I'm so thankful to the YMCA by Etnik

The first training with the YMCA was in February 2013, many years ago from now, and what can I say except share my story with you...

Our Youth Ambassador Etnik 

 I ejoined this organisation because  I was looking for some new experiences from my daily routine, and the only opportunity was the YMCA, because it was the first organisation that opened the doors for young people in our municipality.
Etnik with France participants and Secretary General Johan Vilhelm Eltvik


The first day at the YMCA is unforgettable, meeting 20 new people which had different experiences and stories and were ready to share them with you, experience at the YMCA had its ups and downs, starting from problems with youth center, which wasn’t always open, and that constrained the  training's to be held in different spaces, but as a young boy that was looking for new experiences I decided to be Leadership trainer. From the first session I had to lead a group of  25 young people and it was fantastic, one year part of the YMCA and I had my own group in which I could show my leadership skills.


 Starting from that time my experience started to be more beautiful and challenging, because everyday they offered new opportunities to be part of new programs, and they were really important for me in my professional development.

Etnik with his fellow trainer at the Gjakova YMCA
 In addition to the local programs, YMCA had the international programs  too, I was lucky to be part of two of them, Greece Camp and the training in Lyon, France, we are an isolated country and these experiences were really important, because it was my first time to see new and completely different cultures. It doesn't matter the number of countries I’ve been, what matters is  new working methodologies and experience gained.


 I'm so thankful to the YMCA for one thing,  for enabling me to create new friendship, to share my experience and to express my opinion freely.

Etnik Dautaga

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mësova gjëra që në të ardhmen t'i ndihmoj ndokuj edhe t'i përdor për vete / I learned things to help others in the future and to use them for myself / Naučio sam stvari kako bih u budućnosti pomagao drugima i koristio ih za sebe - Olti Vrella

Image
Përshëndetje, jam Olt Vrella nga Peja. Vijoj mësimet në Gjimnazi "Bedri Pejani", dhe gjatë kohës së lirë lexoj dhe dal për të ecur nëpër natyrë. Një gjë që më ka interesuar gjithmonë është mënyra se si të tjerët kujdesen për shëndetin mendor. E kur dëgjova që do të mbahej kampi "Headspace", që si temë ishte Shëndeti Mendor, unë pa hezituar aplikova që të isha pjesë. Para se të fillonte kampi unë mendoja se çdo njeri kujdesej për shëndetin mendor në një mënyrë pothuajse të njejtë. Por gjatë tre ditëve të këtij kampi unë mësova shumë gjëra. Pjesëmarrësit/et e këtij kampi mësuan se çfarë do të thotë shëndeti mendor e si ndikon shoqëria në të, por edhe disa metoda për të mbajtur shëndetin mendor sa më mirë.  Disa aktivitete që unë mendoj që janë të rëndësishme janë aktivitetet që kanë si thelb punën në grup, që ndihmojn që pjesmarrësit/et të kuptojn se shëndetin mendor mund ta përmirësojn edhe me ndihmën e të tjerëve. Pasi që përfundoj ky kamp unë kuptova që përmirësimi
Read more

The door is always open by Valentina

Image
I’m Valentina and I am a youth worker at the  YMCA in my city- Peja and this is my story… ValentinaMurati I was always a very hard-working person and very empathic I always loved helping people that is why I chose Social Work as my study field and from a very young age I got the chance to participate in different NGO’s as a volunteer so my love for being able to help people change started from a very young age and still grows. After being a semester abroad and then coming back here without any idea what to do after my graduation, and for me as an very active person it was really hard. I got stuck between a lot of applications, always searching for the right one. One of my friends who was a volunteer in this NGO called YMCA  shared some posts about what they do and I started thinking what would I do if I was there too?  And  there it was! A job application, while I was reading it, I thought  I would love to be part of this family so I’m really going to try. After I applied I
Read more

The right to participate in decision-making processes by Njomza

Image
I’m Njomza. I'm 15 years old and I'm from Gjakova. Njomza Bytyqi I've heard from many friends about the YMCA and they suggest me to be part of the YMCA. I participated in the ‘’mYcommunity’’ program where we discussed Democracy, Prejudice, Volunteering, Stereotypes and many other topics. During this time in this program, the topic which I have liked the most was about Prejudice and Stereotypes. In my opinion, prejudices are unnecessary. In everyday life, we should not use them because we must love everyone as they are without changing anything to them because we do not like them. Njomza while reading for her group We, the whole group, have participated in the assembly meeting of the Municipality of Gjakova, which was held together with the Mayor and the citizens. There we learned that we as citizens have the right to participate in decision-making processes, to complain about issues that concern us, such as hospitals, parking lots, traffic lights, taxation, et
Read more