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 offer the pupils of Maryam Merkezi a varied choice of leisure activities in the interest of the personal development of the children and young people in Baku
• to support the personal development of the volunteers, who — thanks to their activity at Maryam Merkezi — strengthen and acquire a wide range of competences

As part of the project the volunteers took part in the following activities: studying Russian and Azerbaijani, sports activities, handicraft and art clubs, working with local volunteers, tutoring, summer camps, trips and cultural events

Thanks to the project, the volunteers strengthened or acquired the following competences/skills: knowledge of English, Russian and Azerbaijani, working with the Linux operating system, time management, creativity, presentation skills, teaching skills, organizational skills, responsibility, self-confidence, flexibility, handling conflict situations, empathy and solidarity, the ability to cooperate with people from a different cultural background

The project was financially supported from European Union funds under the Erasmus+ programme and the European Voluntary Service instrument with a grant of EUR 9,105.00. Thank you for the support.

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.

Young people teach poor children how to “catch fish”…

Project goal:

• making quality education accessible — through courses and clubs — to children from less well-off families and to refugees in Baku and the surrounding area (Mardakyany, Mashtagi)
• training teachers and volunteers in the pedagogy of the preventive-educational system
• building life skills (communication, flexibility, participation, organization)
• building cultural values
• developing social conditions in the local community
• improving economic independence
• building a sense of belonging to the local community

Results achieved:

• quality education made available to all
• an impact on the development of social conditions in the local community
• trained volunteers and teachers in the area of the preventive educational system
• building cultural values
• proper use of free time
• building a system of values

The project focused on providing meals for the poor — it was a fundraising effort to run soup kitchens in Baku in cooperation with the Slovak Catholic Charity, the Red Crescent, the Pontifical Mission Societies and CRS Baltimore.