Ciao! It's Louise. Today I would like to speak about the connection that exists between ESC and "Servizo civile" (SCU) volunteers.
As an ESC volunteer, my experience is different from the SCU volunteers in several ways. For one, I am an international volunteer coming to Italy for six months, whereas the SCU volunteers are Italians staying in Caritas for one whole year.
Second, the SCU volunteers work in just one service for a three-month period (Centro d'ascolto, cucina, emporio or reception). I, on the other hand, move between different areas of Caritas each day, giving me a wider variety of tasks and responsibilities. This also means it took me longer than them to adapt and become efficient, but after just a few weeks or months, I became more independent in every service, whereas they have to adapt to a new service every three months.
I met the SCU volunteers of Caritas during my second week when they returned from their training. I had the chance to work alongside Regina in the emporio and Benedetta in the kitchen, whereas Martina and Valeria were in the reception, a service I don’t participate in.
One of the first things that I liked about the SCU girls was how welcoming they were. Every Wednesday, they had a tradition of eating lunch together with the former ESC volunteers (Karolina and Maria). This tradition continued with Rio (who arrived six months before me), and I joined in when I arrived. Even though I couldn’t speak much Italian at first, we tried to have some exchanges. One of the volunteers, Regina, spoke English and would often translate for me, so slowly I started to understand more Italian and took part in the conversations. These lunches became a great time for cultural learning, where we shared personal stories and learned about each other’s experiences.
Two months after I arrived, the first group of SCU volunteers had already finished their service, and it was time to say goodbye. Three new volunteers arrived: Alessandra, Gabriel, and Nicola. At first, it was hard to organise our lunches because their schedules were still being set. But eventually, I asked to change mine to match theirs and we moved our lunch to Tuesdays. Even though Alessandra is often busy with her second work as a youth leader, we still catch up with her when she comes to help in the kitchen.
Up: Rio and me with the "Servizio civile" girls (Benedetta, Martina, Regina and Valeria)
Down: Me with the new "Servicio civile" (Nicola, Gabriel and Alessandra)
Our conversations keep evolving, and just like with the previous group, we continue to learn from each other.
Gabriel, who is from Peru, is still improving his Italian, so, during lunch, Nicola often find himself correcting Gabriel and me when we make mistakes. These moments of connection make our volunteering experience richer, and my italian a lot better!
It’s like a small version of the bigger goals of both ESC and SCU—promoting cultural understanding, solidarity, and personal growth.
As my time here goes on, I’ve come to realise that volunteering is not just about the work we do but mostly about the people we meet. Even though ESC and SCU volunteers don’t always work together directly, the moments we share—whether it’s during lunch, through language exchange, or conversations about life—help broaden my perspective and deepen my understanding of what it means to be part of an international community.
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