Like many other volunteers, my story starts with determination. As I started to grow up, I felt the need to give something back to my community, be more active and even make a difference. I was thinking to myself, “what would be a louder statement of activism than volunteering ?”. The ESC program welcomed me with open arms and trust in me as an individual.
As a psychology graduate, I felt very grateful that everybody around me gave me the opportunity to have a little bit of taste of the field of work that I’ve been preparing for – that’s how I started to organize my very own mental health workshops. Outside school I am also an artist and I love music, arts and crafts. It felt amazing to be able to use my passions and interests and turn them into something helpful for others; I met so many wonderful people during not only my mental health workshops, but also my arts and crafts activities. I had a lot of tricks to learn from them. They were also kind enough to share their personal experiences with me and introduce me to their cultures. I feel like along the way I have become a better artist but also a better person.
The support and warmth I am surrounded with has helped me gain more self confidence. Finally I believe that I am more capable than I thought I was before starting my volunteering work. I find it very rewarding to be an active member of my community and I will always cherish my time at FNT and I am grateful for the friends I made along the way. I hope that every young person gets to have opportunities as amazing as I did.