During my third month of EVS, I was once again tasked to work together with other Synergia volunteers from Spain and Turkey in International children’s day (or known in Portugal as Dia Mundial Da Criança). The event is celebrated annually in some countries all around the world and this year the municipality of Braga, in partnership with The Monastery of Tibães organized a five-day programme from 01st till 05th June 2016 by in the Monastery of Tibães which is about 8 KM from the city centre of Braga. The event was divided into two segments; day 01st to 03rd will be fully dedicated to schools but the weekend of 04th and 05th June will be entirely devoted to families. The monastery offered numerous fun activities such as a night camp in the monastery, film sessions, and a host of unforgettable experiences, like watching animals such as bats and amphibians, theater sessions shadows, outdoor sports activities, and many more. All programmes were free or charge including the entrance to this historical monastery. I was in charge of the playground area. Together with SYnergia volunteers, we were there to supervise the use of the play equipment to safeguard participants, spectators and passers by. We started our day very early every morning. The volunteers were picked up near SYnergia office and we arrived in the monastery at 09:00 am every day. The first thing to do was to prepare the ground, inflated all playgrounds and cleaned the area before the kids arrived. When the preparation was done, some volunteers were assigned to work with other volunteers in the climbing wall and some worked in the inflatable playground area. I always worked in the playground area for 5 days in consecutive. For the first three days, the area was crammed with kids from different schools from all around Braga. There were around 6 school participants each day. When the kids arrived, they were first taken to the playground area and right after their eyes were set to the playgrounds, I could see their big smiles and they all rushed to enter the playgrounds. The presence of volunteers was very crucial knowing that kids could hurt themselves or their friends while playing inside the playground. There were times where some playgrounds collapsed from overcrowding or the blowers stopped working causing the the playground to deflate rapidly without warning. Working with kids has always been fulfiling yet exhausting and it requires patience. Everyday from 10:00 am till 13:00, the kids played in the playground and next to the playground was a stage where a volunteer did some calisthenics and danced together with kids. From 13:00 till 14:00, the volunteers had lunch while the kids moved to another part of the monastery to watch the theatre. From 14:00 until 17:00, the kids from different school visited the playgrounds and played some a few minutes before calisthenics session. Basically, the programme was the same everyday. For the last two days, kids came with their families to have the weekend in the monastery. Apart from playing or watching theatre, the families were given free access inside the monastery and could have a bit knowledge about the monastery which once was destroyed in a fire in 1894. This five-day activity was indeed exhausting as we needed to wake up at about 6:30 every day and arrived home at about 18:30 but you know, seeing the smiles on the children’s faces makes everything worthwhile and this is the memory I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Jerry, Indonesian volunteer in Synergia, Portugal