POLONYA 2012-15

• Contact person: anna swietanowska
• Coordinating organisation:The Foundation of Social Integration Prom
• Host:The Foundation of Social Integration: http://www.fundacjaprom.pl
• Location: Wroclaw, Poland
• Deadline: 10/04/2012
• Start: 01/09/2012
• End: 30/06/2013
• 
  “Jump onto the volunteer's ferry” group EVS project will be realized in Foundation of Social Integration Prom from Wroclaw, between 1st Sept 2012 and 31st July 2013.
  4 volunteers will work during 10 months (activity starts 01.09.2012 finish 30.06.2013). Main task of the project is equal opportunities and roma communities. Project is aimed at developing solidarity and promoting mutual understanding among young people. Volunteers will work in community centers for youth and children, including the one integrating for polish and Romani group, in You are not alone- a club for people with mental disorder and their families, sometimes in the office helping by ongoing project in the frame of Governmental Romani Programme. Four hours a week will be dedicated to polish lessons. Methods that will be used in the project (workshops, observations, exchange of ideas, cooperation process, group dynamics, multimedia presentations, integrational meetings) assume that volunteers will actively take part in every stage. Through participation in the project four young people will get acquainted with Polish culture and the Roma minority, will increase their interpersonal, intercultural and language skills, learn interesting ways to work with groups at risk of exclusion, increase self-reliance and responsibility through a confrontation with another culture.
  Our organization is located in Wrocław www.wroclaw.pl/ms/english/, www.wirtualnywroclaw.eu/ – a very open and cosmopolitan city for full of young people and students

Tasks

Volunteers will be working in the Club for people with mental problems three times a week, in the morning. In the afternoon in different community centres for children and youngsters: one of which integrates Roma and Polish children and another is based in neighbourhood with various social problems. Sometimes they will be asked to work in the office helping by on going projects, especially those in frame of Governmental Programme for the Roma community in Poland. Proposed activities:- participation and help in the activities for children and persons with mental problems- participation and help in the activities for persons with mental problems- participation in educational projects organised by the foundation- helping in organization of important events exe. Christmas Eve with Prom Foundation.- preparation of volunteers´ own activities under the supervision of Prom’s educational workers- organisation of meetings with the representatives of other community centres and non-governmental organisations from Wroclaw promoting volunteering within the Roma Association -Romani Bacht.- meetings promoting volunteers’ cultural background- organisation of international meetings and conferences within Governmental Programme for the Roma community in Poland.- searching for potential partners interested in project with Roma communities, creating data bases,- searching for recent information about Roma communities in volunteers country- making contacts with foreign publishing houses willing to published pictures story about Romani History or other publications made by Foundation Prom.- helping by food distribution for Roma community and the poorest families from our beneficiaries.- organisation and participation in winter or summer holidays for children from community centres- promotion of the European Voluntarism within the young people from the community centres contributing to the increase of knowledge about different countries and their cultural tradition Volunteers will have a chance to observe different specialist at work: teachers, psychologists, dance teachers, language teachers, music therapy and art therapy teachers.

Criteria

Volunteers profile: We would like to invite all the people to take part in the project who are:-interested in psychology, educational science studies, social work in a big city,- interested in Roma culture, history and current problems of Roma community,- creative,- optimistic, outgoing and honest,- flexible, friendly and helpful,- independent, with ability to show initiative,- responsible and trustworthy,- interested and experienced in work with children, youth, people with mental problems and minorities,- interested and experienced in working in NGO’s office, helping with international projects, Volunteers are not required to have qualifications necessary to work with children, young people or people with mental problems, but some experience in working with this group is essential. It will be great when they have also interesting skills and hobby: sport, painting, drawing, hand crafts, dancing, circus skills, playing instruments or singing – very popular with our beneficiaries. Good computer skills will help in work by the projects in the Foundation office.

Procedure

Volunteers will be selected first through their CV’s with picture and Cover Letters. All the volunteers will be treated equally through the whole selection process. First round of interviews will be conducted by the recruiting team in the sending organisation and the second round in the host organisation. The final decision will be taken in the host organisation by community centres´ educational workers and management team. We would like to cooperate with Sending Organization which has similar objectives to ours.