Gap Year Opportunity

Volunteering at Savio House Youth Centre 2012-2013

A few places are still available for a gap year in community working for young people,

living alongside a youth team and developing your skills for the future.

Cat, below, completed a year at Savio House and then moved on to work in the world of financial management. KPMG, the firm she joined, valued her community experience and found that she had developed skills and experience beyond her years, giving her an additional value in the job market.

Professional skills, personal development, community living and spiritual reflection all combine to make this a rich and life-changing experience before the world of waged work begins to make its demands.

The year is tough, there will be challenge but you will always feel that you are making a difference to the lives of young people- differences that will last their whole life.

Go to www.savioinformation.com/volunteer.html

Or email Fr David O’Malley SDB davidomalley@lineone.net

Volunteering with JMV

Are you at a crossroads? Looking for a different way to live your life? Longing to understand and engage in issues of justice and poverty? Perhaps you would consider volunteering overseas with JMV for six months or longer.
Together with our partner organisations we run a number of different programmes including teaching at schools, working at health centres, orphanages and even a radio station which is used both for educational and agricultural purposes.
The Jesuits have been based in a number of communities around the world for decades.They have lived with the people side by side, through thick and thin, through all the political turmoils, wars and economic difficulties. They have a knowledge and love of their communities which is reciprocated..
So, if you volunteer with the Jesuits you will be living at the heart of the community you are sent to. It will be a real experience, away from tourism and hotels. In fact part of our ethos is that volunteers live their lives simply and engage with the local people and culture.
The volunteering experience challenges people and often ,when they return, they decide to live their lives differently, maybe change their careers or dedicate their free time to charity.
However, it is not an experience for the faint-hearted! People have to live in very basic conditions and need to be quite flexible and open to other cultures and faiths. And we are particularly looking for people who are willing to reflect on their experience.
If you are interested in joining our programme for a minimum of six months, please have a look at our website www.jesuitmissions.org.uk ( see volunteering)

Here is an account of the experience of volunteering in Argentina from an Oxford graduate: http://www.jesuitmissions.org/volunteering/volunteeringhome/argentinareport/argentinareport.php

3 Month Gap Experience with OYO Namibia

3 Month Gap Experience with OYO Namibia June, July and August 2011 (max 89 days)

Would you like to work with an NGO that harnesses the arts to engage, inform and empower young people to tackle HIV and related social issues? We are seeking self-motivated and energetic young people to volunteer with OYO, the Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (meaning Red Ribbon in the Otjiherero language) in Windhoek. You will be working for Namibian youth through OYO’s innovative, participatory magazine. Developed by youth, for youth, it covers a broad range of issues of importance to young people and provides young people in Namibia with accurate information on HIV, sexual and reproductive health, gender / human rights, and multiple social issues.

We are seeking individuals who have the skills to work on all aspects of this project. So, that means going to schools and working in partnership with OYO’s magazine assistants to facilitate discussions with learners about the topics, and to bring back contributions for future issues. Plus, selecting and editing contributions to the magazine (you’ll need excellent written English and a keen eye for detail). Depending on OYO’s needs and your skills, there will also be opportunities to attract media coverage, generate donor interest, sell advertising space, and develop art work. Aside from the magazine project, OYO has youth groups and a Dance Troupe, so again, depending on your time, your skills and the needs of OYO, it may be possible for you to contribute to these projects also. The majority of your work would take place in and around our head office in Windhoek, the capital city. You will also have the opportunity to accompany Alfa, our Regional Coordinator, on two of his regional visits, one to the Erongo region where our office is by the coast in Swakopmund, and one to the unique Kunene region, home to the Ovahimba. We will also ensure that you are able to take two weeks off from busy OYO life so that you can enjoy Namibia at your own pace, and explore other parts of the country should you wish (at your own expense).

How much does it cost? £2400, which includes your accommodation, your in-country travel for OYO and contributes to OYO’s costs for hosting you in Head Office. We will also ask you to fundraise using justgiving.com, with a target of £500, which you are of course welcome to exceed! You could do a sponsored run, singathon, speed-dating or wine-tasting…. To raise awareness of what you’re doing and of OYO’s work, as well as to provide OYO with much-needed core funding to enable us to reach more young people with life-changing projects. You need to book and pay for your own international flight to Windhoek airport (please agree dates and times with us before booking). You will also want to bring money to cover your day-to-day living costs, ie transport, meals and socialising. N$100 per day should be about right, which is around £10 per day, though check the current exchange rate as it does vary. How do I apply? Please send us your CV and your statement of interest, explaining why you’d like to spend 3 months with OYO. Include what you think you could offer to OYO‘s projects in terms of your skills, experience and interests, and also what you think you would gain personally from your time with us. Please confirm in your letter that you are available for the entire three months of June, July and August and that you are able to cover the costs of the international flight and to organise any necessary travel documentation, insurance and health care, eg passport, holiday visa, immunisations, etc. Email your application to claire@ombetja.org before 20 April 2011. Following your emailed application, you may be invited for a skype or telephone interview. You are also welcome to email any queries.

Oxford Marriage Preparation Team

The Oxford Marriage Preparation Team is seeking new Team members. The Team provides practical insight to engaged couples in preparation for the life-long commitment of Marriage. Married couples of 5 to 20 years standing would be ideal. Training is provided. Please contact Fr John SJ

Assumption Volunteer Programme

Assumption Volunteer programme—The Religious of the Assumption are an international Catholic congregation of Sisters. They are looking for volunteers to take up the challenge of living for one year in a culture that is very different to their own and share their lives and skills with poor, young and marginalized people They offer opportunities in the UK, the Philippines, Tanzania, Rwanda, Brazil, USA. Find out more @ www.alvp.co.uk

Ukrainian English Summer School

Here at the Ukrainian Catholic University we are preparing to host our 17th Annual English Summer School, where East meets West in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in Western Ukraine.

We would like to invite you and your students to consider dedicating the month of July 2011 to help rebuild the Church in Eastern Europe by teaching English in Ukraine. Each year we welcome college students, campus ministers and other volunteers from the United States and Western Europe to teach at the school, which provides a summer immersion experience to supplement our students’ language study during the academic term.

Our school provides a unique opportunity for cross-cultural exchange. Volunteers experience the Eastern Christian spirituality of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, including participation in Divine Liturgy and other prayer services, meeting and talking with Eastern Catholic priests and seminarians, religious, and laity, and learning about the witness of the Underground Church during the Communist oppression. (I promise you will agree with Pope Benedict XVI that “The Ukrainian Catholic Church is a cause of joy and hope.”) An initial teacher-orientation program helps prepare volunteers for their work, as well as provides an opportunity to experience life in the city of Lviv, the historic and cultural center of Western Ukraine.

There is no charge for the program. Volunteers are responsible for travel costs and then the university covers all the costs of meals and lodging in Ukraine.

As students (and campus ministers!) return to campus, they begin to seriously consider their summer plans. We invite you to support our ministry by helping to get the word out about this wonderful opportunity. And it’s never too soon to plan for next year. More information at:
www.ucu.edu.ua/ess. And see fact sheet:UCEF Camp 2010 Fact Sht

JRS in Haiti

Jesuit Missions have expressed their thanks for the donation of £720 to the work of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Haiti. Here is an update on what is happening:

“We are starting the political phase of the reconstruction. It is the time to go from individual aid to overall proposals. With the emergency phase still open, at Entreculturas we are working with our partners on a reconstruction programme based on three lines of work:

1. Education in Emergency. The priority is to create an emergency education programme in seven camps for displaced persons, We want to work with affected children to overcome their trauma and allow them to return to school. School construction will take some time and we have to recover school attendance as soon as possible. As of today, between 5.000 y 7.000 children have been assisted. We have 110 teachers and seven coordinators for each camp.

2. Education for Reconstruction. It is a priority to work on a formation programme to teach technical skills for the reconstruction. With this initiative we want to offer the Haitian youth the capacity to reconstruct their own country. We will give courses with 20 technical teachers hired for this purpose with an estimated 1.200 attendants, with ages from 16 to 30.

3. Education recovery. After the earthquake, schools of Puerto Principe and surrounding areas have been strongly affected. In some areas, 90% of schools have been destroyed. On the other hand, non affected areas are receiving many of the affected people and are beyond their capacity to absorb new students. In this context, we want to promote a school reconstruction and teacher training programme.”