“But the best thing has been the community we’ve created here” – Greetings from the 2nd week of the Volunteer Camp

The two-week-long volunteer camp organized by UNESCO, European Solidarity Corps, and Alliance Youth Exchange, which began in early August and was hosted by the Governing Body of Suomenlinna, is coming to an end.

Gabriel from Germany, Jordi from Spain, and Stefani from Bulgaria share their experiences from the second week of the camp.

New experiences and skills

Jordi, a 19-year-old studying artificial intelligence systems and data science in Madrid, applied to be a volunteer after being inspired by a friend. “My friend and I applied to be volunteers, but he wasn’t selected. Maybe it was better that way, because it was easier for me to make new friends, and I wasn’t just with my friend,” Jordi laughs.

Suomenlinna was chosen as the camp location based on pictures seen online. “I had never been to Finland before, and the island near Helsinki looked interesting with its cannons. The work tasks and the idea of helping others inspired me to apply.”

Gabriel, 20-years-old, who studies international relations and economics in Erfurt, found his way to Suomenlinna through the European Solidarity Corps. “I had never been to Northern Europe before, and for someone interested in history, this place was ideal.”

Stefani, 19-years-old, who is studying architecture in Sofia, wanted to learn about the architecture of Suomenlinna and see the place with her own eyes. “My studies and interest in architecture brought me here. Suomenlinna is interesting because of its long history and practical architecture; history is present in everything. In my opinion, in order to create something new, you need to know what has led to the present, and I hope to gain a better understanding of that.”

Helping the Governing Body of Suomenlinna

During the second week, the volunteers mainly helped the gardeners of the Governing Body in different gardening tasks on the islands.

“We weeded and cleared invasive species from Lonna on Monday and Tuesday. It was fun because Jordi and I learned how to use trimmers, which made the work much more efficient. On Wednesday, we participated in Open Camp Day on Susisaari Island. Together with the maintenance crew and other volunteers, we cleaned up trash and raked dead plants and grass on Susisaari Island and weeded out various invasive species,” Gabriel explains.

Stefani thinks the working environment is distractingly beautiful. “It’s easy to get distracted from work when you stop to admire the scenery and ponder the layers of history visible in it.”

New people, new thoughts

The trio agree that the best thing about the camp has been getting to know other young people and experiencing new things.

“The multilingual environment has made me enthusiastic about different languages. I want to learn more languages in the future so that I can learn more about different cultures. I am also sure that I will continue to participate in volunteer camps in the future.”

Gabriel says that the time spent at the World Heritage Site has made him think about the significance of world heritage.

“Working on the islands and learning about their history has been very interesting and has made me think about, for example, the significance of World Heritage sites for national identity,” Gabriel reflects.

“But the best thing has definitely been the group we’ve created here. The camp has also broken various stereotypes about different nationalities. In the future, I will be able to associate certain faces and voices with specific countries, rather than associating stereotypes with those countries.”

“Before meeting Gabriel, for example, I thought Germans were cold or grumpy, but I’ve realized that I was completely wrong. Gabriel is a funny and very smart person, and we’ve had a lot of laughs.” Jordi agrees with Gabriel’s thoughts.

Stefani appreciates the experience she gained at the camp of meeting other young people and encountering different cultures.

“I applied to the camp quite spontaneously actually. I haven’t traveled much or been outside Bulgaria. It’s been great to meet people from different places and learn about their lives and customs. Reading books or watching movies is definitely not enough. To understand and learn about different cultures, you must meet the people in real life,” Stefani sums up and adds:

I think that in a couple of years I will have forgotten all the tasks that we have done here, but I am sure that I will remember all these faces and moments we have experienced together!

Text and photos: Jaakko Koljonen