Volunteers work also on the church in Dubová. (source: TASR)
Three castle ruins in eastern Slovakia welcomed foreign volunteers in August with the task to help with renovation works at the castles. More than 20 young people from Europe (Netherlands, Finland, Portugal, and Italy) as well as from Korea and Japan are involved in the renewal work at of the castle ruins in Šariš, Brekov and Kamenica. The international project is tutored by INEX Slovakia, a civic non-profit association, the SITA newswire wrote.
Volunteers are helping with archaeological research at Kamenica and also with the reconstruction work near the remains of the ruin. At Šariš, they are attempting to preserve the castle’s ruins, 300 years old, by logging the nearby self-seeding woods and by doing bricklaying and masonry work at the castle itself. At the ruins of Brekov the volunteers are also undertaking masonry work, according to SITA This summer the association has already organised four other volunteer projects in Slovakia: at the ruins of Čierny Hrad in Sklabiňa, in the children’s summer camp in Ivánka pri Dunaji, in the natural bird reserve in Senné in east Slovakia, and in environmental preservation activities in Kremnica.
As part of every project, a cultural and food festival is prepared for the participants as well as local citizens where the project is explained as well as the work of the international team and information is shared about the various cultures. And since international guests are asked to prepare their national delicacies, Slovak citizens get the chance to taste these different tastes without travelling very far. A representative from the international association from France will visit Slovakia for a second time to inspect all the projects and bring news and information about other activities. She will also speak to the volunteers and local residents about the message of the European Year of the Fight against Poverty and Social Exclusion. The target group for projects sponsored by INEX are young people, focusing on education and country-to-country exchanges.
