Working with refugees in Italy!

Overall, I had a lifechanging experience in Italy with Projects Abroad. As a future social worker who wants to work with refugees in the future, I was really excited for this experience and to gain experience in my future career. This experience really gave me a hands on experience to help with my career and has become increasingly important when it comes to my job for the next year. Throughout my time in Italy, I was able to work with Syrian refugees and refugees from African countries, along with working with the local population. Most of the time, I was in a community building role where we were working on integrating peace in the community. This was done whether working with a children's summer camp or with the local women.

I also had a great time with the other volunteers and staff members. I stayed in a newly redone house with 5 other volunteers. Once more volunteers came, it was a great experience and we created some really strong bonds. All of the volunteers ate meals together, had social events, and worked on the projects together. The bonds that I made with other volunteers are ones that will last awhile and I was able to connect with so many other young adults who were interested in the same ideas that I am. It was a great networking opportunity! The staff was also mostly wonderful. There was a bit of a managerial changeover while I was in Italy, which caused a lot of tension and caused many of the projects to not be completed. If the staff turnover had been resolved more quickly, I feel like I could really have made an impact on the project- it was just unfortunate timing.

As far as the projects go, there was such a wide variety of things to do that you were really able to get involved in whatever you were most interested in. Most of the projects involved working with children, which was great for me- but just beware! I also felt that some of the projects weren't entirely useful to creating long-lasting future and involvement with the refugees. My only flaws with the program would be that we didn't get to interact with the refugees in the project and that the projects could be better worked through if the refugees were more involved.

Overall, this was a great program and I would love to go back!