It’s been an interesting journey for Anna Krzeszowska-Hovanecz since she set up and took the helm as CEO of Stowarzyszenie Akwedukt five years ago. We talked to Anna, who is also an international trainer, about her pioneering approach in community service and her ambitions towards Akwedukt.

Where Does “Akwedukt” Come From?

It came from the initiative of active youth workers as we were working together in a different association called ‘Eco-Initiative’. And now let’s dig a bit into the past: I was raised here in Kwidzyn, then I moved to Gdansk to study at the University of Gdansk, then I became a volunteer working in different associations, and then we started doing the European Voluntary Services. And worth mentioning, all worked very well!

Then, after a while, I decided to move back to Kwidzyn cause I knew that intercultural learning was very important, especially for those living in a small town like Kwidzyn. And so, that’s why I encouraged ‘Eco-Initiative’ to start working under the auspices of the European Solidarity Corps having our first volunteers from Latvia and France. It was 2009, the society was very open and eager to learn, and since then we started to cooperate with other institutions willing to host our volunteers.

Finally, all this became very popular among the people in Kwidzyn, and in 2015 ‘Eco-Initiative’ encouraged us to set up Stowarzyszenie Akwedukt to focus on the voluntary and community service topic since ‘Eco-Initiative’ mainly focused on ecology and environment movement. Then, with the help of the people who worked back then and my husband Sanyi, who is a foreigner and willing to bring fresh energy to Kwidzyn, we established Akwedukt in 2015 with the main objective to support activities of local people while using national and international methods of voluntary service.

From those times on Akwedukt brings something even more than international diversity to Kwidzyn. It brings fresh ideas and thoughts, fresh vision in general! Stowarzyszenie Akwedukt became one of the biggest organizations in Poland working on the European Solidarity corps projects.

Who is Akwedukt target Audience?

The local community in general and young people from all over the world.

What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning?

If your kids are jumping on your head that would definitely motivate you to wake up😊 But generally, I like to work with people, I like to see them smiling and to make them happy!

In your opinion, what is Akwedukt most valuable service to be delivered for locals?

The cultural diversity of experiences and knowledge.

Akwedukt is a local community service, yet an international organization at the same time. How is this?

It’s quite an easy point – international volunteers bring energy and make services for the local community helping in the public institutions. All this works along with their sending organizations that actually became a part of a very strong and international network.

How does Akwedukt develop volunteers and people?

This is the biggest objective of the hosting organizations as the ones working with the volunteers: during the meetings and training, coordinators doing their best to present the vision and the mission of the place in the way the volunteers can learn how to work, to explore, to develop and to find the ways to grow personally.

When it comes to Akwedukt as a coordinating organization, volunteers work there as well mainly when preparing country presentation. And let me tell you most of the volunteers tell us it’s a fascinating challenge as sometimes you have to make a presentation for more than 100 people, along with the culture week which is completely unexplored work for the volunteers, since the target groups of children and teens really differ from each other. And also the non-formal methods we use differ, and all come with personal development as the volunteers live exploring different cultures in the same flat or the same room sharing the same space, finding common points while arguing.

What is the biggest risk Akwedukt facing?

Apart from the financial issue which is always a risk, there is something I wouldn’t call a risk, but still – it’s the change in generations and the engagement, understanding and the attitudes towards the work, which is different from the old generation one.
And also I consider working with people to be risky and very interesting at the same time. And well, this exactly motivates me to wake up every day as I never expect what the day brings.

What is the most significant thing you’ve changed your mind on in the last 5 years?

I found everything I wanted at home, and so and I don’t need to travel all around the world to find my place and my people!

What surprises you?

People surprise me every day!

When It Comes To volunteering in Akwedukt, do you need volunteers from the local community?

We need Polish volunteers to help during the preparations for the culture week and to work as mentors for our international volunteers.

We know that Akwedukt welcomes worldwide volunteers and so what personal characteristics do you look for in the potential candidate?

Self-motivation and knowing why do you want to move to another place to work with the kids. Such work is really challenging, and you should know why and how are you going to do it. Worth to mention we never search only for ones with extensive experience, you just need to be aware of what does work with the kids means, what are you looking for and what do you want to bring to the local community.

What are your hopes for Akwedukt in the future?

Surviving the corona crisis, and having volunteers all around the world still willing to come to a small community like Kwidzyn which might be a challenge!

And hoping for the young people who still would come and bring the values to the community, as we really need this in our lives.