This European Voluntary Service project, run under the Erasmus+ programme, supported sending two Slovak volunteers to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The volunteer service took place at the Maryam Merkezi centre, which focuses on educating disadvantaged children and young people. Education, however, does not end with the classroom, and so the centre also strives to create suitable conditions for children and young people to spend their free time. The project brought two Slovak volunteers into the leisure activities at the Maryam Merkezi centre, where they helped organize and run those activities and, at the same time, strengthened their own capacities in an inspiring environment.

Project goals: to give disadvantaged young people in Baku the chance to make full use of their free time through supplementary education and other leisure activities, and to strengthen the competences of the Slovak volunteers in a culturally different environment

As part of the project the volunteers took part in the following activities: tutoring in school subjects, clubs, study seminars, games and sport, holiday camps

Thanks to the project, the volunteers strengthened or acquired the following competences/skills: communication and presentation skills, organizational skills, empathy, initiative, self-confidence, the ability to handle demanding situations, knowledge of a different culture, knowledge of Russian and Azerbaijani, better knowledge of English

The project was financially supported from European Union funds under the Erasmus+ programme and the European Voluntary Service instrument with a grant of EUR 13,142.00. Thank you for the support.