6 months of EVS in Menfi, Sicily
Working in a Community with children and teenagers
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION "INSTITUTO WALDEN":
WHO: Istituto Walden
WHEN: June-December 2015
WHO: 2 EVS Volunteers
WHERE: Menfi, SIcily, Italy
WHO WE ARE:
Walden Institute was formed in 1993 as "Psycho-Social Center for people with Handicap, Disability and marginalization". This institute manages now four residential communities for minors, 3 in Menfi (AG) and 1 in Sciacca (AG), and a Center for pregnant women and single mothers and women have been abused in Sciacca (AG). Walden Institute also manages a daycare center in Menfi. It carries out preventive activities for Preteens and Teens. It offers home care services for old people, disabled children and adults. Our mission is to fulfill the general needs of Sciacca’s community, and in particular those
one of marginalized people. We promote social and human integration of the citizens through activities for children and teenagers and social services for women, old people and disabled. We offer domiciliary services and manage residential structures where our activities take place.
WHAT WE DO:
Our staff is composed of 55 women and 2 boys, divided in the three centers between
Sciacca and Menfi. Recently, the cooperative has focused on the integration of disadvantaged people, former drug addicts or alcoholics, and women and men who have been in jail. Walden Institute has also opened an office in support of family
relationships and educational responsibilities. Today the organization has a strong
experience. This is the result of a strong professional identity and an effective
collaboration among all the staff members, who have been able to adapt to different
situations and changes. Walden Institute has always operated in social work field, using
the knowledge and the experience of everyday life, in order to remove obstacles
and thus strengthen and consolidate the various cognitive processes and training.
ABOUT THE VENUE:
Menfi is a small town where less than 13.000 inhabitants live. It’s located in Agrigento province, in Sicily. It is an isolated, conservative and tradition-rooted village, situated in a
beautiful agricultural area, 2 hours far from the first main city, Agrigento, and 15 minutes to the seaside. The Menfi Municipality’s coastline has 10 km of beautiful beaches and in 2013, Menfi received by the Foundation for Environment Education (FEE) the recognition of the blue flag for the environmental quality of the sea and the cost.
The two volunteers will be hosted in an independent apartment in the City centre of Menfi.
ACTIVITIES AND REGISTRATION FOR THE PROJECT:
MAIN ACTIVITIES OF THE VOLUNTEERS:
The two EVS volunteers will be involved in different activities with children and teenagers from 0 to 17 years old, in the educational centers of Menfi.
The principal tasks they will carry out are:
• Support and help children between 0 and 17 in after-school activities, helping them with homework and giving supplementary lessons if needed.
• Organize together with the staff and the local volunteers recreational activities to create moments of animation such as games and workshops; artistic,musical and kitchen laboratories.
• Organize together with the staff one linguistic workshop in their own language.
• Organize new events like carnivals, storytelling evenings and outdoor activities in different locations.
• Support the staff and the other volunteers with excursions to the beach, swimming pools and with many other kind of activities that take place mostly in summer time
• Help the staff and the local volunteers in food preparation and in clearing the
premises before and after services.
WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR:
• A creative and proactive person
• A friendly and active person
• A person that wants to develop interpersonal relationships
• a person that is really interested in working with young people
• a person who is ready to live 6 months in a small, traditional and provincial town
• a person that wants to learn Italian language
• an open-minded person that is ready to understand the learning process and the rules of
cohabitation in Walden Institute
• structures
• a person with a strong motivation to have an intensive experience of work with teenagers in difficult situations
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS PROJECT:
If you are interested, please, send your CV, Motivation letter and filled in the questionary to Cazalla Intercultural: tea@cazalla-intercultural.org
Cazalla Intercultural
Email: tea@cazalla-intercultural.org
Website: cazalla-intercultural.org
Location: Lorca, Spain
Phone: 968-47-75-66