LIFE+ | Let's Build an Ecological Life Together

Hello, my name is Murat. I am 24 years ago. I am a senior student in electrical and electronics engineering. I live in Istanbul, one of the most beautiful cities in Turkey. I feel very lucky in this respect. I have worked in many jobs such as trainee engineer, bellboy, receptionist and waitress. We did various activities at the university with my friends. In this way, I developed my teamwork and sense of responsibility. I took part in the dance club of the university for about 7 months.

I am a person who loves to teach people and learn from them. I volunteered teaching math and chess to young children. Since my childhood was in the village, I have a very good relationship with nature and animals. I feel lucky in this regard. I'm also interested in music. I play bağlama (musical instrument), an instrument which is very popular in Turkey.

I love learning new cultures, learning a new language and meeting friends from different cultures. So I applied to many volunteering projects before I was selected for this project. The projects I applied for were mostly about the environment, ecological life and children. My sending organization (Topluma Destek Derneği) was very helpful in choosing and applying for this project and actually for ICDET. I've never been abroad before, so Bulgaria is my first experience abroad. That's why my visa process and journey was very exciting for me. It was 9:30 pm when I arrived in Sofia. When I arrived at Sofia airport, my friends from ICDET helped me. We had dinner together at a Chinese restaurant that night. After we had our meal, my mentor showed me where I would stay.

I was very happy to receive such a warm welcome. I realized that I am not alone here. We visited Sofia in the first week with my friends from ICDET. I really liked the historical buildings, churches, mosques and museums in Sofia. Because I am also very interested in history. In the first week at ICDET, I received training on topics such as the European Union, European Solidarity Corps, multiculturalism, culture shock, communication skills, self-management, goal setting. I think that learning these in the first week will be very useful during my volunteering, so I feel lucky. The subject that I will work and focus on here will be ecological life and environment. I will focus on these issues. For this, I have thoughts such as preparing a presentation, camping, organizing vegetarian workshops, clearing the forest or making videos about ecology.

So, let's build an ecological life together.

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Murat Bilmez, volunteer@ICDET

SHARE+ | Volunteering can broaden your horizons

Hello from ICDETV! Every person needs to work on self-improvement and development. No matter your age, interests, or background, you deserve to grow and become the best version of yourself. This is why we highly suggest you make personal development one of your on-going goals. And, one of the best ways to broaden your mindset and advance as a person is to explore some volunteer opportunities. Volunteering is a fun and easy way to explore your interests and passions. Doing volunteer work you find meaningful and interesting can be a relaxing, energizing escape from your day-to-day routine of work, school, or family commitments. Volunteering also provides you with renewed creativity, motivation, and vision that can carry over into your personal and professional life. Enjoy Mustafa's story about his volunteering experience and stay tuned for more! :)

"Community clean up" day

On Tuesday, July 20, the team of interns and volunteers gathered together to participate in the "Community clean up" event, at Pancharevo Lake in Sofia, they had prepared beforehand. Accompanied by other people willing to contribute to an environmental cause, the event, part of the BeGree+n project, was intended to increase interest in environmental issues and awareness of the preservation of Bulgarian natural areas and their biodiversity.

It was also an opportunity to participate in a civic action and to set an example to the people present on site while strengthening the cohesion within the ICDET team.

Focusing on the lake shore around the dam, participants were productive and collected 20 bags of trash in just 2 hours!

By walking from location to location around the shoreline, it was possible to collect various types of waste (plastic bottles, glass, packaging) and even some large, highly polluting bulky items. Then, the attendees deposited all this trash in containers in the surroundings to ensure their final collection. The event helped tidy up the lake and completely changed the shoreline where some of the decomposing waste was threatening to pollute the lake water and impact the wildlife present there.

Following the success of the operation and the enthusiasm it generated, the ICDET team intends to repeat the experience in other areas of Sofia or elsewhere in Bulgaria very soon.

So stay tuned and be green !