The INTEGRA team in Guinea © VSI

For Claire Matjasec, volunteering at INTEGRA via Le Volontariat de Solidarité Internationale (“International Solidarity Volunteering”, or VSI), a French national volunteer agency, has been an “adventure worth living”.

Already in these first six months of her 12-24-month experience, Claire has become a crucial part of the INTEGRA project in Guinea, where she works as the Project Coordination Support Officer. She is responsible for INTEGRA’s many partnerships, including its partnerships with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Belgian and German Development Agencies, and even the European Union, which funds the project. She also manages relations with the Guinean government. These partnerships are the key to INTEGRA’s success, a fact that is not lost on Claire: she approaches her tasks with attention to detail, a team spirit, and the drive to further INTEGRA’s mission. For her work, she was recently featured in the newsletter and website of France Volontaires, the parent organization for VSI.

According to Claire, volunteering is a unique and rewarding experience that can lead to enormous personal and professional growth. She says that this experience has helped her become more open and more aware of the world around her. She has also appreciated the chance to further international development and to discover Guinea. We are lucky to have her on this project and wish her every success during her remaining time!

INTEGRA is a joint project implemented by Enabel (Belgium’s Development Agency), the UNDP, and UNCDF. It aims to support the socio-economic integration of young people and returning migrants by helping to guide 8,000 Guinean youths toward employment.