Geneva, Imp!act & the Tapori children
Kate Salvatierra Peru,
It’s been two weeks exactly since I arrived to Geneva. I will be doing my traineeship for one month in ATD Quart Monde which is a non-governmental international movement which main aim is to ensure the access of poor people to their rights and move towards the eradication of extreme poverty, they are currently working in over thirty countries. They work jointly with Tapori, a children worldwide network which main goal is to give all children the same opportunities, they have an office in Peru too and I’m planning to visit it as soon as I can...
It’s been two weeks exactly since I arrived to Geneva. I will be doing my traineeship for one month in ATD Quart Monde which is a non-governmental international movement which main aim is to ensure the access of poor people to their rights and move towards the eradication of extreme poverty, they are currently working in over thirty countries. They work jointly with Tapori, a children worldwide network which main goal is to give all children the same opportunities, they have an office in Peru too and I’m planning to visit it as soon as I can...
Monday 23th of November was my first day at the office of ATD Quart Monde. Alban, the person in charge of my traineeship in Geneva, took me to the office at lunch time where the whole staff members were waiting for me. We had lunch and they introduced themselves, people working there are from different countries and there is also a peruvian lady!!! I have to use three different languages to comunicate with them: Spanish, English and Italian. It’s a little bit complicated to switch from one language to another but I’m really enjoying it. Since the first moment I knew I will have a great time here.
After the introduction to the departments I was asked to work with Tapori every Tuesday and Wednesday. My work there is to translate texts, mini-books and guides for children. What I like the most of Tapori are in fact the mini-books ‘the children of courage‘, which tell the true stories of poor children from different countries who work to help their families and have many difficulties but support each other through letters and messages. Some of those children have really heartbreaking stories.
So far - with ATD - I have attended two meetings with poor unemployed people who live from social aid. People in the office say if we want to find a solution to their problems it’s important to listen to them because they are they experts in that ‘topic‘ since they live poverty every day. And I totally agree with them.
The environment in the office is great, we usually have lunch together, talk a lot and have fun too. Every Friday one person have to cook for everybody and the rest bring snacks or desserts. I’m looking forward to cook a peruvian dish – althoug I’m not really good at cooking- my turn is in two weeks!
Now, let’s change the subject. The first week in Geneva was pretty cool and though at the same time. After three days with ATD and Tapori, I had to go to Biel to participate in Re:connaissances, the event I mentioned before, organised by Intramundo. Rajib worked with them to prepare it. This conference was from Thursday 27th to Friday 28th of October and was about the recognition of voluntary work and international exchanges of young people. It was very interesting to listen to other people‘s points of view, definitions and ideas. People from many different parts of the world came to be part of this conference which made it even more interesting. Right after Re:connaissances ended me and Rajib had to go to Geneva to attend another event called imp!act organized by Euforia a Swiss youth organization.
I was impressed. I am impressed.
This event lasted three days from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th. To be honest, when I was in the train going back to Geneva I was thinking:‘I will register and then will go to sleep‘. Because after those two days I was very tired but once I got to the auditorium and listened to those guys talking I just couldn’t leave. I will try to make this short. Imp!act was about awaking youngsters potential to make a change. They encourged us to implement our own projects, to set our plans to make a real impact in our lives and not to wait for others to do what we are capable and ready to do. They proved us there’s no excuse such as ‘I don’t have enough time to make a change‘ because we can make small changes in our daily life. Again, I met people from many different countries, we all willing to learn and share our creative ideas. Those three days we attended to workshops, projects presentations, listened testimonies from young people, shared ideas, played like kids, learnt, laugh, danced, jump on the tables, worked hard and made friends.
I would love to keep talking but this article is getting too long, to summarise: I’m having a great time in Geneva and learning a lot. You will hear from me soon.
After the introduction to the departments I was asked to work with Tapori every Tuesday and Wednesday. My work there is to translate texts, mini-books and guides for children. What I like the most of Tapori are in fact the mini-books ‘the children of courage‘, which tell the true stories of poor children from different countries who work to help their families and have many difficulties but support each other through letters and messages. Some of those children have really heartbreaking stories.
So far - with ATD - I have attended two meetings with poor unemployed people who live from social aid. People in the office say if we want to find a solution to their problems it’s important to listen to them because they are they experts in that ‘topic‘ since they live poverty every day. And I totally agree with them.
The environment in the office is great, we usually have lunch together, talk a lot and have fun too. Every Friday one person have to cook for everybody and the rest bring snacks or desserts. I’m looking forward to cook a peruvian dish – althoug I’m not really good at cooking- my turn is in two weeks!
Now, let’s change the subject. The first week in Geneva was pretty cool and though at the same time. After three days with ATD and Tapori, I had to go to Biel to participate in Re:connaissances, the event I mentioned before, organised by Intramundo. Rajib worked with them to prepare it. This conference was from Thursday 27th to Friday 28th of October and was about the recognition of voluntary work and international exchanges of young people. It was very interesting to listen to other people‘s points of view, definitions and ideas. People from many different parts of the world came to be part of this conference which made it even more interesting. Right after Re:connaissances ended me and Rajib had to go to Geneva to attend another event called imp!act organized by Euforia a Swiss youth organization.
I was impressed. I am impressed.
This event lasted three days from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th. To be honest, when I was in the train going back to Geneva I was thinking:‘I will register and then will go to sleep‘. Because after those two days I was very tired but once I got to the auditorium and listened to those guys talking I just couldn’t leave. I will try to make this short. Imp!act was about awaking youngsters potential to make a change. They encourged us to implement our own projects, to set our plans to make a real impact in our lives and not to wait for others to do what we are capable and ready to do. They proved us there’s no excuse such as ‘I don’t have enough time to make a change‘ because we can make small changes in our daily life. Again, I met people from many different countries, we all willing to learn and share our creative ideas. Those three days we attended to workshops, projects presentations, listened testimonies from young people, shared ideas, played like kids, learnt, laugh, danced, jump on the tables, worked hard and made friends.
I would love to keep talking but this article is getting too long, to summarise: I’m having a great time in Geneva and learning a lot. You will hear from me soon.