Hello future volunteers, I am Yaron, 19 years old and I have volunteered with POLITES in 2022/23.

When I applied for the volunteering. I was not so sure if this is something for me. I didn’t have that much to do with children before and I didn’t know Polish at all.

However, my worries were not confirmed. After a month of preparation through a meeting and a settling-in period, including getting to know each other among the volunteers, the kindergarten finally started.

In the kindergarten, you get received very friendly. The teachers were very open and patient with us and even if you don’t speak Polish, you find a way to communicate with the children and the teachers.

In Stargard I was divided into two different groups, which I changed every two weeks. This means learning about 50 names, but also children in different age and a lot of different characters. The change seems a bit unnecessary at the beginning, but after several weeks you realize how valuable it is to get to know so many children.

Children have their own way of communicating with you, they are themselves and don’t look at what you look like or what language you speak, because they are interested in you and how you interact with them. They also have the wonderful talent of making you laugh, no matter how bad-tempered you are that day.

Even if you don’t know anything about childcare, you quickly get into the daily routine of kindergarten and the teachers also help you settle in a lot.

The kindergarten day consists of common activities, such as going outside, English lessons or dancing.

When there are no activities, you paint together or build a tower out of Legos for example.

Every Friday I did an activity for the kids. It’s cool to teach them in a funny way your own cultur and they give all their attention to you. So you can really enrich their knowledge and maybe one day they remember what you teach them. At the end I really had the feeling that I could give the children some of my knowledge and culture.

I recommend anyone from 18-30 to participate in volunteering, especially in the childcare field. In addition to the kindergarten experience, it gives you the opportunity to live a life abroad and therefore meet new people and cultures.

I learned for myself, to be free from my parents and outside of Germany, to live with people. which I didn’t know before and to appreciate the Polish culture.

By the way, the volunteer service also gives you the opportunity to travel and explore the whole country if you organize your money properly.

So apply and have fun!

Yaron Paul Brandes