How can we learn to live in diversity?
Alise is a participant in the project "Until We Are All Free," who wants to share her experience of volunteering and organizing activities in prison.
"I never imagined that I would go to prison as a volunteer. This environment was unfamiliar to me, I tried to understand how I would fit in and whether I would be able to establish contact with the participants and lead my classes without feeling anxious. I expected that there might be various risks that would challenge my views and thoughts about young people and the prison itself. Initially, when I went to familiarize myself with the prison environment and participate in other volunteers' classes, I felt quite free and relaxed: I was able to talk to the young prisoners and play board games without feeling nervous.
When I started teaching classes in prison, I was very nervous and a little bit scared because I couldn't imagine what to expect when the guys arrived, and whether my group would want to participate in the activities and take me seriously. I deliberately agreed and decided to teach one group in order to build trust and help them open up. It turned out that my concerns were unfounded. I was very surprised that these young people were open, willing to delve deeper, and also engage in conversations and practical creative workshops.
What I remember most is the class where we learned about sustainable lifestyles and worked on developing empathy. In this lesson, the group members gave practical advice on saving resources and were very open to an empathy game in which everyone had to put themselves in the shoes of different beings and answer important life questions. I was assigned a very nice group, which I not only taught, but which also taught me many practical and valuable things. The main thing that created an emotional connection and "warmed my heart" was that these young people truly appreciate volunteer work: your time and energy. Every time a class ended, they couldn't wait for the next one. That's why it's very valuable to be aware of your inner light, which you can give to others to bring about even small changes in these young people's understanding or habits.
It is understandable that prison is a monotonous environment. Physical freedom is restricted, and there are not so many opportunities to communicate and move around freely. Perhaps the time and energy devoted to volunteering in prison and organizing activities could make their lives more fulfilling and conscious. Although the name of the project is quite figurative and poetic, it can encourage us to ask important questions and understand what individual freedom is: how to become so free that your actions do not hurt or restrict the freedom of other living beings?”
“Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, European Commission or Latvian National Agency for International Programs for Youth. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”