“For You” is an association that turns the dreams of young people into reality. And how exactly? Behind the answer are numerous international trainings, internships abroad, youth initiatives, volunteering and inspiring events. Elina Raynova, the chairperson of the association “For You”, is a person for whom there are no impossible things. We meet her together with the volunteer Bozhijara Dimitrova, who recently opened the organization. They show that all it takes to make dreams come true is effort, tolerance and patience.
How did the idea of creating the association “For You” come about and what is your main mission?
Elina. We were working in another organization, but we didn’t like how things were going. And then my colleagues and I decided to make our own organization. Our mission is to support people to lead dignified and fulfilling lives. And that is why part of the activities of the organisation are aimed at disadvantaged people with a special focus on people with disabilities. For 16 years we have been working to make dreams come true.
Bojidara, how did you find out about the activities of the association?
Bojidara: We got an email from school and me and one of my classmates signed up. I can say it was one of the best decisions we have ever made.
How do you select your volunteers? What criteria do you use to determine who is a good fit for the foreign destination?
Elina: The most important thing for us is motivation! Whenever there is an opportunity to participate in an activity – we post an ad on our Facebook page and Instagram account. And the young people apply, and we select those who have the highest motivation. Second is perseverance and commitment. That is, initially we have more applicants, but eventually those who are the most committed, the most responsible and the most persistent stay. Natural selection occurs.
Is there a difference between Bulgarian and European volunteers in terms of the quality of the job?Elina: I can’t say that there is a difference in terms of the quality of the job. It is very individual. Usually the people who choose to volunteer are highly motivated and come with the aim of training. Accordingly, the Bulgarian participants in the programme see their participation as gaining experience, an internship and a first job, even. I would say that all of them are motivated, committed, executive. The difference might be in some cultural peculiarities, because we all have different backgrounds, we come from different countries, where the understanding is different, the way of communication is different, the religion – also, the language… This can be a difficulty, but it can also be an opportunity. Here I want to add something. Although the European Solidarity Corps programme is funded by the European Union, we have volunteers from Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Morocco, Egypt – countries that are not EU countries.
How do you deal with the language barrier?
Elina: Language is the least of the difficulties. When one has the desire to do something, language is the smallest barrier. We have volunteers who work with victims of domestic violence or with people with disabilities. In most cases they don’t know foreign languages because of their life history or because they are too young, they can’t communicate fluently. However, they manage to interact. Volunteers also learn Bulgarian when they are in Bulgaria for longer periods of time. Language is the smallest barrier.
What programmes and opportunities do you offer for our young people to travel and work abroad?
Elina: At the moment there are a lot of opportunities for long-term volunteering through the European Solidarity Corps programme. Unfortunately, young Bulgarians are somehow used to the idea that everything has to happen right now, like studying to earn a lot of money. And they underestimate this opportunity – to volunteer abroad. The program provides full living expenses, insurance, travel funds so people can work and live in another country. And yet few are taking that step. Somehow they are afraid that they will miss a year or that they have to earn a lot of money right away, rather such stereotypes.
What would you say to young people who are afraid they will miss a year?
Elina. Because everybody graduates, but nobody wants graduate students without experience.
There’s an unrealistic notion that we’ll graduate and immediately someone will hire us at a high salary because we’ve been to an elite university. Even young people who graduate from elite universities abroad find it very difficult to make it in the job market. No matter how good you are, if you don’t have practical skills, you drop out of the rankings very quickly.
Bozhi, what are your impressions of the eco-anxiety project among young people that you are involved in? What is your work like in the association?
Bojidara: I had a very positive impression of the whole experience. We were on a project-related visit to Lithuania. I learned a lot! Every day we had a program with meetings during which we were divided into groups. The goal was to always be with people of a different race and never to be with Bulgarians in the group, so we learned to adapt. This is why my friend Denitsa and I became even closer. We also became closer with the Irish. That was very good for us. The meetings they came up with were very well prepared. The information had to be selected by us. The topics included our ideas on how to help people with problems and nature. On the last day they had prepared a tour of Lithuania and we had the opportunity to taste their delicacies.
Можем ли да кажем, че младите днес са загрижени за околната среда?
Елина: Тези, които бяха анкетирани и тези, с които сме работили най-малкото са си задали въпроса: Има ли проблем? Интересното в този проект е, че на територията на България липсва проучване по темата. Дори и в райони, в които е имало катаклизми, няма такова изследване.
Can we say that young people today are concerned about the environment?
Elina: Those who were surveyed and those we have worked with have at least asked themselves the question: is there a problem? The interesting thing about this project is that there is no survey on the subject in Bulgaria. Even in areas where there have been cataclysms, there is no such survey.
Bojidara: In Bulgaria most young people perceive this topic with ridicule. At least that’s the impression I got. I am sure that if we ask them a question, they will say that they were interviewed about eco-anxiety. They’ll ask what eco-anxiety is and check the term. There are some people who are interested in the topic, but they are few.
Is the modern generation involved in environmental campaigns?
Elina: They will have to participate. Somehow nature will teach us, given all the changes that are happening – droughts, disappearing animal species, logging. At least right now, all parents are very conscious of what food their children eat. And this is also related to the topic.
Yes, I recently found out that plastic has already been discovered in the human brain…
Elina: Exactly! A person eats a credit card in their lifetime, which is quite worrying. It’s through the fish and in general – the food that we eat, and even the plastic cans that we heat food in. It enters our bodies in the form of nanoplastics, which really stay in our brains. Let us hope that we really become aware in time and do something about it.
Elina Raynova is a representative of the association “For You” – an organization that works with young people. She graduated from the Master’s program “Corporate Finance” at the University of Economics – Varna. In 2010 she became a volunteer in Germany. Since 2008 she has been working on local, national and international projects in the field of international exchange and migration.
Bozidara Dimitrova is a participant in an Erasmus project related to eco-anxiety among youth. She has visited Lithuania, Ireland and Italy.
