I had the chance of doing volunteering in Palermo for 7 months.
To me, Palermo is an amazing city to evolve. There is a huge cultural wealth that I was not expecting arriving there. There are also a lot of different social events where you can meet very nice people. I would say that it’s a unique city, with unique people and I think that it was the best place for me to be. Of course, there are also some negatives points like for example the lack of hygiene in the city, some security issues or the sun that makes you want to die in summer, but I still have no regret for choosing this city, to the point that I’m coming back to live here!
I would definitely recommend exploring Sicily because Palermo is just a small part of it and doesn’t represent the island, there are so many things to see! Every city will bring you different vibe, architecture, culture but you will find marvelous nature in every corner.
As a volunteer at CESIE ETS, I have been involved in a number of projects including Caritas, where I was participating in the alimentary help and Fraternità, which is a social cooperative for people with mental disorder.
In the first center, Caritas, I was mostly helping to prepare lunch: it means cutting vegetables, doing dishes and helping at the service. Sometimes it can feel boring, but I remembered myself that this work had to be done anyway. Also, there are a lot of young people doing civil services there, so I felt easily comfortable. The workers and other volunteers are very nice and talking with them helped me a lot to learn Italian.
In Fraternità the work was very different: on several occasions I participated in workshops for people with mental disorders. To be in contact with those people was for me a true blessing. I was feeling so happy to go there and work with them, they brought me so much joy, love and laughing crisis. Even with the language barrier I was still able to create contact because they are so sensitive to non-verbal communication. I feel like I discovered a potential work path that I was not even considering before.
This experience also permits me to meet so many people that I could have never met otherwise. The other volunteers I lived with made this experience unforgettable. You share your room, your house, your life with strangers and you leave them as friends.
Out of my flat mates I also met a lot of beautiful souls in Palermo, may it be other volunteers, users and workers of Caritas and Fraternita or even my mentor Giulia, it won’t have been the same without them.
Salomé Cecarelli
ESC volunteer
Youth Unit
