Our Volunteer Experience with EmpowerVan - Lidia & Lou-Anne

It’s time for us, Lidia and Lou-Anne, the honored first on the ground volunteers of EmpowerVan, to share a glimpse of our month of volunteering, an experience that has deeply marked us.

From our very first contacts with Claude, we felt that our commitment would be met with kindness, trust, and support. Whether it was information about the context of the missions or help finding accommodation in Athens, Claude answered all our questions, which made our beginnings so much easier. The first self-defense class we attended immediately convinced us that we were not simply taking part in a symbolic project, but in an initiative with tangible impact. Seeing women leave a class more confident, more connected with one another, sharing what they had learned or felt, was powerful. For us, now, self-defense is not just about techniques: it also carries strong symbolic meaning. It is a lever to rebuild confidence, to create spaces of sisterhood, to support women to feel like actors of their lives rather than vulnerable.

One of the aspects we appreciated most was the trust placed in us. Driving the van, taking it to the mechanic, helping to set it up, representing EmpowerVan with partners, helping to run seminars, joining workshops : all these responsibilities, far from being anecdotal, strengthened our sense of belonging and usefulness. We also contributed to more “behind-the-scenes” tasks according to our skills: creating social media posts, developing a logical framework and a theory of change. Altogether, this diversity of tasks reflects Claude’s ability to listen, adapt, and personalize the volunteering experience. Every profile has a place, every engagement has value.

Throughout the month, the EmpowerVan team, supportive and caring, encouraged us to learn by doing. From our very first contact to our last day in the field (though we are sure this won’t be our “last contact”), we truly felt the EmpowerVan spirit.

This month opened our eyes to the realities of the camps, allowed us to walk alongside courageous women, to learn new self-defense techniques but above all to help create a space of mutual support. We will carry this experience with us for a long time. We leave feeling stronger, motivated to keep acting, and inspired by EmpowerVan and its potential.

We can only encourage you to take the leap: there is no such thing as a small commitment, only presences that matter.

Written by Lou-Anne & Lidia