When I first decided to volunteer with Northern Lights Aid (NLA) in Kavala, Greece, I was terrified. I had never travelled abroad on my own before, let alone gone somewhere for a whole month where I knew absolutely nobody.
Looking back, I genuinely couldn’t have picked a better place for my first solo adventure. From the moment I arrived, I was supported by the NLA team, welcomed by the other volunteers and, somehow, within a few hours I had gone from “What on earth am I doing?” to sitting on a balcony eating dinner with six people I had only just met.
If you're considering volunteering but are nervous about going alone, hopefully my experience will give you an idea of what life at NLA is actually like.
Getting to Kavala
One of the things that made me feel more comfortable was knowing that Kavala has its own airport. As I was travelling alone, I liked knowing that when I landed I could simply get a taxi to NLA rather than having to immediately figure out buses and connections.
Because Kavala Airport is quite small, there aren't as many flight options. I flew from Gatwick, which was the only airport I could find offering suitable flights for my month in July. My return flights cost £276, and my taxi from Kavala Airport to NLA was €40. A lot of the other volunteers flew into Thessaloniki and then got the bus to Kavala.
Everyone I spoke to who did this said it was relatively straightforward, so don't feel like flying directly to Kavala is your only option.
When I arrived at NLA, I met the team before the field manager drove me to the volunteer flat. She gave me my keys, showed me around, provided bedding and a towel, and even pointed out the nearest shop. The shop was only about a seven-minute walk away, so I headed there to get some food before returning to the flat, showering and going to sleep while I waited for everyone else to come home.
Meeting the other volunteers
The first people to arrive back at the flat were the Community Centre Coordinator and Store Coordinator. They were incredibly welcoming, checked that I had everything I needed and then gave me some time to settle in.
Later, other volunteers came home. One of them had only been there for three days, which immediately made me feel less alone. We started chatting, and eventually everyone invited me onto the balcony for dinner. There were seven of us living together: two from Italy, two from Poland, one from the US, one from the Netherlands and me from the UK.
We all spoke English together, so I never felt excluded because I didn't speak another language. By the end of that first evening, I already felt like I had known them much longer.
It was probably the perfect first night I could have asked for.
My first day at NLA
Most mornings started with everyone getting ready for work. Some people would have breakfast together at the flat, while others would sleep in and grab something on the way.
I usually sat in the living room with my breakfast and a book. When everyone was ready to leave, they would come and get me so we could all walk to NLA together.
The walk took around 25 minutes and was mostly uphill. I will admit, during my first week I questioned whether I had accidentally signed up for volunteering and mountain climbing. Thankfully, you get used to it!
Once we arrived, there was a morning meeting where everyone could raise anything that was bothering them, share news and discuss what they wanted to achieve that day.
Volunteers were given a timetable showing where they would be working, which made everything much easier to understand. My first day also included inductions with the field manager and Store Coordinator, so I had plenty of opportunities to ask questions and get comfortable with what I was doing. A typical day started at 9am, included an hour's lunch break at 1pm, and finished at either 5pm or 6pm. Fridays finished at 3pm, giving everyone a little extra time to enjoy the weekend.
And the walk home? Completely worth the uphill journey in the morning. We usually took a different route back, which followed the coast. The views were incredible, and it was one of my favourite parts of the daily routine.
The NLA projects
There are several different areas you can get involved with at NLA, meaning you aren't stuck doing the same thing every day.
The Free Store
The store was split into several roles. At the front desk, volunteers welcomed people, managed appointments and recorded what had been taken from the store. Families could usually attend an appointment every four weeks, so volunteers also helped organise their next appointment. While people waited, we could offer them water and colouring sheets for children.
Another role was helping during store appointments. This involved accompanying people around the store and helping them find the clothes and other items they needed, before packing everything up for them. My favourite part, however, was working in the back of the store. This involved sorting donations and restocking the shelves after appointments. It was definitely the role for me because I preferred being on my feet rather than sitting behind a desk! Every Friday there was also a baby store at the community centre, where families with children up to four could access nappies, clothes and toys.
The Community Centre
The community centre had even more opportunities to get involved. One of my favourite activities was helping people write CVs. It was a great opportunity to properly get to know people, and it was incredibly rewarding to see how something as simple as helping with a CV could contribute towards someone's future. There were also language classes, and I was lucky enough to teach two of these myself. I wish I had volunteered to do this sooner because I absolutely loved it. Being able to help someone learn while also learning from them was one of the highlights of my month.
The community centre also included a baby space, doctors, a general area for people to relax, women's spaces and craft sessions. While I was there, there were even two movie nights. One in English and one in Farsi.
The Warehouse
There is also a warehouse, although there are fewer opportunities to work there. I went with the Store Coordinator to sort through donations and remove items that couldn't be used in the free store. There was a particular overflow of women's clothing, so we spent the afternoon working through boxes and organising everything. It was actually a really enjoyable day. We took turns choosing the music, worked through the boxes together and even got to finish a little earlier. Plus, there wasn't a 25-minute walk waiting for us afterwards as the warehouse is a 5 minute walk from the flat.
Life in the volunteer flat
The volunteer flat was home for the month. There were seven of us, with six other volunteers sharing the flat with me. I shared a bedroom with one other person, and the rooms were a comfortable size for two people. There were two bathrooms, a kitchen and a large living room, which quickly became the main place for everyone to sit, chat and eat together. The accommodation cost me €300 for the month. Living with people from different countries was one of my favourite parts of the experience. You quickly become a little family: sharing food, going out together, playing games and we even had a movie night one evening!
Life outside volunteering
Volunteering is a huge part of the experience, but Kavala gives you plenty to do when you're not working.
I was particularly lucky because my first weekend coincided with Cosmopolis, an annual multicultural festival in Kavala's Old Town. NLA had a stall there raising donations, so I volunteered for an extra day.
We had people from the community doing hair braiding and henna, while we sold crafts, postcards and tote bags from the community centre. It was a brilliant way to spend my first weekend because I got to know both the other volunteers and Kavala itself. There was also a beer festival during my final weekend, with live music and local and international beers.
Every Sunday there was a market around a 15-minute walk from the flat, which became a popular place for volunteers to buy fruit and vegetables for the week.
One of my favourite places, though, was a small rocky beach on the way back from the flat. Some evenings we'd go straight there after work, jump into the sea to cool down and spend the evening playing UNO and chatting in the sun.
There is also the castle in Kavala's Old Town, which costs around €5 to enter and is a great way to spend a morning.
I also joined some of the other volunteers for Pilates, and one weekend I travelled to Drama with two of my flatmates. Another unexpected highlight was visiting a small refugee museum run by a lovely couple. They explained their family's own refugee history and gave us a shot of homemade sweet liqueur, definitely not something I expected to encounter on a museum visit but made it all the more a perfect experience.
Saying goodbye
The hardest part of the whole experience was leaving.
Every volunteer who leaves NLA receives a little booklet filled with messages from the other volunteers and members of the NLA team. Mine was filled with such thoughtful messages, and it made me realise just how much the people around me had become part of my life in such a short period of time.
I also had a leaving dinner with one of my flatmates, who was leaving on the same day as me. It was the perfect opportunity for everyone to sit together one last time and properly say goodbye.
So, should you volunteer?
Before going, I was worried about travelling alone, meeting new people and whether I would actually be useful. None of those worries disappeared instantly but they became much smaller once I arrived.
NLA gave me the support I needed, the other volunteers made the flat feel like home, and the different projects meant that I could find areas of volunteering that suited me.
Most importantly, I didn't just feel like I was visiting Greece for a month. I felt like I was part of a community. I left Kavala with new friends from all over the world, countless memories, a much better understanding of the issues affecting the people NLA supports, more confidence to travel alone and an inability to look at UNO without thinking about the rocky beach.
If you're thinking about volunteering but are worried about going alone, don't let that be the thing that stops you. My month in Kavala started with me being terrified of travelling alone and ended with me wishing I didn't have to leave.
And honestly, if I could go back tomorrow, I would.
- Elliot.
