Bona Fides Association and Casa Pia de Lisboa – CED Aurélio da Costa Ferreira are looking for a Polish volunteer to join the “Keyword: Equality” project in Lisbon in PORTUGAL. To apply please send your Curriculum Vitae, cover letter and the application form to the following emails: mariachiara@bonafides.pl, iryna@bonafides.pl and applicationsportugal@proatlantico.com. Please, write in the title “8489 – ESC project Keyword Equality– Name of the volunteer”.
- Location: Lisbon, Portugal
- Deadline: as soon as possible
- Duration: 12 months
- Mobility period: 01/10/2019 – 27/09/2020
Description
Casa Pia de Lisboa (CPL) is a Public Institute under the tutelage of Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity. The mission of CPL is to promote the rights and protection of children and young people, especially those who are in danger or at risk of exclusion, to ensure their full development, through acceptance, education, training and, social and professional integration.
Casa Pia de Lisboa was the first organization in Portugal to provide popular education and is one of the most important organizations in the assistance of minors (children and young people under 18 years old).
This project will take place in Centro de Educação e Desenvolvimento António Aurélio da Costa Ferreira (CED AACF), that works with deaf blind population since 1986.
CED AACF aims to enable and support the educational and professional integration of people with sensory disabilities, in particular deaf blind persons and/or with serious problems of communication, mainly promoting access to children and young people.
For this purpose, the organization intends to develop programs of rehabilitation, training and, integration of children and youth with disabilities, including deaf blind with the aim of rehabilitation and educational, occupational, professional and social inclusion. There are 36 users aged between 4 and 48 years (average age 22-year-old).
Centro de Educação e Desenvolvimento António Aurélio da Costa Ferreira develops its work having in consideration not only the individual needs of each person but also the context where they live.
The organization studies the individual needs of each person in order to understand which skills need to be developed. Also, the context is analyzed (family, school, neighborhood) to gather the resources to meet their needs.
In parallel, the organization also establishes partnerships with institutions of the local community that take part of each life project.
The CED AACF runs a residential home (where some users live) and an occupational therapy center where the users take part in a variety of practical activities in order to develop different skills.
Profile of the volunteer
The profile of the volunteer will have general requirements: proactive, motivated to work in a social environment, with sense of responsibility, like to work in a team, flexible, with handwork skills, with communication ability, mature to work with social disadvantaged community.
A high motivation to work with children, young people and special interests on music, dance, theatre, sports, cooking, computers, handicrafts, gardening, history, photography, arts, can be an added value, since these areas their fields of interest and will be the way to reach their attention. So, it is expected the volunteers have a positive attitude, patience and, good listening capacity.
They must be sensitive to the field of disability and preferably with physical strength to support the mobility of deaf blind and physically disabled people. There’s the chance to attend activities in a swimming pool so it’s important if the volunteer knows to swim. Knowledge of Sign Language can be an added value but is an optional condition.
We will look for volunteers who are interested in working with a commitment to volunteering and had chosen our project because of the experience and development they will gain not only because it’s in Portugal.
Tasks of the volunteer
The role of the EVS volunteers will be mainly to help the team of the hosting organization to create a home and safe environment, where the children feel protected and live in a healthy way. Therefore, the volunteers have to give a lot of care and transmit a feeling of confidence in their relationship with the children.
This can be achieved by creating a good relationship with the children and earning their trust. Sometimes the children might show verbal or physic aggressive attitudes towards adults around them and have to be comprehended and at the same time everybody has to teach them rules, so they can learn values of respect, love, tolerance, etc.
It is expected the volunteers get to know all the children’s daily routine: wake up, going to school, lunchtime, but mostly back from school, playing time, dinner time, go to sleep and also during sleeping time, so sometimes work in shifts can occur. Is also expected the volunteers help in different fields:
– Help the users to move inside and outside the organization’s facilities;
– support the daily activities inside the workrooms (visual expressions, recycling and, weaving);
– support in tasks of feeding and personal hygiene;
– create a friendly, funny and home environment;
The volunteers can propose their own ideas and maybe turn it into a new workshop. Although, all new ideas must be evaluated first by the team and meet the philosophy and the needs of the hosting organization.
The volunteers also have space to do their own project and participate in activities of divulgation of Erasmus + Program (in schools, Universities, youth clubs and, youth events) and have the chance to implement a personal project.
Volunteers are also invited to give ideas about activities they want to promote with the customers, like make a presentation of their country of origin through a gastronomic activity, musical, or others, based on their own experience or sensitivity.
The activities will be done always under the supervision of the team from the institution.
The volunteers also have the chance to implement a personal project with financial support from ProAtlântico.
Volunteers will also do tasks of Divulgation of Erasmus + (in schools, Universities, youth clubs and youth events):
- Organization of exhibitions, presentations and conversations with Portuguese young people or future volunteers to motivate young people to be more active or give visibility to their project;
- Inform young people about the volunteering experience as an EVS/ volunteer in Portugal and provide information about some aspects of the volunteer’s country (ex: culture, language, cultural places, etc.).
In these activities, the volunteer must use the clothes provided for that activity (t-shirt, cap, etc).
All EVS volunteers are supposed to organize at least one intercultural event about their country and culture and participate in events promoted by other volunteers
Monitoring
During the project, the volunteer needs to make a weekly evaluation to give to the mentor and make a monthly evaluation report to give to ProAtlântico.
Dissemination
Each month, the volunteer must write a small article about his/her EVS experience and add some photos to be used in social media to promote this kind of projects.
Timetable
The volunteers will collaborate 35 hours per week for 5 days a week (30 hours of activities + 5 hours for training, language support, mentorship meetings, reports, etc.). Although, the volunteers might work different hours per day.
The schedule will be defined by the hosting organization on the arrival of the volunteer and it can change according to the activities.
The volunteers will have 2 consecutive free days each week that can vary from week to week according to the needs of the hosting organization. However, when the hosting organization has activities on volunteer’s free days and the volunteers are asked to work, they might have to choose another free day, since the collaboration of the volunteers is important.
The volunteers have the right to take the Portuguese National official holidays as free days when they match with working days. They can’t use their own national holiday as a free day unless they use a vacation day.
It is not possible to work more hours in each day to have 3 days free each week. It is needed to work 5 days each week.
The volunteers have the right to take the Portuguese National official holidays as free days when they match with working days.
The volunteers will have 2 days of holidays per month for the duration of the project, to be taken in agreement between the volunteers and the team. The volunteers can join the holidays or take them by the month. The volunteers must discuss with the project supervisor from the hosting organization the dates of holidays at least one month before.
Travel
The volunteer is entitled to one return travel ticket between the sending and the receiving country. The sending organization will help the volunteer to purchase tickets. If the cost of the ticket is more expensive than the amount of money approved, the volunteer will be responsible to cover the difference. An itinerary must be sent to ProAtlântico to get an approval before the ticket is bought.
Volunteers from Poland: 360,00 euros for both ways The calculation of the travel cost of each country has in consideration the place of the sending organization. In case the departure place of the volunteer is different, a justification must be given, and a new calculation must be done using the distance calculator from the European Commission, available at the official website:
http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/tools/distance_en.htm.
The amount of travel costs that can be reimbursed can be different. It can decrease, but it can’t increase.
Food
ProAtlântico – Associação Juvenil will provide 5€ per day to cover costs of food and extra expenses (ex: cleaning materials, …) during non-working time. The volunteer can use the food money to buy own food, cook in the apartment, eat in a restaurant, etc.).
During working time the receiving organization provides a suitable meal in the organization’s facilities, which is based on a Mediterranean diet. It is important to refer that this project doesn’t provide Vegan meals or Halal food.
It is not possible for the volunteer to get money instead of the food provided during the working time.
Accommodation
ProAtlântico provides accommodation in an apartment, University residence, hostel, hosting family or at Casa Europa, in a double bedroom with a fully equipped kitchen, toilet and living room.
The costs with electricity, water, gas, TV and Internet are covered by the project. The volunteers will have towels and bedclothes for the entire period of the project.
It is not possible to get a single room. The rooms are always shared with another volunteer of the same gender.
It is not possible for the volunteer to find his own accommodation and get money for it.
Host guests and animals and Couch Surfing is not allowed in the accommodation provided by ProAtlântico.
ProAtlântico can help you to find a cheap place for accommodation for your friends or relatives.
Local transports
A monthly local transport allowance is provided to cover at least the costs between the accommodation and the project place. The volunteer must ask for the receipt and keep it safe to give to the receiving organization team to be reimbursed.
Pocket money
The volunteer will receive pocket money for personal expenses of 5,00€ per day.
Linguistic support
ProAtlântico guarantees that the volunteer will have online linguistic through the platform OLS.
Before the activity start, the volunteer is asked to make an online test. A new test will be made at the end of the activity to assess the level of learning of Portuguese language.
Learning Portuguese language will depend on much of the volunteers work at home and in their daily contact with the local community.
How to apply?
Send an e-mail with CV, motivation letter and the application form to applicationsportugal@proatlantico.com with the subject “8489 – Keyword: Equality – Name of the Volunteer”.