My name is Ilka and I am volunteering in YCM for 6 months. In my first two months I became a part of this community, I don´t want to miss anymore.
On my first day, I was asked about my dream-my goal in life. Back in that moment I couldn’t be more surprised, because most of my friends and I don’t have ´the´ fixed goal in life, not even calling it something as romantic as a dream. But with every day passing by I understood: when you are neither given many opportunities nor have much to dream of in your surroundings, coming to YCM, the house of dreams, is a life changer. First you start dreaming and eventually if you work hard it can become reality, as everyone can see due to really successful alumni.
During my stay I am going to share about English and German, my mother tongue, besides my experiences and values, I have gained of those. In my opinion this is what makes YCM such a special place, that beyond regular lessons, you can use your personal knowledge to encourage more tolerance, wider horizons and sustainable living. Instead of fixed structures and curricula which the students need to adjust to, we as tutors are responsible to adjust to the students to create a healthy study atmosphere, in which each and everyone can develop intellectually, personally and even physically due to the sports programs in the evening.
As far as I can tell, the tutors and volunteers before me did a great job, because I was treated very nicely and was welcomed with open arms.
I can just hope to leave the same impact on my friends at YCM.