Itália

941

Data de início: 01-09-2012

Data de fim: 01-09-2013

Vagas: 2

Duração: 12 mes(es)

Data limite de candidatura: 18-12-2011

Esta vaga está reservada a voluntários portugueses

Financiamento: Aprovado

Subsídio mensal (Dinheiro de bolso): 115 €

Candidatura: Para te poderes candidatar tens de fazer o teu login. Se ainda não estás registado faz o teu registo primeiro.

Resumo: Themes: Childcare, education and recreational activities, social difficulties

Special considerations about the Host organization: The host Organization hosts children facing social and family difficulties in daily centers as well as inside a residential community. It's important to keep in mind that children are difficult to deal with and besides that, the community environment request a full immersion: there is intensive personal contact. All activities are developed in Italian.

The project takes place in the city of Vicenza, in the Veneto region, north-eastern Italy. The city has about 110.000 inhabitants and is an old and very charming city with a historic medieval town center.

Vicenza is situated in a lovely landscape, close to the mountains and surrounded by hills.

The province of Vicenza includes 121 municipalities and has a total population of approximately 750.000 inhabitants in a total area of 2.722 km2. Vicenza is well connected with other towns of Veneto like Padua, Venice and Verona.

The city and the province have seen from the second post war period on (and especially in these last years) an extraordinary economical progress, passing from a rural to an industrial economy. Vicenza is one of the main artistic cities in Italy, from centuries generating art and culture. Important names such as Andrea Palladio,Vincenzo Scamozzi and Carlo Scarpa tied their names to this reality.

The project environment is the SOS-houses, meaning that the volunteers will be most of their time in those structures: a house in which around 6 children and youngsters live together with the SOS-mother. The atmosphere is the one of a big family, where one supports the others, trying to build a peaceful and comfortable feeling, contrasting the difficult situation in which those children and youngster previously were.

Perfil: Volunteers' profile: The project is open to every young person who has a special interest and sensibility to children (especially those in a difficult situation) and could bring new energy and enthusiasm to the host organization, helping to improve the life quality of those children and enriching the free-time activities’ possibilities. Once that the volunteers will be permanently in contact with children, they should have a positive behavior, be open to play games and make different kind of activities, available to listen to children with patience, and have certain initiative and creativeness. It's mandatory to have a driving license and be available to accompany children
to diferent appointments. Basic knowledge of Italian would facilitate the initial integration of the volunteers in the activities, but it's not mandatory. The volunteer should be ready to learn Italian and get deeply engaged, also supporting household activities – as in a real family.

The project is open to every major young person who has a special interest and sensibility to children (especially those in a difficult situation) and could bring new energy and enthusiasm to the proejct and its houses, helping to improve the life quality of those children and enriching the free-time
activities’ possibilities. Once that the volunteers will be permanently in contact with children, they should have
a positive behavior, be open to play games and make different kind of activities, available to listen to children with patience, and have certain initiative and creativeness. Some further characteristics would be welcome, although they are not essential: basic knowledge of Italian (which could facilitate the initial integration of the volunteers in the activities); knowledge of other foreign languages (like French or English – which could be useful in helping children with their homework) and driving license (which could be useful supporting eventual
transport and/or accompaniment of children).

Tarefas: The suggested voluntary activity inside our institution is:

· supporting everyday-life activities in the Villaggio’s houses together with the “SOS mothers”:

educational support (accompanying to school, helping with homework); collaborating with mantainance of the house (supporting meals, helping to organize things, etc)

· organizing and promoting and free-time activities: entertainment: promoting games, sports, cultural activities, music workshops, painting, visit in a museum, etc. (all the creative ideas to enrich this activities are very welcome!)
The volunteers will benefit the local community because their presence will enrich and improve the quality of life of the children and youngsters assisted, supporting them to deal with the hard situation they are passing, and helping them to return to their families (or to be integrated in a new one). Besides that, they will be in contact with the community (relatives who come to visit the children, youngsters and mothers, besides the language course, public activities organized by the Villaggio and presentation in schools). They will be an example of peaceful living together with people from other countries and of the importance of solidarity and social work.

The volunteers will not face any rules or conditions different from what it’s expected inside of the European Union. Inside of the SOS-homes, the volunteers will always be supported by their mentor as well as the “SOSmothers” (work supervisor). Besides that, the volunteer can also count on the support of the responsible for EVS in the Host Organization and the EVS coordinator of the Coordinating Organization(which usually acts as our coordinating organization, helping us with all bureaucratic and administrative procedures, besides the orientation and support to the volunteers).

· what will be the role of EVS volunteers in the Host Organisation,

The main role of the volunteers is to collaborate with the staff of the project, acting like the “big brother/sister” of the children and youngsters. The volunteers - as well as the educators - are like a “big family” for the children. They will never be alone carrying out the activities and will never be forced to do something they don't want to. They will be there as VOLUNTEERS, therefore, they will not substitute the place
of social workers or pedagogues.

· the activities in which the volunteers could be involved and the activities the volunteers could create in your organisation.

The exact activities in which they will be involved depends on the house they will work (Casa Ilia, Comunità Educativa Mamma-Bambino, etc.), but the duties of our volunteers will always include helping the “SOS mothers” to organize the every-day-life activities (helping with the preparation of lunch, supporting homework, accompanying children from the school, etc), and contribute actively in the organization and coordination of
recreational and educational activities (e.g. games inside and outside the house, handicraft activities, swimming, cinema, music workshops, etc).

The exact activity can change a lot and depends on several things like weather, season, humor of children, material at disposition, specific need, etc. They will always be discussed together with the “SOS mother” and the educational team of Villaggio. They can be, for example:

- table games and puzzles;
- outside games (like hide-and-seek, play catch, etc);
- manual activities (painting, baking, gardening, etc.);
- sport activities (swimming, playing soccer, volleyball, etc.);
- cultural activities (cinema/films, some special exposition, visiting a museum, discussing a topic, etc.)

The volunteers will have the possibility to propose and implement as many new activities they would like.

Their ideas will be always taken into consideration and discussed together in order to find out and organize the scope and result predicted, providing also to the volunteer the opportunity not only to use the imagination and initiative, but also to learn with the process.

Horário: Just to make a practical example, the typical time table could be as it follows:

Monday – Friday
8.00–9.00 - Breakfast together with the children and accompanying them to school
9:00–12:00 – free time
12.00–13.00 - Accompanying the children from school to the Villaggio and preparing lunch
13.00-14.00 - Lunch together with the children
14.00-14.30 - Relaxing moment (with music or stories)
14.30-16.00 - Supervision of the homework or preparation of free-time activities
16.00–18.00 - Coordinating the free-time activities
18.00 – End of working day

Usually the volunteers will work 5 days a week, having 2 days off. The working days won’t be always from Monday to Friday. There will be shifts in which the volunteers will participate also in the weekend’s activities.

In those cases, the volunteers will have some extra days off in the following week.

Formação: The competences and attitudes we expect the volunteers to acquire during the service are the followings:

· intercultural sensitiveness and knowledge in intercultural communication
· competences in the organization and coordination of projects
· abilities in leading and coordinating groups
· knowledge about new socio-cultural realities which are different from their own one
· competences concerning the social work with children and youngsters (especially those living in difficult
realities)
· sensitiveness concerning the rights of the children
· improvement of abilities in the field of animation and promotion of recreational activities (free-time
activities but also pedagogical and educational ones)
· personal growth: independence, self-confidence etc.

The volunteers will get the possibility to acquire these competences through the duties they will carry out at the
hosting project which includes mainly the organization of the everyday-life activities and the promotion of recreational and educational activities. They will be always supported by the staff of the SOS-homes, which will explain and discuss with them the scope of each action, its on-going and result, showing and teaching them how to proceed this kind of social work.

During the performance of the recreational and educational activities, the volunteers will have the possibility to organize and carry out projects related to their own culture, to the aspect of intercultural communication and any other topic they think would be appropriated. When they will have acquired confidence with the guests of the SOS houses and the hosting project in general, they can develop their projects independently in the moment they would like to. They will always be supported and guided by the “SOS mothers” and the other collaborators of Villaggio in the house they are. The volunteers will learn to work autonomously and to rely on their capacities and knowledge, developing self-confidence. Besides that, the opportunity of being abroad, without the family and usual friends, using a different language and facing a different reality will give them the chance to reflect, to open their mind and to grow up as individuals. The meetings with all volunteers from the Host Organization will also be a nice opportunity, allowing the volunteers to change experiences with each other and grow up together.

Furthermore, the volunteers will have the chance to participate in an Italian language course, which probably lasts the whole academic year and takes place two times a week, in the evening.

During the whole period of the voluntary service, monthly meetings will be organized between the central office of the Villaggio and the volunteers. It should be an added moment for the exchange between the Villaggio and the volunteers and a space to talk about possible problems, perplexities and curiosities. Furthermore, the EVS coordinator of INCO will arrange regular meetings in order to verify if the project as a whole is going well concerning all the different aspects.

Documentação: HOW TO APLLY:

1-) If you would like to participate in this selection process, please mention on the top of the application "Selection process 2012 – Villaggio SOS di Vicenza”

2-) You should send us in
the application following documents/information:
- CV (in English or Italian, better to follow the Europass format)
- motivation letter specific to the host organization in which you would like to do your service
(in the motivation letter you should explain why would you like to participate in the EVS, why
Italy, why this specific project, what do you think you could learn, which could be the difficulties
you could face, etc.);
- a picture (if you haven't added to your CV)
For the moment, there is no need to fill other forms or send any document by regular post. The
email with the documents and information requested should be sent to
3-) After the 19th December, the selection will be officially closed and we will proceed with some
phone interviews.
We will be waiting for your application!