Dawid Reja: The importance of Volunteering

I have always been a very active person, I like to be everywhere and exploit my passions to the fullest. My main problem, lack of time.

I love music which is related to my main passion, dance. I have spent many years of my life exploring the secrets of improvisation in dance and I often participate in new events related to it. There are always things to learn and improve, I am fascinated by the fact that it seems like an infinite world without limits. I especially like hip-hop culture and dedicate a lot of my free time to its branches (i.e. street dance, rap, beatbox).

Maybe because of my personality, because of my restless soul, of never wanting to stop, I decided to study Cultural Animation, which led me to what I am most passionate about and what makes me feel most fulfilled: social activity and the dynamisation of the surrounding environment.

I have a special tendency to travel a lot. I think it is of utmost importance to explore “unknown worlds”. Travelling makes you open your eyes and realise how many ways there are to interpret things, how important it is to get to know other cultures, as all of them can make you grow; and above all, how important it is to talk to people, as everyone has something to contribute. I am interested in learning about the world and people, and little by little that translates into personal development.

But to sum it all up a bit, I like to describe myself as a successful animator/artist with a childlike curiosity about the world.

My friends at the university invited me to do an educational project within the programme “PROJEKTOR – student volunteering“. And that was the beginning of my voluntary work.

PROJEKTOR is a social programme that connects active students, teachers and experts in the field of innovative education to reach the smallest corners of Poland with development projects for children.

I went to my first project about seven years ago in Prawiedniki. The theme of the project was related to board games. It was very energetic, especially for children. I have only positive memories in my head. From the very first moment I felt very welcome and I found the children wonderful. Always ready to participate, the children were very interested in our activities, which made our work much easier and twice as much fun.
Participating as a volunteer in Projektor I encountered many daily challenges that ended up in me overcoming various inner blocks that made me grow as a person and helped me in my personal development and fulfilment.

This experience allowed me to be part of a family of volunteers, to meet new interesting personalities, the opportunity to develop skills in various areas of interest and the possibility to invite friends with the same needs to join the Programme. But most of all I am left with the satisfaction of knowing that I was able to help others.

Thanks to this I have acquired many skills working with and in groups, managing a project and larger events; and I have met many people who accompany me every day. That is why, over time, I have learned to combine my free time with volunteering activities.

My advice, don’t think twice, looking for information and reading about other people’s experiences can be interesting and maybe it can help you; but the best way to know and learn everything that volunteering can bring you, is to live it yourself!