My name is Erij Raach. I arrived in Rzeszów three months ago as part of the ESC programme and my journey here will last a year. At 26, I'm the oldest volunteer at INPRO.
Volunteering has been part of my life for a long time. Before coming to Poland, I volunteered at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the Special Olympics in Berlin. Both experiences brought me together with people from completely different backgrounds, and that feeling of contributing to something larger than yourself stays with you. They made me want to find something longer, somewhere I could actually settle in.
I found the ESC portal while searching for new opportunities. Even though I'm not an EU citizen, there were projects open to me. I did my research, picked the one that felt right, went through the application process, and ended up writing this from INPRO's office in Rzeszów.
Coming here for a full year was equal parts exciting and uncertain. I arrived with little knowledge of Poland, but chose to approach it with an open mind. Three months in, the country has surprised me. I've made connections I didn't expect, started to understand the culture, and feel at home in a place I knew almost nothing about not long ago.
Nine months still ahead. I'm looking forward to all of it.