Attending the seventh training as a greenhorn

The three main concepts of the seventh training organized at the beginning of October were perseverance, commitment and initiative. The aim of this event was to help us recharge both physically and mentally.

We cannot express in words what happened during these two days. When I set out for this weekend, I was very excited and couldn’t wait to finally meet new people and places. I arrived there as a freshman, to say, because this was the first team building I’ve ever attended. However, I can say with certainty that it was not the last.

Once we arrived, the welcoming was really warm, we were greeted with love and encouragement. Despite having to avoid hugs because of the pandemic, everyone was happy to meet others and this happiness filled the air.

On the first day, we played games and had conversations that helped us get closer to each other. In the evening, there was a presentation held by a volunteer, who told us about their adventures volunteering in India. Needless to say, everyone was amazed and it gave us the push to dare to volunteer abroad and never give up on our dreams.

At the end of the day, the atmosphere was much friendlier than at the beginning, because we all felt so much closer to each other, we were all new and old friends rather than strangers.

On the second day, after breakfast, we split into two groups and walked up in the “Saddle” of Șumuleu Ciuc, playing games and singing cheerfully all the way up. The atmosphere was so good, I almost didn’t notice we already got there. While we were there, we also played games, which brought us even closer to each other.

The whole group of people was completely changed by the end of the weekend. We have connected and stood by each other, we had new ideas and became committed to changing something in our life from then on. Saying goodbye was both joyful and sad. I cried because it was so amazing to get to know all these people and everyone’s been so kind that I will never forget this experience. I also cried because the meeting was over, the only thing making me truly sad being the distance. We can’t often meet those friends who are not from our region.

All in all, this was the event that helped me become a stronger, more confident and braver person. This is yet another reason to why it is worth being a volunteer!

Kriszta Lázár, volunteer 

Although, there have been major changes in the world since March, the volunteer program at Caritas Alba Iulia has been trying to maintain contact with its volunteers adapting to the current epidemiological situation.  We are grateful for the flexibility and positivity of our volunteers in these uncommon situations and we thank the Jakab Antal House for the warm welcome and flexibility.

The seventh team building could not have been organized without the support of the Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő Zrt and the Communitas Foundation. Thank you!

(Translated by Razman Noémi-Katalin)