Villasimius, vacation for volunteers in exchange for shifts on the ambulance

A fairytale vacation in Villasimius without spending anything. The dream of many people is a reality for those who - in exchange for food and lodging - dedicate a bit of their time to the service of 118 with the association "Volontari Soccorso Villasimius-Costa Sud Est". A great opportunity, although not for everyone: the invitation of the Costa Sud Est is aimed at volunteers who work in other voluntary associations (Anpas network) at a national level and who, in any case, are already trained.

The invitation

An invitation that the president of the association Giorgio Panzeri has relaunched just in these days: «We need volunteers more than ever – he explains – especially in the most intense periods, when in Villasimius there are up to eighty thousand daily presences. Unfortunately this vocation is disappearing, so we try to involve people also in this way, offering a vacation in exchange for a service».

The volunteers are welcomed at the Costa Sud Est headquarters, on the outskirts of the town. Inside the area there are four bungalows that are dedicated, precisely, to hospitality. «In 2024 – adds Panzeri – eighty volunteers arrived who joined ours. This year we expect to reach 120». No problem in August «a month where everyone would like to come – says Panzeri - Instead we invite volunteers especially for the months of June, July and September, periods among other things even more beautiful for a holiday».

The living room

The formula includes a commitment in an ambulance (or in any case operational at an emergency level) for 12 consecutive hours and then two days off: for a whole week in Villasimius, in short, two days as a rescuer and five at the seaside. "The options - Panzeri explains - are two, eight days or fifteen days. In the second case the shifts would be four of 12 hours but there are also many more days off". As a further incentive "we go and pick them up and bring them back to the airport - concludes the president of Costa Sud Est - and we give a contribution for the trip to and from Sardinia equal to fifty euros if they stay a week or one hundred euros if they stay two weeks".

The experience

Many young people from central and northern Italy approached Villasimius for the first time last season with the formula devised by the association: «There are several people in their twenties or a little older – explains Simona Vargiolu, a member of Villasimius and a rescuer on the Costa Sud Est for five years – groups of young people who at the end of their experience fall in love with the town. Let's say we become a large community». Tables, lunch and dinner together, the possibility of also bringing a relative: «On our part – adds Vargiolu – there is maximum availability, we welcome them, we stay with them and we also suggest which beach to go to. On their part there is equally a great commitment to guaranteeing always efficient rescue». There are no foreigners yet («A new protocol would be needed»), but there are foreigners resident in Italy: «It is – concludes Vargiolu – an added value, after all in the summer in Villasimius all languages are spoken».

The Costa Sud Est, a point of reference for decades in the territory for emergencies (it supports the Areus service), in case of need also intervenes outside the municipal borders because, given that the closest medical facilities are in Muravera or Cagliari, they are the only ones who can guarantee maximum speed. But we need - hence the president's appeal - more and more volunteers.

Gianni Agus