I hope one day I can come back here to revive these beautiful memories and feel it deeply again.”
Article written by Ceren (Turkey)
“Geia sou! I am Ceren. I want to tell you a little about my experiences. We came to Kryoneri to volunteering project “Remembrance trails’’ hosted by Filoxenia between 17.09.23-16.10.23. This was the second volunteering project i participated in. I love small town projects and so I loved this project. We stayed in Hostel Elisson. It was a very warm house surrounded by nature. We made very good friendships with people from different nationalities. I am sure these friendships will last a long time. We all had the opportunity to get to know Greek culture closely. We all worked together in the nature, garden and the forest. I learned many new things about agriculture, maintaining the footpaths and gardening while we worked. And the work we did was very meaningful. We all discovered new places, history together and I also discovered myself more. We took Greek lessons and thanks to this, I learned the Greek alphabet and many Greek words. Efcharistó :) We also went to Nafplion and Athens with other volunteers. I had many unforgettable and funny experiences.
Therefore I would like to thanks to FILOXENIA and S&G.”
Here you can watch a short youtube video created by the volunteers, visualising their experiences:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMtr4niYcrg
This project was supported by the European Solidarity Corps of the European Union.
