Meet Amaya

Over a period of two years, we worked with partners across Finland (Hanko), Turkey (DeM), Italy (Don Milani) and Spain (Misericordia) to place young people as change-makers at the heart of their communities. Having been trained to develop skills in raising awareness about local issues, working with the community, managing a project, and promoting and disseminating their findings, young people led on local projects towards cohesion in their communities.

Meet Amaya, a student at Misericordia CIPFP in Valencia, Spain, one of our partners from the Erasmus+ funded project, @ The Heart of Communities. Amaya was part of the team of students that led on the cohesion process by connecting with her community through local initiatives

“We are dedicated to teaching with love, improving the quality of life of children with different capacities and situations. Sharing projects with the community empowers us. It makes us more generous and humane people and it works perfectly.

It is essential to believe in teenagers guided by other people because there is magic in it.”

Amaya Bejarano Huertes

Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you live and what are your interests? 

My name is Amaya and I live in Valencia, Spain. I like people in general and adolescents and children in particular. I like to do training on personal growth and emotional intelligence.

 

In your own words, tell us what the @The Heart of Communities project is all about

It is a great project where good is done in the environment in which we live, guided by professionals in social integration.

 

What have you learned and what have you enjoyed the most?

This project has changed me to be a more open, human and empathetic person.  I have enjoyed being and learning from my tutors and young people.

 

What has been the impact of the project in your community?

The awareness that small things can turn into a big change when many people are involved.

 

What changes would you like to see as a result of the project? 

More hours to be able to do work on what we started in the project so that we can share more with the community.

 

You can explore our toolkit which captures their stories and shares the skills they acquired and the lessons they learnt. It is a source of inspiration and a resource for ideas and practicalities for young people around the world who wish to be the change in their communities. You can access our toolkits in English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.