Personal Project
The main aim of this activity is to give the opportunity to every volunteer to express his/her own creativity by implementing, a workshop or a project. EVS volunteers, for instance, have to start their own project to show the world who they are! Hopefully it will increase the sense of purpose of each volunteer and allow them to get involved into a personal activity. It will give volunteers the chance to share their personality with others.
During the EVS mobility, the EVS volunteers had the opportunity to implement one personal project, such as a training course, a workshop, or an activity with young people or children. The personal project was implemented according to the needs and skills of each EVS volunteer. For the implementation of the personal project, the receiving organisations provided the volunteers with information and support.
Personal project of Nguyen Huyen
Hands-on introduction to chanoyu (Japanese tea ceremony)
Objectives:
- To get to know Japanese culture
- To learn the Art of Tea Ceremony and its lesson in real life
- To learn how to live in peace and balance
Participant 15+
Place: a place which is quite and spacious
Time: June, 2017
How:
The workshop consists of 3 parts:
Learn about Japanese culture and tea traditions
Discuss then find similarities and difference between
- Tea culture in China, Japan & Hong Kong
- Eastern & Western culture
Learn how to do a basic Tea tray tenmai
- Steps to make a basic Tea tray tenmai
- The meaning of this tradition and its value in real life
Make a bowl of tea and drink some matcha
- Learn some compulsory steps to enjoy the best tea, and learn how to live in harmony with nature and be at peace
- Share feeling and lesson that you’ve learnt.
Tools:
- Matcha/ Asian Tea
- Tea tray
- Video & Pictures

Personal project of Sujan – cooking workshop
Cooking,means preparing food. . In the world there are a lot of countries who run cooking activities. Nowadays, different countries use different ways and techniques to cook their own food. And the taste of food is different from one country to another. Actually, cooking is a form of art.
Cooking is done both by people in their own dwellings and by professional cooks and chefs in restaurants. There are many methods of cooking, most of which have been known since antiquity. These include baking, roasting, frying, grilling, barbecuing, smoking, boiling, steaming and braising. A more recent innovation is microwaving. There are moist heat and dry heat cooking methods, which might affect the final result and the taste of the dish you choose to cook . Home cooking has traditionally been a process carried out informally at home or around a communal fire, and can be enjoyed by all members of the family, although in many cultures women bear primary responsibility. Home-cooked meals tend to be healthier with fewer calories, and less saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium on a per calorie basis while providing more fiber, calcium, and iron.
The Project
Sujan decided to organise a cooking workshop with Nepalese food, in particular spicy food but easy to cook as participants should have been able to replicate the recipes with family or friend: chicken curry, pork curry and daily soup. After the workshop the participants used their creativity and tried various sauces, herbs, and other seasonings.
Group: 10-15 people in their 12–20.
The main objective of this project was to understand basic cooking terms and techniques, know how to prepare meals, and in what order. The participants can acquire skills on getting the timing just right, and prevent things from cooling too quickly.


Personal project of Minh Ngoc
Ngoc worked at Ubuntu: multicultural kindergarden in which volunteers spend their time taking care of the children involving them in different leisure activities. Most of the children come from disadvantaged areas in Palermo and from migrant families. Her personal project consisted of a manual that can be very useful for other volunteers that wish to work with children.

Personal Project of Costantino – Painting
Objective:
- to paint and to teach Vietnamese student how to paint
- To experience the differences between Eastern painting and Western painting
Place: In Dao Su Tich school where I did my volunteer work, and in Faxifan- a local social business coffee shop
Time: from January to June, 2017
Tools: Brush and paint
How:
At the Dao Su Tich school
- Painting lessons for students and inspire them to paint
- Teaching the student how to paint
At the Fanxifan – local social business coffee shop
- Helping them to decorate their shop with painting


Personal project of Arpad – Kibandaongo
Unit for albinism
There are a couple of hundreds of people living in the village. The school has about 60-70 students; 15 of them are albinos. The Albinos come from faraway places, sometimes even 50 km far. Most of them are orphans; they live in the village in a house built by a couple of Dutch volunteers. Half of them are boys, and the other half girls, their ages vary from 6 up to 16. They live together in two separated rooms. This village is located on a hill, with no electricity, water or proper roads. They are sssisted by a lady in her 30s, who lives with them and with her daughters. She earns no money but receives food for her job. The community is responsible of their wellbeing; they all receive almost no income, but share everything, including food, water and shelter. Most of them are Muslim, buthaving different religious believes does not seem to be a problem.
Presentation questions
- Europe: what do you know about Europe? European people: what do you know about muzungus and stereotypes?, and European Union? Give an example on how you view these things from your experiences meeting some of these people in Africa.
- Sustainability: The future of humankind, and how they can implement sustainable practices in their community. Globalization and The future of humankind. How to deal with the fact that now we are more united than ever because of the means of transportation (airplanes that cross the Sahara desert in a couple of hours), International Communication. Global Understanding between all countries.
Examples of sustainable practice
To plant trees, we must think about the next generations. Being responsible and use our Time wisely for the sake of our Local Community!

Personal project of Felix – Cooking
Felix worked for the social cooperative “La Fraternità” managing a foster home for disabled people. Disabled children’s relatives founded the cooperative, in order to provide them with a safe and encouraging environment. .Felix and other volunteers supported local workers taking care of this group of young people, organizing several activities, such as theatre, music and dance classes. For their personal project, Felix and, Gergely, (a volunteer from Hungart)decided to carry out a cooking workshop, because they considered food as a means of communicating with disabled people. Felix and Gergely cooked Kenyan and Hungarian typical dishes with them, explaining the recipes and the cooking process. Then, they enjoyed the meal together!
