PeaceWorks Volunteer Programme 2016 Staffansgården

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1 CONTEXT PeaceWorks Volunteer Programme 2016 Staffansgården Staffansgården consists of a village where about 30 mentally challenged adults live together in smaller units, each in their own, self-contained, flat. Visit the website Staffansgården was founded in 1975, as part of the international Camphill Movement, and is situated about 300 km north of Stockholm, in Delsbo, Hälsingland. The aim of Staffansgården is to give mentally challenged adults support in their daily life and offer them a meaningful existence. With the help of employed staff, our villagers (as the residents in need of special care are called), live and work in four different places: Staffansgården and Backvägen in Delsbo; Dellengården 13km away near the North Dellen and Mickelsgården, a farm just two kilometers outside Delsbo. There are several daytime activities and some of the villagers work with things such as gardening, farming (there is a small farm in the village) and in different art workshops, in a bakery, weavery and carpentry/wood workshop. They have also access to several forms of therapy.

2 VOLUNTEERING IN STAFFANSGÅRDEN Staffansgården has hosted a large number of international volunteers during the years, both long and short term, and many of the staff members have other backgrounds than Swedish. Staffansgården considers international voluntary service to be useful and inspiring, both for the villagers and the staff members who get to meet people from different countries and cultures. Staffansgården also gets a more dynamic and richer social life with the help of volunteers. The volunteers will get a unique chance to be close to the people living in Staffansgården, and get a real insight in their lives. The volunteers will learn about the conditions, needs, feelings, challenges and opportunities of mentally challenged adults, which will lead to both new competences and knowledge, as well as a deepened understanding and openness for other people. The villagers also appreciate the cultural diversity a lot, since it is a chance to learn about other countries, get new contacts etc. All the people involved, villagers, staff members and volunteers, will constantly be exposed to new people and different cultural background that will increase the intercultural learning and contribute to the open atmosphere at Staffansgården.

3 The volunteers will also take part in the practical work performed by the villagers. This includes bakery, carpentry, weavery, farming and kitchen activities (preparation of food). These tasks are executed by the volunteers under supervision from trained and experienced staff and provide the volunteers with practical skills in the areas mentioned above. DATES Preferred starting dates are between 11-16th of July 2016 and for 12 months VOLUNTEERS There will be 4 vols in total at Staffansgården from Portugal, Czech Rep., Germany and Hungary. THE WORKING WEEK The working week of the volunteer consists of up to 35 hours, mostly from Monday till Friday, but in exceptions and upon agreement it can be also during weekends. In case volunteers work during weekends, it will be compensated with free time during the week. Holidays will be discussed between the volunteer and staff at Staffansgården. ROLE AND TASKS OF THE VOLUNTEER The phases of the voluntary service will look a bit different from period to period. In the beginning, and during the introductory phase, focus will be on training and getting to know the staff members, the villagers, the different fields of work and the workshops (the 30 mentally disabled adults live together and participate in different workshops during the days). The volunteer will have regular meetings with the work mentors to agree on the tasks and work schedule, which may change over the year.

4 The volunteer will have a different role from the staff members, the most important difference being the level of responsibility. The idea is that the volunteers should have a social role and encourage understanding of other people and cultures, something that another regular staff member maybe could not do. In other words, the volunteers add value to the activities and inspire the villagers! The volunteers will never work alone, but instead always be accompanied by other staff members who will lead the work and instruct the volunteers. The mentors will make sure that the volunteer will feel comfortable with both the villagers and the staff group, and have discussions/make changes when needed. The volunteers work together with the staff when taking care of the villagers. The volunteers will participate in the villagers' daily life. They will work in different areas of activities, in the farm, the bakery, the carpentry, the weavery etc. The volunteer will work with a few main areas: - support the co-workers and villagers in baking and working in the bakery. - support the villagers in their work in the wood workshop and the weaver. - support the co-workers and villagers in the work at the farm (cultivating, taking care of animals etc.). - take care of general tasks in the running of the home unit where they live (contribute to cooking food for the house mates, cleaning common areas etc.). - take part in and support activities and projects at Staffansgården (e.g. sports activities, cultural events etc.). - give support to villagers depending on their needs. - optional and if possible: run own projects, depending on interest and background, such as a volunteer-café or improving the communicational performance of Staffansgården (homepage, web shop etc.).

5 VOLUNTEER PERSONAL SCHEDULE A personal schedule will be agreed upon together with the volunteer depending on the needs and current focus of Staffansgården, as well as the background and preferences of the volunteers. A lot will depend on the skills and interests of the volunteer, so the final schedule will be defined after some weeks of working at the project (when the volunteer is familiar with Staffansgården and have tried different tasks). The combination and proportion of areas and tasks may thus look differently from volunteer to volunteer, and from year to year.

6 Below is a preliminary example of how a week could look like. Please note that it can be different from year to year, or from person to person, and that personal schedules will be agreed with the work mentor. Monday am: - support in the bakery workshop (e. g. preparing the cakes, breads and cookies along with staff and villagers). Tuesday am: - support in the wood workshop (e. g. helping the villagers in their daily production of wood work, painting and developing new handicraft for sale in fairs). Wednesday am: - support in the bakery workshop (see above). Thursday am: - working with household chores in the common areas in the house. Friday am: - support in the weaving workshop (e. g. creating rugs and scarfs as well as helping the staff with the villagers and their production). Monday pm: - support in the farm (e. g. growing, maintaining the crops and harvesting from the farm, taking care of the animals). Tuesday pm: - Swedish class. Wednesday pm: - taking part in sport and cultural activities with the villagers (e. g. football tournaments). Thursday pm: - helping to prepare dinner for the other people who live in the house. Friday pm: - participating (free) or helping out to organise the weekly cultural afternoon.

7 If the volunteer has previous experience, interest or ideas and would like to organise activities or do projects in Staffansgården, the ideas are welcome and (if feasible) will be supported and the volunteer will be able to work on this. THE MENTORSHIP The volunteers will have a social mentor and a work mentor each. This system of having two mentors is something that the project has seen as useful and already tried with earlier volunteers, so it is based on the projects earlier experience. The idea is that the work mentor has an overall responsibility of the planning and follow-up of the tasks and the work. The assisting director of Staffansgården will be the work mentor. She is the one in charge of the schedule of the volunteers, etc. The volunteers have regular meetings with the work mentor. The work mentor Sofie Hansson has been working in close relation with volunteers in the EVS-programme for several years. The social mentor has a more informal role that the work mentor, and the idea is that this person will provide personal and social support, for instance if the volunteer faces integration challenges or suffers from homesickness. She will meet the volunteer regularly and when there is a need the volunteers can always turn to her. The social mentor Susanne Olsson is also working closely with the EVS-volunteers during PeaceWorks' and Staffansgården's cooperation for 2014/2015. In the beginning, the mentorship from both of them will be more intense and regular. Contact of the mentors: Work Mentor: Sofie Hansson, +46 (0) , sofie@staffansgarden.com Social mentor: Susanne Olsson, +46 (0) , info@staffansgarden.com

8 BOARD AND LODGING The volunteers will receive board and lodging within one of the housing units, where the villagers live. They will eat breakfast and dinner in the house units where they live, and usually on weekdays the lunch is served in the common canteen. On the weekends the volunteers are free to prepare and take their own meals, from the food supplied by the project. The volunteers always have their own room, and usually their own bathroom. POCKET MONEY Pocket money is normally 115 per month. The volunteers will also get additional transport money and a "vacation allowance" for the time they are outside the project. TRAVEL GRANT The travel grant is as stated in the Erasmus distance band 530.

9 LOCATION Staffansgården is located in Delsbo, a farming community of 2500 people. In the centre of Delsbo there are supermarkets, a café and a few smaller local shops, a local cinema showing movies a few times a week, dentists, a library, a church, a swimming pool and a medical care centre. The distance from Delsbo to Hudiksvall, the next nearest small town, is 35 km s and to Stockholm 330 km s. There are buses to all towns (as well as to Stockholm) from the centre of Delsbo. It takes approximately 30 minutes to go to Hudiksvall by bus, and most of the day there is about one bus per hour (less in the night time). In general, it is important to be aware that Staffansgården is located in the country side and to know that there is sometimes a need to plan the free time and travels a bit in advance. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEACEWORKS, STAFFANSGÅRDEN AND VOLUNTEERS. Peaceworks is regularly in touch with the project and has visited Staffansgården in January 2015, both to assess the current project and to plan for the next. PeaceWorks will support the project in the planning and mentoring of the volunteer s project. At the moment of the arrivals, volunteers can chose to go directly to the project OR to stop for some hours in Stockholm in order to get aquaintained with PecaeWorks office and our staff. PecaeWorks staff will be visiting the volunteers once or twice a year, and also invite them to the PW office in Stockholm, and other PW activities. Activities together with international volunteers will also be arranged, which use to be very valuable! TO APPLY: SVE@ROTA JOVEM.COM