One of the greatest gift you can give people, is give them your time. This is a mindset I personally live by, and it inspired me to do more. When I was in high school, I got to know more about the volunteering opportunities, organizations in Skopje had to offer. I engaged in many activities they did, and I just enjoyed meeting new people, spreading positivity and learning from others. Now, because I study computer science at university, I have less time to participate, but thankfully Volunteers Centre Skopje, gave me the unique opportunity to take a part of a youth exchange called “Storytelling” in the heart of Barcelona, Spain.

Since it was my first exchange I can say that I am impressed and very thankful for the opportunity I got. Among learning a lot of new things, the highlight I have to say was getting to know people from 7 different countries. The exchange was extremely well organized, and by having energizers, different games, tasks for working in teams, I got to know everyone that participated in the exchange. Moreover, I learned a lot of different topics that I haven’t paid attention to before. For example, I got to think about social exclusion and inclusion a lot more, and it opened my eyes. Even though it was happening all around me all the time, I just passively ignored the situation, and did nothing to fix, mostly because I did not know how. But with the discussions with my peers at the exchange, I can proudly say that I learned a lot of new ways to understand social injustice, and more importantly how to try and fix it. The thing I liked most about this youth exchange was the opportunity to debate, to express your feelings while knowing people are listening and that your opinion matters. I got the opportunity to channel my creativity, my reasoning and thinking, all at the same time and most importantly, I felt safe and knew I was doing something for the greater good. I can proudly say that I had the best experience ever. I am beyond thankful, and I hope that everyone gets the chance, at least once to feel the way that I felt during the exchange.

Jovana Marojevikj