Three weeks have gone by really quickly and we are nearly to the end of our job shadowing activity in Romania. Our first week was mainly about getting used to the EIVA team, the surroundings and the way of life in Arad county. This time helped us to take stock of forthcoming activities in the programme and to understand better the language, money and transport system of the county. We also had different social opportunities to get to know the Romanian and Seychelles team better.
In the second week, a youth delegation from Reunion island came to Arad as part of an Erasmus+ youth exchange activity known as ‘You are Like Me European (YALME)’, in which we were involved as facilitators. We participated actively with the young people from Romania and Reunion island during social games, intercultural activities and outings. There were also opportunities to share about the Mauritian culture through sega music and dance, and food from our country. That week, we also participated in a conference organised by EIVA regarding another Erasmus+ project called YouthMove.
Following the departure of the Reunion youth delegation, we reviewed the programme in the third week to include more educational visits and activities in the community. On the morning of Thursday 4 April 2019, we visited a special school in Arad working with children with different types of disabilities. In the evening, we performed a clown show regarding cleanliness and the Mauritian culture for a group of 15-20 young children at the local library in Arad.
Cristian Babutau, the President of EIVA, is also training us on the basics of the Erasmus+ programme and on simple tools and diagrams that can be used to design international capacity building projects. We look forward to having a fulfilling final week with the EIVA team.
By Yukime Venkatasawmy & Trisha Boodhoo
Mauritian Delegation – Centre d’Education et de Développement pour les Enfants Mauriciens (CEDEM)
