My year of volunteering felt like many lives had been thrown into one. I dreamed of living in Austria and here we are. My name is Maria Stronska, I am from Ukraine and I come from a beautiful city of Chernihiv which is now 70% damaged by Russian bombs. I was fortunate to start my volunteering before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and to be surrounded by people who were willing to support and listen.
The start of my ESC volunteering was during a lockdown and I didn’t know what to expect, we were all learning how to balance our lives and get back to normal whatever normal is. I had to go through many emotional hardships along the way, starting with times of one lockdown, seeing life happen after, for a while, another lockdown, and then the escalation of the scary war in my home country that started while I was still here. But at the same time, I’ve learned a lot about how to move forward with your life when all the stable constants in your life are being torn apart and you have to find new ones within yourself.
My case was unprecedented, due to the full scale Russian invasion I was lucky to have the chance to stay another 3 months longer. I started my year as a Project Management and Communication Specialist at Verein Europa und Bildung. But thanks to my coordinating organization LOGO got the opportunity to stay longer at LOGO-jugendmanagement as part of the PR department. I am grateful for my trip and all the people who made it unforgettable.
There are not enough words to express my gratitude to Austria and all the people who support me and Ukraine. I have met so many wonderful souls during my stay in Austria who have shed so much light on my path. I’ve discovered so much about myself during my time here and that’s just the beginning. ESC is something you should really try, because it might open doors to paths, that you didn’t know existed before 🙂
All the challenges aside, it was a wonderful year of volunteering, which ended up being a little longer. I had my firsts, like visiting France for the first time ever, trying cross country skiing and starting all over again. Austria has so much to offer, every region is incredibly beautiful (of course I’m forever in love with Styria), the people are so kind and the traditions are fascinating. I feel really lucky to be here and I recommend everyone to be open to their new wonderful experiences with the help of the European Solidarity Corps. 🙂
Updated on Freitag, 11/18/2022
