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As the children arrived at Sóskút for the Multikulti camp, they embarked on a journey that would take them to explore Germany, Spain, France and Hungary with the help of the 12 international volunteers. Through music, sports, crafts and games the young participants learned about each culture.

But first things first we had to get to know each other, so we presented ourselves through a spider web and sang our camp song: Bam bam bam, we’re in the summer camp!

In the afternoon we made our way to the forest for the game: Catch the flag, divided in two teams the kids had to run strategically to get the flag faster than the others.

On Wednesday we began with the cultural activities with the Spanish Team (Ahinoa, Íñigo, Inés, Marina and Maël). To energize in the morning the kids played the chairs game with Spanish music, then we painted the Spanish flag and placed some pictures around it.

The competiveness and team work was tested with some sports outside. But after a while we needed a rest and to cool down before lunch so we crafted some hand fans.

In the afternoon Laszló and Hedi made us travel all the way to Hungary with a presentation and a fun quiz to test the knowledge of the little ones, were they had to difference pictures of Hungary, France, Spain and Germany. Later it was time to get creative again making personalized bracelets.

On Thursday morning Cara and Malena introduced the German culture playing some really fun energizers were the kids even learnt some words in this difficult language. Before lunch the children crafted some really beautiful masks for Carnival, like one of the most known festivity in Köln.

In the afternoon the children experienced the best of the french culture through really active and fun games that Nolween, Mathieu and Julien prepared: Baguette Croissant, Banane & Pomme and an obstacle race. The kids showed their best creative side drawing in the french style of “Puntillisme”.

To finish off the camp in the best way the children could show off their talents with a performance that they prepared. The girls made an impressive gymnastic choreography and the boys a football show to the beat of “Ramenez la coupe à la maison”.

In the last morning before going home the kids enjoyed the breakfast together and wrote each other messages in a T-Shirt to keep an unforgettable memory of this camp.

 

News

It is summer time! That means we have to welcome the high temperatures, the fruits, holidays, summer camps… and also the short-term volunteers. Yes! 12 new volunteers arrived at Cristuru Secuiesc during the last few days to begin a new exciting project.

The team is formed by young people of 4 different nationalities, Marina, Íñigo, Inés, Ainhoa and Mael come from Spain; Cara and Malena come from Germany; Mathieu, Nolwen and Julien come from France and last but not least, László and Hédi come from Hungary. The twelve of them will be living for the next two months and a half in this town participating in an ESC project.

The main purpose of them being here will be the organization, preparation and coordination of the different summer camps organized by ATA association that will take place in Cristuru and the villages around, there will be a total of 5 camps. In order to prepare them for the upcoming work during their two first weeks they will participate in different team building activities so a good work environment, group cohesion and coordination is developed between them. During this time they will also receive different talks about different topics that can be really useful and applied during the summer camps, these topics include: event management, non-formal education, emotional management and communication with kids and  video editing and social media.

We hope you are just as happy with this news as we are, and will continue to follow our work during this period.

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Okay, do you know what we heard about you? That you really love to travel and get to know new cultures. That you are motivated, ambitious and want to add your footprint to a far-away community. If our info is correct and all this is true, come to the land of vampires, castles and mountains, join our 10 months long volunteering opportunity in TRANSYLVANIA.

Who are we, and why should you choose Cristuru Secuiesc as you ESC volunteering place?

Our organization, the Youth Association from Transylvania was founded in 2011, and throughout our long journey we hosted more than 300 mobilities and participated in international projects countless times. The objective of the association is to enable youth from the Romanian region of Transylvania to take part as hosts and sending organization and be involved in European projects. Currently there are eight of us working in the office, you can see our wonderful faces here:

As you can see, we are missing two very important people, but with a good reason! Réka is currently awaiting the arrival of a new life in their family. In case you decided to embark on this journey with us though, she will be a frequent face you see and who supports you. On the other hand, Attila and his wife just welcomed their little bundle of joy, hence his absence on this photo. But we can assure you he is a great person, with excessive knowledge and experience. 

Okay, so what will your responsibilities be here? You will be joining an 8-person international team from all around Europe. We await the arrival of 4 inclusion support volunteers and 4 NGO support people.

Inclusion support volunteer: Your task will be to organize daily non-formal workshops for children & youth to teach English, while at the same time will pass along environmental awareness & up-cycling, recycling knowledge. You will be working in 2 kindergartens, 1 local and 2 rural primary schools. The ages of the kids vary, but we are open to realize your own initiations and workshops, helping you organize concrete activities regarding your passions. You will also volunteer in Háromgalamb disabled centre, teaching these wonderful humans practical skills, like gardening and cooking, while supporting

A couple of sentences from Nerea Ruiz Garcia, our last inclusion support volunteer, who spent 10 months here: “Being an inclusion support volunteer has expanded my horizons more than I would have ever imagined. I’ve been given the chance to work with people from different cultural and economic backgrounds, which has helped me become more aware of much work still needs to be done in the world. However, now that the end of my project is closer, I can definitely say that I think I have learned more from them than what they will have probably learnt from me. People in this community are full of values and kindsness, and places like this are where you can truly find knowledge and achieve self-discovery.”

The kindergarten and school where you will be working at:

NGO support person: you will support our numerous local activities and improve our online communication and marketing, by increasing our social media presence. Since we frequently organize international mobilities, you will also help our staff in these.

Here is what Quentin Reinette says about his experience with us as an NGO support person: “As an NGO support volunteer, my work revolves around helping the association organise events, writing articles about Transylvania, and working at the library. We also work with the town gardener and a herbalist weekly. I enjoy working here, we do lots of different things and get to meet people.”

Sounds too good to be true? Wait until you see where you will be hosted! We have a big office in the centre of our town, that is called the Yellow House by the locals because of its bright yellow walls. Now, the staff is working on the first floor of this iconic building, hosting mobilities and organizing events, while you and the 7 other volunteers will be living on the second and third floor of the house.

The house is fully furnished with:
-a spacious kitchen that has 2 fridges, stove, microwave, dishes, glasses, furniture, etc.
-3 bathrooms that have toilets, showers, washing machine and other cleaning appliances
-5 large bedrooms that have furniture and beds in each.
-the house also has electricity, gas, hot and cold water, internet connection with a Wi-Fi connection

If you feel ready to embark on this journey with us, send you CV and motivation letter to office.ata@gmail.com, and fill out the online application form found in the infopack, or by clicking on this link: https://forms.gle/CEJnod9yndfK89iB6

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us via email, Facebook, Instagram. 

 

 

News

This year’s Summer Camp of the Youth Association from Transylvania started on the 3rd of July. Just like in previous years, there was a lot of interest and not without reason. The five days were very eventful, and our 36 participants were very sad to note the end of the camp on Friday.

Huh, where do we start… Our camp this year was built around fairy tales, every day we puppeteered and acted out nostalgic stories, and noted the lessons learnt from them through games and interactive tasks. On Monday, the day was spent getting to know each other, as not only were there new faces among the children, but the little ones didn’t know our 7 local and 8 international volunteers either. After the namecards were up, we divided the small ones into six teams. Each team was assigned a leader from among foreign and local volunteers, so the children could learn English throughout the week and overcome the language barrier together. The first task of the six teams was creating a unique logo and flag.

Since we puppeteered the stories every day, the children could also try themselves out in this ancient craft on the first day. The little ones completed pre-prepared sampled stories, and created their own puppets while deciding on their traits, characteristics. Main rehearsal – and LET THE PUPPET SHOW BEGIN! The six teams presented six short stories to their peers. Then we ended the day with our dance together.

On the second day, the little tried on the shoes of chefs, and under the guidance of Serife, our volunteer from Turkey, they prepared delicious chocolate biscuits in the morning. Small and large hands took their share of the work, beating eggs, pouring flour and kneading dough. In the end, delicacies that Gordon Ramsey himself would be envious of were prepared. But of course, no sweets before lunch! While the biscuits were getting golden in the oven, everyone moved to the Gyárfás garden, where we dedicated the day to sports. There was football, frisbee, and hide and seek, and by the time we retired to the Yellow House, nothing could have been better than our freshly baked cookies made by ourselves.

Of course, we didn’t linger on the third day either. We started this day at the Molnár István Museum, where the children could learn about the story of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves in the performance of Javi and Dani. For those who have already forgotten the iconic sentence, the tale of Open Sesame, the Persian protagonist had to utter these words in order for the treasure-filled cave to open. Well, as a result of this, our little participants also went on a treasure hunt in our city. As an association, we consider it important that the children of Székelykeresztúr get to know its famous places. For this reason, we set up the stations of the treasure hunt on these, as our list included the library, the station, the museum, the sports field, the Gyárfás garden, and the fountain. By completing the tasks in these places, the kiddos could put together the sentence that opened the gate to the golden cave. We can announce that all the little people successfully completed the challenge and each of them returned home with three golds at the end of the day.

We spent the fourth day with world-famous fashion. For those who have not yet received the information: Székelykeresztúr has today’s trendiest designers and seamstresses. We wanted to guide the children to the path of recycling, so they had to create clothes, jewellery, and accessories from paper. Although this may seem like a big challenge at first, as soon as they see the results, they realize how creative the children of our city really are. And who were the models? They all came from abroad! We ended the day with a fashion show, where we asked the opinions of the small designers and voted for the coolest outfit. We want to congratulate the Green Leaves team on their victory!

The fifth and last day was both the most diverse and the saddest at the same time. Sad, because on this day we had to say goodbye to each other, as we are closing this year’s ATA camp. At the same time, we were also preparing for an extraordinary challenge, as we set up an obstacle course on Sóskút. Our fighters had to dodge lasers, solve puzzles, and at the end, we rewarded them for their efforts. Each little participant received a gym bag packed with chocolates and candies. After that, we returned to the Yellow House with our participants and sang our song one last time, then closed our 2023 Summer Camp. We would like to thank the Harghita County Council for their support, without which this program would not have been possible. At the same time, we sincerely thank our local and international volunteers for their help.

Finally, nothing proves the success of our camp better than the opinions of the children themselves. Emma Mátéffy said this about our program: “I liked it so much that I want to be a volunteer when I grow up!” I think there is no better recognition than to encourage the little ones to do good themselves and dare to add to the community.

Marielle, our volunteer and organizer from Sweden, added the following regarding the week: “I’m proud and happy with the results of the summer camp week, because the children seemed to enjoy the activities just as much as I did! During the week, I made memories that I will keep with me for the rest of my life”.

News

Next week, on the 20th of June this year’s first youth exchange of our association will begin, which is the continuation of our training course organized in April 2023. During the program we will talk about social entrepreneurship and soft skills with the participation of nearly 40 young people from Spain, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Turkey, France, Hungary and Romania 

The eight-day programme gives young people the opportunity to get to know each other’s cultures and ways of thinking better and to work out together the final products of the Youth Exchange. On the first day, young people will participate in team building activities and will learn more about the opportunities offered by the Erasmus+ programme. Furthermore, non-formal methods will be used to process the concept of social enterprises, the responsibilities and personality types of entrepreneurs, also the business plans prepared at the training course will be analysed. After processing the plans, we will visit 7 social enterprises around Cristuru Secuiesc, and promotional materials will be prepared for these in the last days of the program. We close our Youth Exchange with the Youthpass ceremony and final evaluation. 
 

In addition, young people will have the opportunity to try traditional dances and taste traditional dishes of the participating countries, as well as to see the natural features of the Salt Region. The Youth Exchange will be organized within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme. 

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On the 20th of April, Thursday, our first training course supported by the Erasmus+ program will begin, during which we will talk about social entrepreneurship and soft skills with the participants. The program involves 24 participants from 11 countries: Spain, Italy, Latvia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, France, Turkey and Romania. 

During the seven-day training, participants will have the opportunity to learn about key entrepreneurial skills, define the profile of the ideal entrepreneur together, and hear first-hand about the real successes and struggles of an entrepreneur. In addition, they will learn techniques for setting the objectives of an entrepreneurship and preparing a business plan. After that, they will create business plans for 7 social enterprises, which will be presented to local entrepreneurs on the penultimate day. All activities are carried out through non-formal education methods.

In addition to learning, the program also gives the opportunity to explore the area, the team will take part in an excursion organized on day 4, during which they can explore the colorful old town of Sighisoara. The training, which will take place between 20th and 26th of April, will take place within the framework of our youth strategy. 

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I am Vesile Yücel, I´m 24 years old. I am a graduate of Anatolian High School, I studied 112 health primary and emergency services at the university. In 2017, I went to university to study Paramedic First and Emergency Aid and took part in various volunteer activities at my university.


I have undertaken and implemented voluntary work such as aged care centres, child welfare institutions and food distribution to the homeless. I gave voluntary trainings to the local people in order to meet the blood needs of children with leukemia and to inform them about health. I like to help people.

I want to communicate and learn about the culture and history of the place I am visiting. 

 I arranged health checks and living conditions. I was also interested in nutrition and sports order. Then I voluntarily cared for premature twin babies at home. After my process was over, I organized volunteer activities at the orphanage. I worked voluntarily in the fields of solidarity and psychological interaction in the elderly care center. I arrived in Romania at the beginning of January.

 I’m here because I love helping small communities. I feel good here because I can interact with many people during the day and do good. I love doing social activities with children in kindergartens. Due to my profession, I wanted help and learn form this area and this region.

I am here because I think I’d be too active voluntarily in this situation. I would like to be supported by your community for performing any task on time and diligently. I love getting to know people and their cultures. I am happy to meet and help more people. Being here will contribute to my future idea of ​​working and volunteering in Europe, learning a better language and helping more people.

In this process, I will learn culture and order better. Children and youth are the future of a nation. 

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My name is Şerife Karagöz. I am 23 years old. I came from Denizli, a cute city in Turkey. I graduated from the international relations department last summer.



And I think my life will become meaningful by volunteering for a while. I had been planning to volunteer for a long time. And I am very glad that I was accepted into this program.

I am interested in projects related to youth and children. Disabled or not. It is a pleasure to help youth, to prepare them for the future, to contribute to the future. One of my biggest goals is to give them self-confidence, respect and non-judgmental behavior. We must leave them a better future.

As I stated in my motivation letter, Turkey’s important Atatürk has a saying: “We will leave everything to the youth… They are the hope of the future and bright flowers. All my hope is in the youth.” That is why this matter is near and dear to my heart.

I want to help others and make myself useful to society. In this way, I will improve myself.
I think this project will contribute to my personal development. Volunteering will always be a part of my life.

Together with ATA once again what a wonderful thing it is to be a volunteer.

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I am Alper from Turkey, I am studying Civil Air Transport Management at Anadolu University and I continue my school from a distance.



I have been interested in the technology software field for about 4 years. I realized that subjects such as communication-technology-entrepreneurship-social media were gathered under one roof and I turned to these subjects. In this process, I had to continue working in the service sector to avoid financial difficulties.

For my personal development, I receive training from many different sources on human resources, entrepreneurship, digital transformation and big data, e-commerce. I also devote a lot of time to the field of civil society.

Apart from my work and education life, I am a member of “Ahbap Association”, one of the non-governmental organizations, and I participate in voluntary activities from time to time. The stage of participating in this volunteering project was very important to me.

Actually, I had an account on the Europan Youth Portal for over a year, but I was observing the right project.
I have searched many types of European projects and their sources on websites, telegram and social media. Thanks to the telegram channels where the Turks follow the projects, I became aware of this project. Afterwards, my meetings with Reka were positive and I was accepted to the project.



My goal during my time here is to learn and teach new things. Especially our children, whose minds are extremely clean, are always open and hungry for information. Because their minds are not tired like adults. If we can provide them with the right information and experience before it’s too late, they will start life one step ahead and look to the future with hope.

I came with many hopes and good feelings in my bag and I am here. Every successful step I take here will leave a beautiful mark in the future of children, young people and people, and of course it will leave a mark on me. I believe that I will add value to all the people around me in a few months.