Piotr Krzyżak volunteered in Portugal through the Erasmus+ program. He spent time in the charming town of Barcelos working with the organization SOPRO, which promotes volunteering in the Middle East and Europe. As a volunteer, he participated in various activities like playing games with seniors, performing music with them, cheering them on in a sports competition, and cleaning a local beach. Piotr enjoyed exploring northern Portugal in his free time and decorating his apartment with drawings. He recommends volunteering as an unforgettable experience that is worth trying.

1. M Y E V S
E X P E R I E N C E
Piotr Krzyżak

2. T H E B E G I N N I N G
Volunteering has been on my mind for a
long time. After participating in several
youth exchanges, I decided to try
something new. When the opportunity
to volunteer in Portugal presented itself,
I didn't wait a moment and applied right
away. The day before arriving in
Portugal, I took the last final exams, it
was a time full of nerves and fatigue.
Fortunately, the time spent volunteering
made up for it.

3. M Y V O L U N T E E R I N G T O O K P L A C E
I N T H E C H A R M I N G T O W N O F
B A R C E L O S . T H E H O S T
O R G A N I Z A T I O N W A S S O P R O ,
W H I C H P R O M O T E S , A M O N G O T H E R
T H I N G S , M I D D L E E A S T
V O L U N T E E R I N G A N D D E V E L O P S
A W A R E N E S S - R A I S I N G A C T I V I T I E S
O N V O L U N T E E R I N G . I N E U R O P E ,
S O P R O C O O P E R A T E S W I T H T H E
E R A S M U S + P R O G R A M A N D T H E
E U R O P E A N S O L I D A R I T Y C O R P S .

4. W H E R E W E W O R K E D
D U R I N G T H E P R O J E C T
A N D W H A T I N I T I A T I V E S
W E C A R R I E D O U T

5. A S S O C I A Ç Ã O
H U M A N I T Á R I A D E
R I O C O V O S A N T A
E U G É N I A
In Santa Eugenia, we spent time with older people. We
played various games with them, such as bingo and
dominoes. I spent a wonderful time there. Everyone there
was willing to talk and to help. You could feel the good heart
from them and the constant desire to help. Nowhere did I
laugh as much as I did there.

6. A S V O L U N T E E R S , W E P A R T I C I P A T E D W I T H T H E S E N I O R S I N A
M U S I C A L C O N C E R T A N D P L A Y E D A V A R I E T Y O F I N S T R U M E N T S
W I T H T H E M . W E S A N G P O R T U G U E S E S O N G S A N D D A N C E D
T R A D I T I O N A L F O L K D A N C E S

7. W E A L S O T O O K
P A R T I N A S P O R T S
C O M P E T I T I O N I N
W H I C H O U R
S E N I O R S
C O M P E T E D I N A
S P O R T C A L L E D
B O C C I A . I T W A S A
F A N T A S T I C
E X P E R I E N C E T O
C H E E R T H E M O N
A N D S E E T H E M
E N J O Y I N G E V E R Y
T H R O W O F T H E
B A L L .

8. R I O N E I VA
I spent almost the whole of July in Rio Covo. It was an amazing place surrounded by beaches
and nature. We spent our days kayaking with the kids or hanging out with them on the farm
where we hung out with them. The owner of this organization was a fantastic man and we
could always count on him. If we wanted to, we could spend the night there, it was a fantastic
opportunity to order pizza and admire the sunset on the beach.

9. W E A L S O T O O K P A R T I N C L E A N I N G T H E
N E A R B Y B E A C H F R O M G A R B A G E A N D
H A R M F U L P L A N T S . F O R S E V E R A L H O U R S
W E W A L K E D I N G L O V E S A N D B A G S W I T H
T O O L S . E V E N T H O U G H T H E W E A T H E R W A S
N O T V E R Y K I N D T O U S , W E W O R K E D
B R A V E L Y . A F T E R A L L , T H E B E A C H W A S
U N R E C O G N I Z A B L E , A N D A F T E R H A R D
W O R K W E R E T U R N E D H A P P Y T O O U R
E V E R Y D A Y L I F E O N K A Y A K S A N D O N T H E
F A R .
Beach cleaning

10. I N M Y S PA R E T I M E …
I spent a lot of time hanging out with other volunteers, visiting all the nooks
and crannies of our city

11. I L I K E D T O D E C O R AT E O U R
A PA R T M E N T W I T H D R A W I N G S .
P R E V I O U S V O L U N T E E R S A L S O
L E F T T H E I R D R A W I N G S ,
M A K I N G T H E W H O L E L I V I N G
R O O M F U L L O F A R T

12. I V I S I T E D M A N Y
B E A U T I F U L P L A C E S I N
T H E N O R T H O F
P O R T U G A L . E A C H C I T Y
H A D I T S O W N U N I Q U E
S T Y L E A N D
C A P T I V A T E D M E W I T H
D I F F E R E N T T H I N G S

13. W E T O O K C A R E O F T W O
S M A L L S T R AY C AT S , E V E R Y
D AY W E F E D T H E M A N D G AV E
T H E M F O O D

14. E C S V O L U N T E E R I N G W A S A F A N T A S T I C
E X P E R I E N C E F O R M E A N D I ' M S U R E
T H I S I S N O T T H E E N D O F M Y E F F O R T S
I N T H I S D I R E C T I O N . I F Y O U A R E
S T I L L H E S I T A N T T O T A K E P A R T ,
B E L I E V E M E I T I S R E A L L Y W O R T H A
T R Y . V O L U N T E E R I N G I S A N
U N F O R G E T T A B L E P E R I O D T H A T W I L L
W I N Y O U R H E A R T S F O R A L O N G T I M E .