MY SECOND HOME

Rebeka arrived in February 2024 from Hungary to join our European Solidarity Corps project in Ciampino, Italy, volunteering for our partners of Associazione Il Chicco who run a community with people with disabilities. She stayed 8 months, supporting the staff with artistic workshops (such as ceramics, music, theatre…), sport activities, recreational activities games, walks, visits…), and she enjoyed the company of people with disabilities, watching a film, having a chat, sharing daily life activities.

The project was funded by the European Commission through the European Solidarity Corps programme and the Italian Agency for Youth.

This is her story!

Hi! My name is Rebeka, and I went to “Il Chicco” with the idea that I wanted to work with disabled people, however I wanted to try out myself before I started university in this faculty. I was interested in a community which is open and has creative activities. I was happy to get to know other amazing volunteers because they had the same interests and the motivation that I have. I had the feeling that this atmosphere is the frame of mind that I can enjoy and I can see them as family and laugh with the ragazzi. We called them ragazzi which means “guys”. I lived in the same house where the ragazzi are living.

I feel I have deeper connection with the people who are living in Il Chicco because of the experiences that we went through together. We had inside jokes with them and we had vacation together at the sea. I tried to understand them more and more in other ways than verbal communication because they have disabilities that affect their verbal skills. It was hard sometimes to realize how to help them because I had to find out their thinking behind the actions. I understood their routines and their habits after sometime. I needed this perspective so I could let them be curious and not worrying because of the fear of uncertain acts, that were new for me.

It was nice to see what makes them really happy and the different ways how they express it. My favourite memory with them is when we tried an exercise that helped them with the mobility. It was hard at first but we were cheering and supporting them with the group and in the end it turned out to be a very happy moment, they were proud of themself.  It was an honest moment when they were just jumping around and even some of them wanted to make a video about it. They amazed me and made me think more about the little things. Some of them could focus for a long time to the same (for me) little thing.

I had difficulties with the language because the assistants were mostly speaking Italian and I didn’t know it before. Sometimes I felt myself left out, or that I was missing out. I started to feel more comfortable after I learnt and I practiced more so I could understand more. It was necessary to speak Italian for the people who are living their and who I had to live my everyday life with.

I still keep in touch with the volunteers who I said goodbye to. We have in common the community and our friendship. We are already planning to meet and visit the ragazzi. If I look back I have this image in my head about Il Chicco as a snowball. The life that I lived there with the ragazzi and with my friends felt like my second home. Sometimes it was noise and everywhere somebody in the house, that I had to get used to. I can always visit and I hope it stays the same as how I saw it.