Hi Sefallah! Just to begin the interview tell us briefly about yourself: who you are, where are you from and where are you going.

My name is Sefallah Mahamat, I’m from France, more exactly from Mont-de-Marsan, a small city located in the West South. I’m a student at Bordeaux University.

What did you study and what did you do during everyday life in your country? Did you have some previous experiences as a European volunteer or NGO member? What are your main tasks here in Bulgaria as a coworker for the Association FOR YOU? 

I’m studying for the professional bachelor «International Solidarity and Sustainable Development». I had a simple and ordinary life in my country: I practice team football since I was a child and I stopped going to school just three years ago to work.  I didn’t have any experience as a European volunteer or NGO member before to come here in Varna. I just lived in Manchester for 6 months, working and studying with some volunteers. Nothing really formal, to be honest. Within the Association FOR YOU, my tasks are about assisting the responsible of the LDV/Erasmus+ program in order to improve and promote it. I am also collaborating with the Accorderie, a new Canadian program about free exchanges services that the Associaton wants to create here in Varna.

             

How did you find this project to apply and why did you choose it according to the expectations about your future?

I found this project to apply because of my sending structure. To validate my degree I needed to do an internship abroad. Thanks to CEMEA Aquitaine, I’ve been able to find an opportunity in this place. I had the chance to go in a lot of countries for my training, but I’ve chosen this one because even if I travelled a lot around the world I didn’t know the Eastern part of Europe at all. The project of Association FOR YOU interested me a lot. I wanted to discover several different and new things. I thought that it could have been a good opportunity to do something interesting about social development as well.

Working in a foreign country on behalf of a hosting organization could be a pretty nice chance to procrastinate your actual life plans in order to take the opportunity to discover and enjoy something totally new. Are you developing an interesting personal project related to your studies or your work? If the answer is yes, please do a short description of it. 

Yes, I am developing a personal project. Thanks to Association FOR YOU, I have been able to reflect about a new French project concerning the free exchange services. For now, It’s just a simple idea, but I’m sure it would be possible creating something good from it.

How do you find living and breathing Bulgaria in comparison with your past foreign trips? What surprising and unexpected sides of this country would you descript to your French or African friends and why?

Bulgaria is a nice and well-living country. Before to come here I had some stereotypical images and ideas about this place. All of them were wrong because Bulgaria is not the miserable and bad country that people who don’t know think about. Maybe it’s a bit poor but amazing and full of history at the same time. I may descript a lot of things I’ve been enjoying here, but if I should manage to choose just one, it could be the kindness and the mutual aid of people.

    

I know you’re a really big sports lover. Try to make a synthetic and humorous report about your first two months here in the form of football chronicle.

The life of a sportsman here in Varna is perfect. There is the sea close to the centre. An amazing « Sea Garden » full of nice fields for walking, running, playing football, tennis or volleyball with your new friends. I recommend to everyone the opportunity to live here because it won’t regret it.

Thank you Sefallah! Both as a soccer player and worker I wish you to be able to reach your ultimate “goal”!

Thank you and your Association FOR YOU for having allowed me to live this experience.