At Youth Works Hub, we love sharing the real journeys of our community. Samet, 23, from Türkiye, spent ten months in Poland with the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) at a community centre that provided daily meals for people in need. The European Solidarity Corps is the European Union programme that brings young people together to build a more inclusive society, support vulnerable people and respond to societal and humanitarian challenges. Volunteering is a full-time unpaid activity that has a duration of up to 12 months. Here is his story, in his own words.
Last updated: November 2026.
By Samet, 23 – Türkiye 🇹🇷
When I first received the message saying “You’ve been selected!”, I could hardly believe it.
Ten months in Poland 🇵🇱 through the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) — it felt like a dream! 🌍✨
At first, I was nervous. A new country, a new culture, a new language… but also a new version of me waiting to be discovered.
🍲 Cooking for Change – A Kitchen with a Purpose
My project took place in a local community center that provided daily meals for people in need.
Every day, our international volunteer team cooked, served, and shared food with the local community. 🥕🍛🍞
The atmosphere was full of warmth and laughter — despite the challenges, it always felt meaningful. 💬
I learned that solidarity isn’t just about big actions — it’s about small moments of care: serving a meal, listening to someone’s story, or making them smile. 💙
Working side by side with other volunteers from 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇫🇷 France, 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇩🇪 Germany, and 🇹🇷 Türkiye was an incredible experience.
We became a family — cooking, learning, and growing together. 👨👩👧👦
🌱 Learning Beyond the Kitchen
My volunteer work didn’t stop at meal preparation.
I also helped with:
📦 Donation management and logistics
🎨 Creative workshops for children and young people
📸 Social media campaigns for the NGO
🌍 Community events about sustainability and inclusion
Through all this, I developed new skills — teamwork, leadership, communication, and problem-solving. 💪
I realized that volunteering helps you grow not just as a professional, but as a human being.
❄️ Living & Travelling in Poland
Polish winters are freezing cold ❄️ — but my heart was warm every day.
On weekends, I explored beautiful cities like Kraków, Gdańsk, and Wrocław 🚆.
I tried pierogi 🥟, learned basic Polish (still working on pronunciation 😅), and took hundreds of photos of snowy streets and cozy cafés. ☕📸
Each city had a story, and each journey made me feel more connected to Europe. 🌍💙
💬 Samet’s Message to Future Volunteers
If you’ve ever thought, “Maybe next year I’ll try volunteering…” — don’t wait.
Say YES now. ✨
You’ll gain new friends, new skills, and a new version of yourself you never knew existed.
Volunteering abroad doesn’t just change others’ lives — it changes yours. 💙
Participation in volunteering activities must be free of charge for the volunteer, and our guide on what being fully funded means explains what is covered. Online Language Support (OLS) helps you improve the knowledge of the language you will be using to carry out the volunteering tasks, and culture shock and homesickness covers the first months in a new country.
Thank you, Samet, for sharing your story 💚 Have your own Erasmus+ or ESC story? Send it to Youth Works Hub and we will feature it here, so other young people can see what is possible.
More stories from our community: Mariam's ESC story in Tallinn · Ziad's ESC project in Brașov · Olga's ESC project in Provence
👉 ESC projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=esc-projects
