Call for Volunteers - EVS in Guatemala
- Details
- Written by Together
We are looking for volunteers for a unique project of European Voluntary Service that will take place in Guatemala. You have the chance to become a real volunteer in a developing country and help the local community in this beautiful place!
Volunteers should come from: Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy and Poland.
Participants: 18 – 30 years old
Date: from June 2011 to February 2012
Duration of the voluntary service: 2 months
Hosting placement: Quetzaltenango, the second biggest city in the country
Information about the project
In order to promote the active citizenship of young people and to give them the opportunity to experience life in a different environment, develop their understanding of other cultures, and work on the understanding of the notion to be a European citizen, we wish to send 20 young volunteers (5 at the same time for 4 rounds) to the project in Guatemala where they would be helping with different activities including social, cultural, practical and intercultural tasks.
The project is targeted at young people with “fewer opportunities” coming from different social and cultural backgrounds, that mean that young people with educational, financial, family or other problems are the main target group of the project. The EVS, especially carried out in a country outside Europe, will be a great opportunity for them to change their life in a positive direction, raise their self-esteem and develop their skills and competences.
20 young people from 5 different countries of Europe will spend two months voluntary service in Latin America. This large-scale project will promote also in the local communities involved the intercultural tolerance and dialogue and will fight against discrimination, racism and xenophobia. As Guatemala and the whole Latin America has strong cultural links to Europe determined by the historical evolution, the project will also promote co-operation and friendship among the people of both regions. The project will also develop solidarity and promote active citizenship among young people.
Twenty young people from Europe, although facing difficult situations in their daily life, will come for two months to Guatemala, a developing country, to help the local community. They will undertake different tasks in the hosting organisation, be in contact with the local community in Guatemala and be useful for them. The volunteers with fewer opportunities will feel that their work is appreciated and helps somebody and this will raise their self-esteem as well as strengthen their active citizenship.
It will be also great tool to promote participation of young people in solving problems of the local community as the young volunteers will work for the sake of the local community as well as propose their own personal projects during their EVS.
Profile of the volunteers
The project is open for young people with fewer opportunities. This means that the volunteers should be coming from a difficult social background, with family problems, financial problems, be unemployed and out of study, with low level of education, limited opportunities to travel, coming from a disadvantaged geographical locality, etc. There is no precise definition for young people with fewer opportunities, but the project aims to help those young people who do not have the same chances as other people in their age.
Selection process
Profile of the volunteers The project is open for young people with fewer opportunities. This means that the volunteers should be coming from a difficult social background, with family problems, financial problems, be unemployed and out of study, with low level of education, limited opportunities to travel, coming from a disadvantaged geographical locality, etc. There is no precise definition for young people with fewer opportunities, but the project aims to help those young people who do not have the same chances as other people in their age.
The volunteers will be selected by the sending organisations in their countries (Together Czech Republic, Together Estonia, Together France, WIP Italy and EFM Poland). The volunteers should be motivated to provide their energy to the local community in Guatemala. The applicants who are interested should fill in the application form and send it together with motivation letter to the sending organisation.
If the volunteer is pre-selected, there will be a lot of preparation expected from the volunteers:
- The volunteers should research information about Guatemala
- Write some articles about him/herself, his/her expectation, motivation. It will be uploaded to the website of the project and will connect the volunteer to the project and to the other volunteers all around Europe.
- Ensure they have all the necessary vaccination (the costs of vaccination, agreed in advance by the sending organisation, will be reimbursed)
- Arrange a written confirmation from a doctor - general practitioner that they are able to travel for 2 months to Guatemala for the voluntary service.
- Participate in one international activity before their EVS project to get an idea about the work of the organisation. (for this activity the volunteer should cover 30% of the travel costs and pay 20 EUR participation fee for the activity)
- Be interested to promote his/her experience and make visible the action s/he took part in and be an active multiplier in the sending organisation
If all this process is successful, the volunteer will have the chance to become a volunteer in Guatemala for 2 months.
If you are interested in becoming an EVS volunteer in Guatemala, please fill in the application form and send it to us together with motivation letter and other documents.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us: www.network-together.eu
Contact persons:
- Czech Republic – Eva Peterkova - JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING
- Estonia – Anna Roganova – JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING
- France – Adeline Serrand - JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING
- Italy – Lara Mastrogiovanni - JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING
- Poland - Adam Jasnikowski - JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING
