“Just Arrange It” in Netherlands

The six Greek participants from PRAXIS took part in the project “Just Arrange It”, In Ommen, Netherlands, organized by Stichting Cherry International.

6 youngsters for 10 days in which we stimulate and practice social entrepreneurship!!

Athanasios Kavakliotis , Aikaterini Eleni Tsamandani ,Konstantinos Parasis , Elpida Zeza, Andriani Tsampi, Dimitra Politi.

The whole idea of the exchange is to explore the concepts of entrepreneurship and social impact through all kind of activities such as outdoor games, cooking, video making, theatre, music, dance, etc., where the participants will be able to challenge themselves and practice their communication, cooperation and initiative taking skills. In the end of the exchange the participants will work together as a group on a social project within the local community, which can vary from raising awareness on a certain topic, helping the elderly, collecting funds, combating waste or pollution, etc.

Experiences of our participants

Andriani Tsampi

Have you ever wondered how 60 people from 10 different countries and with different nationalities can live together at the same home for 12 days?

Well, my name is Andriani and I have participated in many Erasmus+ projects and at first I couldn’t even believe how this could work, as it was the first project that I have been with so many participants, but it ended up as one of my best and favorite experiences of my life.

It all started on 28th of April 2022 when I traveled from Athens to Amsterdam to participate in a youth exchange in Ommen, in the Netherlands.

The project was about social entrepreneurship and all of the activities we did helped me to understand this topic, to build strong foundations on my social skills and exercise entrepreneurial skills.

From the very first day, we were separated into small groups where we had to clean, cook and organize the home together based on a week schedule. That was something that I was doing for the first time in an Erasmus+ project and even though sometimes I was feeling tired and exhausted, it was fun and now I keep it as a great memory. At the end of the project, we had to organize an event for Mother’s Day, so we did everything to make it succeed. We rent bicycles and we visited other villages to collect money, we walked a lot to promote it in every single Dutch home and people, we cooked, we organized games for the kids and on Saturday 7th of May we managed to have a wonderful event with many guests and a lot of fun.
This project taught me a lot, gave me unforgettable experiences, I made strong connections and forever friends from so many different countries, I cried, laughed and shared experiences, I overstepped my difficulties and boundaries and I am so grateful for it.

Thank you, Praxis and Cherry Organization, for giving me the opportunity to participate in the youth exchange “Just arrange it”, I will never stop thinking and talking about the unique moments I had and the wonderful people I met.

Fani Papadopoulou

My travel to the Netherlands will be unforgettable. Eleven days full of knowledge, experiences, friendships, activities and improvements.

Let’s start from the beginning, after spending our day in Düsseldorf, Germany, at night we finally reached our final destination, the Omen, a magical city full of flowers and wonderful people.
The next day, all the participants with the leaders played a lot of games to get to know each other and break the ice. We played treasure hand, divided into groups of 6 people and went to the city to solve the puzzles as this was the mission of each team. On the night of April 30 we had the Dutch culture night and also a concert night. After tasting the Dutch snacks , we divided into groups of 7 people and pretended to be famous bands , for example my team and I were the AC/DC.

Οn the 1st and 2nd of May we did many activities and games that strengthened the team spirit and brought us closer. During the time , we felt more and more intimate with each other and gradually we all built a large family of 60 people. The next day, we had the night of the Greek tradition.

So, with the rest of the Greeks, we invented an active treasure game. We divided the people into groups of 7 people and gave them maps, each group had to solve the puzzles, which concerned the Greece,. For example, one puzzle was to find the ingredients from the tsatsiki ,quiz questions, Greek flag puzzles, syrtaki lessons, geography questions etc.

Οn Wednesday, May 4th. We took the bikes to each group and went to different cities in the Netherlands to raise money to host a charity event on Saturday for Mother’s Day. The four members of my team and I raised the extra money for the event, as we went to four different houses.
Each team had to raise money following the traditional Dutch “Ache for Kavaiche” technique, which we went to different home and did work to raise money. The rest of the days we made the preparations for the event. We made plans with the people for the decoration of the space, the catering, the entertainment, the recording , etc.

Our team was responsible for the promotion of the event. We went out in the city and handed out fliers to the residents to inform them.

Οn Saturday, the day of the event, which will be unforgettable for me we did two rehearsals and at 5 in the afternoon people started coming. We ate, danced traditional dances from every country, make face panted masks for the children and had a great time, all together .
I really feel like I have made a huge investment of knowledge and experience all these days .
I am so grateful that I was a part of this big family and also thank PRAXIS and CHERRY organization that chose me as one of the participants of Praxis Greece.

Katerina Eleni Tsamandani

I recently took part in a youth exchange program, related to social entrepreneurship. In a period of 12 days I learned how to communicate my feelings and thoughts better, in order to achieve my goals while working in a group. The multicultural character of the group allowed me to get in touch with a lot of different cultures and find out about their traditions and their way of living.

The activities were very creative, challenging and a lot of fun. Everything was planned out very well, so there was always something to do and always something new to learn.

I would recommend taking part in youth exchange programs like that to everyone. It is the best way to discover new things about the world and about yourself.

Πρόσφατα συμμετείχα σε ένα πρόγραμμα ανταλλαγής νέων, σε σχέση με την κοινωνική επιχειρηματικότητα. Σε διάστημα 12 ημερών έμαθα πώς να επικοινωνώ τα συναισθήματα και τις σκέψεις μου για να πετύχω τους στόχους μου, συμμετέχοντας σε ομαδικές δραστηριότητες. Ο πολυπολιτισμικός χαρακτήρας της ομάδας, μου επέτρεψε να έρθω σε επαφή με πολλές διαφορετικές κουλτούρες και να ανακαλύψω τις παραδόσεις και τον τρόπο ζωής τους.

Οι δραστηριότητες ήταν πολύ δημιουργικές και διασκεδαστικές. Όλα ήταν πολύ καλά οργανωμένα έτσι ώστε να υπάρχει πάντα κάτι καινούριο να κάνουμε και να μάθουμε.

Θα πρότεινα στον καθένα να συμμετάσχει σε κάποιο πρόγραμμα ανταλλαγής νέων. Είναι ο καλύτερος τρόπος να ανακαλύψεις καινούρια πράγματα για τον κόσμο και για τον εαυτό σου.