Animal Rescue Home 20.6.-3.7.2023
Just before midsummer, 10 ESC volunteers arrived in Finland for the volunteering team "Animal Rescue Home". You can read about the volunteers experience in their own words below:
“Every one of us has a second family in Finland thanks to this experience. At the beginning of the project we stayed at the serene Friendship Inn community for a week, where we had our on arrival training to get to know each other and talk about our expectations of the project to come. The staff welcomed us with open arms and, more often than not, treated us like guests instead of working volunteers.
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We’re grateful for the opportunity to bond with each other while doing activities together. We celebrated midsummer with the local people as we learned about this celebration.
After the first week of what felt like an extended team building, our next host family picked us up and drove us to their animal rescue home in the middle of nowhere.
The family treated us as if we were their own children from the very first minute we met. During the week we helped cook mostly typical Finnish meals from scratch, cared for the animals and cleaned and repainted the barn.
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Our free time was jam packed with activities to immerse us in Finnish culture. We watched Moomin, went to a small concert, swam in a nearby lake, enjoyed the sauna, saw reindeer… In just seven days we became incredibly close with both the family and the animals. We learned a lot of practical skills and to work and live in a group. We were already talking about coming back on our own initiative.” - Svea from Belgium
“I will fondly remember getting up in the morning and hugging the dog, talking to the horses or chasing the chickens. Also to cook and eat together, clean the home of the animals or drive the tractor.
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You have made our volunteering incredible and unforgettable, I would not change anything or anyone. After a week at the Kytömaan farm, I feel that we have formed a great family, thank you for your warm affection. I carry you and Finland in my heart and I promise to return!” - Ivan from Spain
The volunteers got noticed by the local newspaper, Perniön seudun lehti. A short version of the piece can be found on their website, here! (6.7.2023)
