Life, sometimes, is strange but it can give you beautiful surprises if it is lived intensely, with courage, curiosity and thinking positive, and if you believe in the beautifulness of your dreams.
A short introduction: my name is Gaetano Valicenti, I am an italian engineer 30 years old. After my studies and the first work experience in Italy, I left my country to discover Europe thanks to different European Projects. I have always had the dream to become a European citizen, and the European Union gave me several chances to achieve it.
First, I started with the “Leonardo Project” done in Versailles, France, and then I moved to Valencia, Spain, where I have done the “Erasmus for young entrepreneurs Project”. After I moved to Brussels, where I spent a wonderful year for my cultural, professional and social growth: here I started with an internship at an European agency, then I found job as Technical manager in the sustainable transport sector. I consider myself a lucky boy, all my experiences abroad have been positive and happy: I just used enthusiasm and willingness to do beautiful experiences / to enjoy my time.
Life, sometimes, can also give you difficult moments: in that case it is really important to never give up. Having different projects and ideas in my mind has helped me a lot. Since when I was a university student, I have always had the plan to be involved in a voluntary project but for several reasons I have not done it.
One day, after I suddenly resigned my Belgian company, I thought: “This is the right time for a volunteer project, for a different challenge in my life”. I started to read every day the internet and all the volunteering web sites, and as soon as I found the Estonian project (1 year at the Estonian Food bank), I thought: “Here we are, this is my project!”
The waste food’s topic is related with my interests (sustainability, environment and waste management) and I was attracted by the double target of the project: help the environment (reducing waste food) and help the community (people in need). Moreover, the project’s location were fascinating, almost unknown and it had recently joined the European Union. I immediately applied for the project. The life, sometimes, gives you surprises, ‘Audentes fortuna iuvat’ and so I have been selected for the project!
At the beginning, I felt many different emotions as enthusiasm, curiosity for discovering a new culture, place, traditions but also fear, uncertainty linked with the sudden career’s change. However, I booked my ticket for one of the happiest experience of my life. The 25th of April 2015 I arrived in Tallinn! After the first days of settling in my new City, I got my new apartment, my gym and my favourite park (Kadriorg Park, also the Estonian Presidents residence). I got the first positive feelings about Tallinn, primarily due to the cordiality of Estonians, their very well spoken English, public transport efficiency and wi-fi network almost everywhere.
Therefore the first day of work at the Estonian Foodbank, founded exactly 5 years ago by Piet Boerefijn (Estonian citizen of the year 2010), arrived. At that time, Mr. Boerefijin understood that Estonia did not have a well-structured charity network for helping people in need (whilst this is a well-established concept in the Southern Europe due to Catholic Church presence).
Briefly, Toidupank (the Estonian name of the Food bank) collects the waste food coming from the food supply chain (supermarkets etc), stores temporarily the goods in its warehouse, and finally delivers the goods to people in need. Toidupank directly distributes food boxes two days per week (serving almost 1700 families per month) to social houses, orphanages, rehabilitation centres, churches. Furthermore, many charity organizations pick up waste food daily from Toidupank’s warehouse for distributing it to poor people.
Twice a year the European Union donates food to Toidupank that can organize distribution days in different neighborhoods of the city: I spent my first week working in Lasnamäe, the Tallinn’s most densely populated and russian speaking district.
Moreover, Toidupank organizes food campaigns four times per year in different supermarkets around Tallinn. My task is to help the foundation in all the operation phases above mentioned, helping in the food transport, storage and distribution, helping during the supermarkets and European campaigns.
At the beginning it was not easy, but after a while I felt in love of this Country, of its uncontaminated Nature and fairy tales landscapes, its stunning sunset that I observed when I have been running on Pirita beach. The voluntary project has been a positive shock for my life, to give part of my time for helping the others made me happy and grateful, and taught me the important feeling of the compassion. To give part of my time for the others taught me how much we/I am happy in our/my life for everything that we have, and seeing a kid’s smile after receiving a croissant made me happy.
Important aspects of my marvelous Estonia are my friends and all the relationships that I have made. Friends are one of the secrets for a happy life, and in Italy we say: ‘who finds a friend, finds a treasure’. One of my best friend are Kapil and Ankit, they are from India, flat mates and many adventures friends. At home there is an international environment; my housemates come from India, Australia, Russia, and Estonia. Together with my friends we visited Helsinki, Tartu (important University city in Estonia) and Riga. I am writing one of the best chapter of my life, I am happy to give my contribution for helping who has been less lucky in the life and in the meantime, to know more about myself.
I strongly recommend to everyone a volunteering experience, abroad or in your home country: the meaning of solidarity, to help each other, the meaning of smiling and be happy are equal all around the world. Volunteering is healthy for the soul, simple actions can give a lots to whom is less lucky than us. I would like to thank my Estonian organization EstYes (particularly Diana and Liis), and IBO Italy (Elisa and Giacomo) for all the help and care in the organization of my project and for being always present. I would like to thank Mr. Boerefijin and my Estonian team at Foodbank (Piet, Ines, Agnes, Peeter,Nele, Maido and Kertu) and all the volunteers. A smiling and happy greeting from Tallinn: I want to end my short story with the sentences that better represent my feelings during this amazing project.
“I don’t know where I am going, but I am on my way”
“‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.”
PS I show a short gallery with the best pictures of my project in Estonia:
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