In 2018 I learned about SCI workcamps and the opportunity to do a voluntary job around the world.

My main motivation was that the camps that are organized abroad allow each individual to learn about different jobs, ideas and get acquainted with different world cultures. I have always wanted to see other countries and their structural organization and these camps enable you to become part of a country system for a short period of time, where you will see the system and the performance of that country by working on its own. Being a Finnophile (a person who is obsessed with Finland) of course I was focused to go there.

My first camp in 2018 was in Farming Community in the Herttoniemi food cooperative camp in Vantaa, Finland. I was in a bio farm camp where the main goal was that people should have fresh vegetables and their growth should be natural. That camp has taught me how important the quality of food is in our lives and that we also need to keep the soil and the environment high.

Why I like Food not Bombs workcamp?

The topic of the camp in peace and disarmament introduced me to a wide variety of subjects in the field of peaceful things. Various experiences like these, example the war in my country, the wars across the world provided me with a strong footing in this camp.

While offering both depth and breadth across this field, the study theme and the type of work have put me into the perspective of the importance and relevance of the peace and disarmament and the application of its fundamentals to the problems faced by the real world.

Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International, while Nonviolence is the personal practice of being harmless to self and others under every condition. It comes from the belief that hurting people, animals or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and refers to a general philosophy of abstention from violence. Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. People deal with conflict in a variety of ways, therefore you need different conflict resolution strategies. … Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann developed five conflict resolution strategies that people use to handle conflict, including avoiding, defeating, compromising, accommodating, and collaborating.

Peace is when people are able to resolve their conflicts without violence and can work together to improve the quality of their lives. This means: power, income and assets, fairness, equality, justice and Safety.

Everyone has the power to participate in shaping political decisions and the government is accountable to the people and everyone has an equal opportunity to work and make a living, regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other aspect of identity. Also, this means that everyone is equal before the law and systems for justice are trusted, and fair and effective laws protect people’s rights. Peace means that all the people should live in safety, without fear or threat of violence, and no form of violence is tolerated in law or in practice.

Peacebuilding and disarmament approaches and methods are varied and diverse, but they all ultimately work to ensure that people are safe from harm, have access to law and justice are included in the political decisions that affect them, have access to better economic opportunities, and enjoy better livelihoods.

This is the fourth year that I’m going to participate and this is because of the good reputation of high-quality education standards, an extremely distinguished type of works and studies, and research facilities are the factors which have motivated me to participate for this camp again.

General Motivation to participate in SCI workcamps

My main motivation to do a volunteer project or in this case to participate any camp is to learn more and to share my ideas, in this case about Peace and disarmament. Peacebuilding is about dealing with the reasons why people fight in the first place and supporting societies to manage their differences and conflicts without resorting to violence. It aims to prevent the outbreak, escalation, continuation and recurrence of violence, so can take place before, during and after conflicts.

It is a long-term and collaborative process, as it involves changes in attitudes, behaviours and norms. Importantly, Peace and disarmament is done collaboratively, at local, national, regional and international levels. Individuals, communities, civil society organisations, governments, regional bodies and the private sector all play a role in building peace. Volunteering is rewarding and good for the soul and I would like to use my interests and skills by assisting in the volunteer community.

SCI Workcamps are camps to be followed by each individual. These camps will learn a lot of new things in life. You will get acquainted with different cultures of people. You will benefit from the successful experiences of the places you are going to go to. Also, these camps will bring many new ideas into your mind and will change your approach to many aspects of life.

Food not Bombs camp suits me very well to implement my ideas and visions; also, I would like to learn from others, from their experiences and leadership. Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. The leader is the person in the group that possesses the combination of personality and leadership skills that makes others want to follow his or her direction.

Participating in those workcamps in Finland allowed me to enjoy and understand life in Finland, going to different places and enjoying so many cultural activities.

Ideal Kurshumlia