A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a beautiful event with around 17 young volunteers from all over Caritas Spain who met in El Escorial.

All of us were very excited to meet and start working (and, of course, have some fun). Without any doubt, this meeting was an enriching experience, from the chance to meet in person at last, to how we were able to form a real team, a family, together with our coordinators. We would not have been able to do this without their support and the support of Eva Cruz, International Cooperation Chief of Caritas Spain.

The meeting opened with a welcome and some ice-breaking games, then we mapped out issues and activities to be discussed for next year. Once this was done, we were able to gather in round table discussions and share experiences from various Diocesan Caritas’ attending this meeting.

One of the main objectives of this event was to get to know and better understand the work and experiences of other Diocesan Caritas’. We did just that! We learnt about many experiences and projects carried out by each of the represented dioceses. We heard about projects with elderly people, summer camps with children, sheltering seasonal workers, social education, communication activities, and many, many more.

Several other important issues were discussed, too, such as how to develop the image of Young Caritas to better reach a younger audience. Going further, we want to start to uncover several misconceptions about being a volunteer in Caritas, using social media to give young people a clearer idea of what being a Caritas volunteer looks like. In summary, we want to give a fresher look to our social media profiles and to keep them updated. Our mission is to connect not only with those older people we take care of, but also with young people, and to make this generational exchange widely visible. We were able to move forward in some areas, for instance by planning some training activities for 2022.

Being young, we may not have experience in many areas, but you can be sure we are willing to learn. We want what we do to be carried out in the best possible way so that we can contribute to our community. That is why some of the training that we are going to have will revolve around how to emotionally manage dealing with people at risk of social exclusion or of social abandonment that are forced to live on the street. These and many other proposals were addressed in our meeting.

I think this meeting showed that young people have a lot to say, and a lot to contribute to making society a better, more welcoming space, and we’re only just beginning!