See what Mael shared about himself and his work so far!
Tell us about yourself- where you are from, what have you studied/or study, what are your hobbies and interests?
My name is Maël, I come from France, from the Parisian region, and I am a recently graduated former student of computing engineering. I have a lot of hobbies related to art and creativity, as I deeply enjoy playing music, singing, drawing, writing and creating things in my imagination. I also used to practice Aikido, and I aim to resume it in the next years.
I do have a strong interest for cultural and linguistic exchange, which I forged during 2 abroad experiences in the past.
What is your motivation to take part in this project? Why did you decide to take part in it?
I decided to participate in a volunteering project in order to take a break after 5 years of studies, before starting to work, so that I could experience a different field of activity, and forge new skills, which could help me have a better view of what I want to do in the future. And I decided to volunteer at Znam I Moga, at Sofia, because I already had a great abroad experience in Bulgaria 2 years ago, and wanted to come back to this country, and the opportunity to work with young children and transmit something to them seemed to me like an interesting challenge that could only be beneficial to me.
Which are the main things you would like to learn from this project?
I’d like to discover and train some skills that I would probably never have trained if I had just remained in the computing field. This is also a perfect opportunity for me to learn to assume responsibility over children, or as part of a project, which will for sure come in handy in my future jobs.
What kind of voluntary activities would be interesting for you and you would like to take part in?
I am interested in both taking care of the kids at the daily care center and taking part of the different projects organized by Znam I Moga, as I believe both would train different set of skills.
What are your expectations from this project?
I don’t have particular expectations from this project, I just believe that it will make me grow in maturity and help me have a wider view of what I’d like to do afterwards, in my work career.
Which are your fears from this project?
My fears would probably be not being able to overcome the communication issues with the kids, and falling short of inspiration when it comes to giving them activities, as I never had any experience with kids in the past.
What is your previous experience with voluntary activities (if any)?
I don’t have any former volunteering experience.
Please do share with us, so far your impressions from the voluntary service.
First contacts with the kids, during the first week of volunteering, proved to be a bit overwhelming, as I had to learn about many of them on the same time, and getting busy those balls of energy proved to be harder than I thought it would. But I am still as motivated!
How the Covid-19 is affecting your voluntary service?
Covid makes it so we have to carry masks while with the kids, which can be a bit frustrating at times.
Project number: 2020-2-BG01-ESC13-079437
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