Working with Roma communities (children and families) and learning about Upcycling and waste transformation

Esc program in Spain (Valencia) – Working with Roma communities (children and families) in the school Santiago Apóstol Cabanyal and learning about Upcycling and waste transformation with local associations.

Dates of the program:

11th January – 7th December 2021

Applications accepted until 24th of December 2020.

Requirements:

We are looking for 3 highly motivated volunteers ONLY from any of the EU programme countries with a very positive attitude, adaptable to change and able to work independently. The right candidates should have:

• a big interest in working with children/youth from marginalised areas and non-formal education.
• Having interest or experience in Upcycling or transformation of waste will be a plus!
• At least an intermediate level of the Spanish language (B1/B2) is required.

General information

The project will be developed in Valencia which is the capital of the entire region of Valencian Autonomous Community and the third-largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, with around 800,000 inhabitants in the administrative centre. Its urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 1.5–1.6 million people. The Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea.

Valencia was the capital of Spain between 1936 and 1937 during the Second Spanish Republic. The city is situated on the banks of the Turia, on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, fronting the Gulf of Valencia on the Mediterranean Sea. Its historic centre is one of the largest in Spain, this heritage of ancient monuments, views and cultural attractions makes Valencia one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations.

Description of the activities

There will be a very wide range of possible activities available for the volunteers. Each volunteer will be able to create part of her/his program together with the responsible person from the school. There will be some specific and necessary tasks but flexibility will be always present in the schedule. Some examples of possible tasks at Santiago Apostol will be:

1. Support to the Program of showers and breakfasts for underage youth (6-12 years old)
2. Accompaniment and following of underage youth with fewer opportunities (6-12 years old)
3. Support to diets to underage youth with fewer opportunities (3-15 years old)
4. Interactive groups
5. Families training
6. Extra activities
7. Library and computing lessons
8. Activities for teenagers with highrisk of dropping school
9. Musical activities (proyectosinga.wordpress.com)
10. Debates and talks
11. Mixed commissions
12. Radio escalante 329
13. Secondary school extra activities
14. Football team (/equipo-de-futbol)

All volunteers will spend most of their time working at Santiago Apostol School, however, they can also collaborate with an association called TERRRIKOLA created by members of the coordinating association Xeracion Valencia. It’s a new association working with the topics of circular Economy and Sustainability. They work with UPCYCLING as a tool for social integration and inclusion, using urban waste to create new valuable objects. That’s why we believe that both the school and the association could be very much linked bringing this idea of Upcycling to some of the youth in the school. Like this, volunteers can benefit not only from the educational project but also from the non-profit sector within the community.

Objectives of the project

The main objectives of this project are:

• 1) to offer the opportunity to work and support unprivileged sectors of society which will increase their empathy, tolerance and solidarity;
• 2) to improve their social, cultural and educational abilities through activities that will be developed in the school as well as in the association;
• 3) to learn how to mediate and solve conflicts between conflictive students, teachers and families;
• 4) to help to find new European, national or regional funding in order to implement new projects in the school and to improve their capabilities;
• 5) to cooperate with other local associations working to improve the quality of life of unprivileged people;
• 6) to visit other schools and educational centres in order to implement activities together with Roma students to reduce the existing current stigmas;
• 7) to create awareness events, activities, workshops and campaigns;
• 8) to learn how to create audio-visual material such as photography, video edition to promote the work done in the school as well as the Erasmus+ program;
• 9) to promote Erasmus+ program amongst Valencian youth (especially amongst the Roma community) in order to encourage them to participate in some youth exchange;
• 6. Practical details (participants, food, accommodation…)

This project is designed for 3 volunteers from any of the program countries.

Benefits

Each volunteer will have the option of getting a Spanish SIM card for their telephone (they will have to take care of their phone expenses) and a public bicycle for local transportation. The first week of each month each volunteer will receive his/her pocket money (150€) and their food budget (150€). They will be able to buy their own food (with the support of a member of Xeración Valencia if needed), all volunteers will be encouraged to do a responsible consumption and a healthy lifestyle by:

• Creating a common budget for the whole group and buying the food together.
• Using always local products avoiding brands which produce not trading fairly products.
• Recycling and reusing as many materials and food as possible and reducing their waste trying to avoid disposable products and plastic bags.
• Having a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables and less meat protein.

Accommodation

The accommodation will be in private rooms in a 3 bedroom shared apartment (it’s the 3rd floor without elevator) situated in the neighbourhood of “Cabanyal”, next to the seaside in Valencia.

CONTACT DETAILS

If you want to be an ESC volunteer in this project, please APPLY HERE!
Applications will be accepted until Monday 23rd December 2020

You can read more about our projects on our website: http://www.santiagoapostolcabanyal.es/

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