Join our NGO and empower young people to discover and grow in their identity in Calais and Dunkirk, France

Details

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  Description

  We are a grassroots NGO providing psychosocial support to displaced young people aged 12 to 18 living in Dunkirk and Calais. Our main activities include detached youth work, youth clubs and monthly workshops. These activities take place in community centres, safehouses and informal living sites. We want to empower young people to discover and grow in their identity, self-expression and learning of practical, technical skills. We work in a strong and engaged community based on the values of solidarity and human rights.
  
  Activities are varied and range from sports, arts, technology, music, textiles, woodwork - we are always open to new ideas and suggestions! We aim for variety in order to provide agency and new opportunities to young people as well as meeting different interests. We also work with other organisations to make sure that young people have access to relevant and appropriate support.
  
  We are very interested to hear about skills and interests that volunteers can bring to the team and to the young people we work with. This could be a skill to share in workshops with young people, or administrative, advocacy, social media or fundraising support.
  
  Our work can be emotionally draining and the environment we work in challenging, especially for people who have never worked in this field before. It's beneficial to be aware of the context of the UK/French border and the challenges this can present. That being said, our work can be great fun, seeing young people learn new things, be creative, show their competitive side and laughing together!
  
  Our shifts are normally more than 5 hours long, however, we have agreed with Workaway to offer split shifts in order to accommodate 5-hour working sessions.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Charity Work

  Art Projects

  DIY and building projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  You will gain practical skills and experience of youth work in our context as well as logistical and administrative work if this is of interest to you. During your time with us you will gain a better understanding of the situation for displaced young people in Northern France, and benefit from joining a multilingual community of volunteers from all over the world, between different organisations.
  
  We are a solidarity-based organisation working in a very challenging environment. We discourage volunteers who come with a saviour complex. We do not believe in "voluntourism" or in "holidarity." You will benefit from joining a multilingual community of volunteers from all over the world, across different organisations working at the border.

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  Help

  You will help in the facilitation of youth tasks for vulnerable young people, including art, sport, music and technology sessions. We provide non-formal spaces for young people aged 12-18 to learn skills and relax in a variety of settings, from outdoors to day centres.
  
  As well as out general volunteer facilitator, we are looking for people who are willing to plan and deliver workshops for young people, with the support of the rest of the team. Ideas for workshops can be discussed during your application.
  
  Experience helping young people is required, whether in a work or volunteering capacity and DBS (or the equivalent). Its also important that you follow are safety protocols closely for the benefit of our team, young people and yourself.
  
  Typically we work in the week and have the weekend off, there will be a mixture of running sessions and 1 admin / logistics day. We ask volunteers to join us for a minimum of 6 weeks, this is to help with consistency for young people.
  
  We operate in English, but are especially keen to hear from you if you speak French, Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, Sorani Kurdish or Tigrinya as this would be a great benefit to our work. We are also keen to hear from you if you have lived experience of migration or of displacement, or if you have experience working in similar contexts.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  French: Intermediate

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  Accommodation

  You will be living with us in our shared house - it is likely that you will be sharing a room. We offer 3 meals per day for volunteers.

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  What else ...

  During your time off you are free to socialise with other volunteers and visit the towns of Calais and Dunkirk, as well as some beautiful countryside and coastal walks. Rail connections to Lille are excellent, and though a lovely city in its own right, from there it is very easy to reach Paris, Brussels and further afield through TGV trains and coaches.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We are happy to accommodate people working online alongside volunteering with us. However it's important to be aware that our work can be tiring and emotionally draining and our hours may not be appropriate for full time work.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week