Bericht unserer Freiwilligen Teodora Luketa
While taking part in Erasmus exchange at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, I’ve learned about Friedenskreis for the first time. The guiding principles of the organization inspired me to apply for the voluntary service. Here I am in Halle again, a year after my semester abroad, initially working in growing international cooperation department of the Friedenskreis office. Together with my teammates I already had the opportunity to create a cultural project aimed to support young people in their role in peacebuilding. Within this project I'm able to learn a lot about how NGOs from different countries cooperate. At the same time I utilize my knowledge of comparative literature acquired during studies.
I'm writing this sitting next to the Saale river, watching the sunset painting the sky in pastel colors. Everyday I prove to myself that this was the best decision I could have made. It all started in January and 8 months later I'm in a bus driving for 24 hours. All formalities and traveling were worth it as soon as I saw Inger picking us up in Leipzig, driving us home while the sunrise was welcoming us. Since arriving this city brought me peace and opportunity to do what I enjoy the most and that's being in the woods by river listening to music or reading. I could go on walks for hours and still discover more creative work of local artist, which are giving the city a soul along with the breathtaking architecture.
My volunteer story begins on April 1, 2022. Although almost 3 months have passed since then, I remember very vividly the day when I arrived at the airport in Leipzig after 16 hours traveling by bus. I remember that it was much colder than it was in Serbia, that it was raining, and that I was very scared. Fortunately, that feeling didn’t last long. As the saying goes, a man can easily get used to the good things, and so can to Halle and his new life here.
On December 2021 started my volunteering journey in Halle and my place of assignment would be KindsElternCentrum in Lieskau.
My volunteering program started in November last year at Passage 13 in Halle. The first months were spent adjusting to new social and work environment and meeting new people. Colleagues in the organization and other volunteers helped me in facilitating this process. However, the biggest problem that everyone faces is language - it limits the possibility of a normal social interaction. Nevertheless, after a few months, I learned a basic knowledge of German and that helps me communicate and interact with the young people I work with.
Seit mittlerweile über drei Wochen halten wir auf dem Markt von Halle täglich eine Mahnwache für den Frieden in der Ukraine ab. Und auch wenn ab nächster Woche nur noch zweimal die Woche hier sein werden, möchten wir weiter machen. Warum? Diese Frage wurde uns nicht selten gestellt.
“Every person can make a difference and every person should try”, said John F. Kennedy a long time ago but nowadays it seems so accurate. When even we are in 21 century, we still face a lot of wars, crimes, hunger, and inequality... We still face judgment based on skin color, race, nationality, or religion. And me all my life, starting as a student, as a volunteer, teacher, and journalist I have tried to fight against these. Last week I hold a small presentation about Albania, my country of origin in the kindergarten where I currently work as a volunteer KindsElternCentrum Lieskau. It was a way to let kids know a bit more about me, my beautiful country, our culture, and language but most of all to show them that there are other countries and cultures. I wanted to show these kids that being different is not bad, in fact is great because we can learn so much from eath-other.