Background Story

I knew I wanted to work with underprivileged youth since 2022, when the full-scale war started in my home country and I worked as a translator in a refugee centre in Poland. I saw how unfair life can be for someone without money or power, especially for children and teenagers who do not have equal access to high-quality education like some people around the world.

Therefore, when it was time to choose an organization for LiA, I immediately began doing in-depth research on NGOs around the world that support disadvantaged youth, and that is how DRONI in Georgia caught my eye. Georgia is yet another country currently occupied by Russia, and I knew that many families had been forced to move from the Ossetia and Abkhazia regions to seek refuge elsewhere in Georgia or abroad, including, but not limited to, Tbilisi.

Fundraising Brainstorming

While preparing my learning contract in November, I decided to focus on something I already have significant experience in: teaching and mentoring. What I had not realized, though, is that NGOs are usually well-designed centers of incredibly smart and like-minded people, but they are often also understaffed, meaning they make the most of the skills and abilities of the volunteers they already have. That is where my degree in progress came in handy.

DRONI works closely with the biggest Youth Center, which has multiple branches around Tbilisi and desperately needs additional financing to stay afloat. With my background in finance and economics, I was asked to assist with brainstorming ideas for raising funds for the restoration of some centers and for creating a safe learning space for children to come to after school. I put all of my ideas into a Google document, which was later shared with the director of the center and approved for future use.

One lesson I learned is not to underestimate myself or my own skills by thinking that I do not have enough knowledge, qualifications, or titles. Sometimes, the skills you already have can help someone in the most surprising ways.

Working on Escape Rooms

Spoiler alert: the escape room creation project continued until the very last day of my stay in Georgia, so you will hear about it a lot. This week, together with the group of volunteers I already introduced in a previous blog post, we debriefed on what went well and what did not go so well during Europe Day while conducting our escape rooms, in order to improve them for the future. We spent hours during the week brainstorming intellectual but also fun topics for the static escape rooms we would be able to run in one of the Youth Centers in Tbilisi. Being aware that we are currently surrounded by AI, one of the topics we discussed, and which eventually became our final idea, was the negative side effects of AI use that teenagers might not be familiar with in this age of technology, and how they should protect themselves in the internet era.

Batumi Getaway & Food Exploration              

We had free time on the weekends to do whatever we wanted. Myself and two other volunteers took the opportunity to visit one of Georgia’s coastal cities - Batumi. A special shoutout goes to Adjika Family Restaurant, whose chef started learning Ukrainian after 2022 and practiced their language skills with me, while also making us feel like part of the family. We tried some of the best wine and food there. 

As a huge foodie, after coming back to Tbilisi, I also went out with my friends to a Georgian restaurant, where they not only served authentic Georgian dishes but also entertained guests with traditional dancing and singing. That was truly a memorable night and a deep cultural dive.