Portugal
participants
- Ensure a better integration of exchange students in the local society
- Giving exchange students the opportunity to meet local people
- Show them the importance of volunteer projects
- Giving exchange students the chance to leave their mark in their host city and take a bigger one home with them
This activity is one way to improve local society throughout exchange students' help. We took our students to volunteer with SPAP, an association that fights to protect animals, to give them better conditions and to find them a new family. By giving our exchange students the opportunity to get in touch with the animals at the shelter, they were getting to know a less fortunate side of our society, but at the same time, falling more in love with it.
We all have love to give and this event was the perfect chance to give love to animals and to other people. The students were given the opportunity to meet local people, to share love with animals that are missing a carer and to help them by making a donation. It's important to show our exchange students that they don't need to be back home, or in their countries, to be able to leave a mark and make a difference somehow.
We got a really good feedback from the participants. They said there was a mixture of feelings, because they were sad the animals were abandoned but they were happy there was someone trying hard to take care of them. Also, helping out and petting these animals made them feel good and welcomed.
