Volunteering as a Teacher on Samos

RefugeeEd volunteer teacher Elif shares her thoughts on her experience as a volunteer teacher with partner organisation Samos Volunteers.

This is Alpha land (and me) where we had our daily classes.

„I brought this medal here to class today to share it with you, because I come here everyday and learn everyday. That’s why this medal is not only my achievement but our achievement together. "Thank you!”

One of my students said in class after getting a medal for a sports event he trained for a lot. There I realized, I was able to create a sense of community and belonging in our class/classroom.

After taking over two English classes in my first week, I was afraid the students would not accept a new teacher, but that was certainly not the case. I was (and still am) impressed and inspired by the commitment and energy I saw in class everyday. Even though there were difficult days, most classes were filled with joy, excitement and laughter. We would do role plays where sometimes the students would take over the teacher role and every time we would clap for each other supportively.

This was my class room.

I want to thank Samos Volunteers for doing such a good job. Managing so many different kinds of projects is not easy. My onboarding was very smooth. I had a couple of days of assisting and co teaching with the previous teacher, which allowed me to get to know the students beforehand and prepare better. Also the education coordinator was very involved in my onboarding process and paid attention to small details that made my start even more comfortable.

After a couple of weeks, when I started having a sense of routine, I also took on reception shifts in Alpha Center and afternoon shifts on Alphaland where we would organize recreational activities like table football tournaments. I am very happy to have experienced reception in Alpha Center because that work was very different from teaching. When teaching, you take a natural leader role and students (who are sometimes even older than you) treat you like authority. This is sometimes necessary but also creates a very different relationship than when you don’t have this hierarchy.

There were not only classes but also many recreational activities on Alphaland like music or gardening. We even harvested our first radishes.

In Alpha Center it’s possible to form more balanced and friendship-like relationships, especially with service users who come regularly. Just sitting next to each other and coloring in a book mindlessly, can help service users to relax or even sometimes feel safe to speak about themselves or their families. Especially on Mondays, when a lot of service users arrive to get clothes from the distribution and Alpha Center, it is very chaotic and busy.

This is Alpha Center in town, where there are opportunities to hang out, play games and much more.

Then these activities can create a fun and safe space. Nevertheless, one of the most difficult times I had was also in Alpha Center when the environment is tense and fights happen. A lot of people are coming and going. Some only come to print something, others spend their whole day there. So the atmosphere of the space differs from day to day. That’s why there, I felt more alert and exhausted after a long day of teaching and a reception shift.

This whole experience, even though it was only 2 months, changed a lot in my life. I stopped wasting time on things that I don’t value. For example, I quit my job in Germany where I was working remotely and thinking more seriously about a career in the humanitarian field. I would recommend everyone interested to go there and do some type of volunteering. The volunteers are really needed and the personal experience will definitely be unique and special.

Volunteering during the pandemic: impressions of a first time volunteer

When the COVID-19 crisis struck in Europe at the beginning of 2020 I spent the lockdown working remotely in Spain. As a teacher, I was lucky enough to be able to keep my job and I continued to work online until the end of the academic year in June. Unfortunately, my Summer School was cancelled and I was faced with the prospect of spending the next three months living with my mother in a lazy town in Northern Italy. Summer jobs were difficult to come by and having saved some money during the lockdown I decided to try and volunteer for the first time in Greece.

Volunteering during a pandemic wasn’t going to be, of course, straightforward: policies all over Europe on how to deal with this seemed to be in a constant state of flux, with different decisions being made by different countries from one day to the other. Add to this that regulations for charities working in Greece were also changing, with new demands being made and, of course, more bureaucracy. Through RefugeeEd I was quickly matched with a charity working in the camp at Skaramagas and I was beyond excited.

Before even getting to Greece though I had to fill in a few forms in advance to be even let into the country but the procedure was easy and straightforward enough. The flight to Athens was good, with all the usual Covid precautions, and once we landed we were greeted in Athens by the military who directed us in different areas of the airport to get tested. The whole process didn’t take long: being one of the first to get off the plane, I queued for about ten minutes. The doctors swabbed my throat and I was told that in case of positive result, I would be notified within 24 hours, otherwise it meant that the result was negative.

The next day I got no notification so I was free to go. While the Covid rules for working at the camp changed through the weeks, depending on the state of alert, they were simple and easy to follow: obviously all international volunteers needed to sign in and out, then have their temperature taken. We had to wear a mask at all times, disinfect surfaces often and regularly clean our hands.

As a teacher, during my first week, we started testing the camp residents to try and get an idea of how many classes we could run and at which level. The charity had stopped running English classes for months because of the pandemic and the residents were absolutely enthusiastic that classes would be offered again.

Teaching in a refugee context was a completely new experience for me and these new procedures didn’t make our job easier. However all the challenges were overcome with a little creativity and bags of enthusiasm on our side and especially from the students. For example I used my iPad to show pictures and elicit language (it was big enough for a class of ten) or asked the students to look up things on their mobile phones. I organised the desks so that even distant, the students could see each other and interact.

Volunteering during Covid required all of us to ‘think outside the box’ with all the activities we organised. It also required us be even more careful and more flexible. Of the 4 weeks I spent in Skaramagas, a few days here and there were spent at home. While we all welcomed the break: it was a real shame having to stop especially when the students had started doing some progress.

Nonetheless, no amount of frustration will ever change the amazing experience I’ve had working in Skaramagas, which I truly hope to repeat next year. There are many reasons why I decided to take this opportunity, some professional, mostly personal. I have met some incredible people (both camp residents and other international volunteers) and I’ve truly never had students so eager to learn. Teaching here allowed me to really go back to basics and tailor everything that I was doing to my students’ needs, without the pressure of strict curricula and standardisation.

As teachers, it can be difficult at times to remember why we got into the profession at all: we are often buried in paperwork and pulled from all sides by the demands of managers, inspectors, students and parents. I would encourage anyone, but especially teachers, to try and volunteer here at least once: on a human level, you’ll cherish the warmth you’ll receive from your students; professionally, you’ll gain invaluable skills. It will boost your creativity in planning and in the use of resources and you’ll learn to communicate in ways you didn’t think were possible. Ultimately, you will reassess your role as an educator and you will see how important your job is in a wider context.

Alice - Volunteer with Refugee Ed

If you are interested in volunteering with Refugee Ed or want more information click here.

Volunteering: learn new skills while making a difference

Having worked as a freelancer for most of my career I have had the opportunity to manage my own schedule when projects allow. In a period where things were not so busy I decided to do a bit of soul searching. Despite enjoying my job I found that at times projects were not wholly fulfilling. I concluded that I needed to rectify this whilst also expanding my skill set in content creation. 

Not knowing where to begin I searched through volunteering roles that would best suit my interests and skill set. I knew I had an interest in opportunities that would help young people to reach their potential. I have been very lucky in terms of my own education, and think it's vital for people to get the best start in life. It was then that I saw the opportunity to help with communications at Refugee Ed. Being honest when I began I didn’t know a lot about the charity or the specifics of the refugee situation in Greece, beyond an instinctive response to the clear injustices. 

Working in content creation, but mainly in video, I had dabbled in social media, but was looking for a chance to get involved in strategy and also copywriting. As many of you may know, it is often hard to break into the creative industries let alone be allowed to do things considered outside your ‘traditional’ skillset. At Refugee Ed the focus is of course on the work we do out in Greece but as an entirely volunteer led team individuals are encouraged to work on the things that really excite them. For me this has meant building out a strategy for facebook to help the charity reach its goals, and hopefully soon a trip out to Greece to collect some content for the project!

Personally this has been a fantastic opportunity to expand my skill set while also feeling I am contributing to a cause I believe in. Volunteering is a great way to help organisations who need it and simultaneously explore your own career interests. If you are feeling a little stuck or unfulfilled have a search through volunteering opportunities - maybe you could even help us out at Refugee Ed!