WORKCAMPS IN POLAND 2014

SOME GENERAL INFORMATION FOR VOLUNTEERS:

All volunteers who wish to take part in projects organised by FIYE are required to fulfil the following criteria:

§ Be between 18 and 30 years of age (there are some exceptions – see FIYE 403 and 409).Volunteers above 30 are also welcome to apply - individual cases will be considered)

§ Speak some English, be able to understand simple instructions, follow safety regulations, and take part in workcamp life related discussions. Volunteers applying to work and teach English in the course of a workcamp must speak English fluently and possess some basic pedagogical skills in order to run workshops, teaching English to foreigners, etc. They should be open, interactive and tolerant.

§ For certain social projects, volunteers are expected to be highly motivated and dedicated to working with disadvantaged and disabled individuals. They should be ready to provide all kinds of assistance to the local staff, be responsible both for themselves and others, and be flexible and open-minded. If explicitly stated, FIYE might require some recommendations or documents certifying language skills or previous experience and involvement in similar social projects.

SOME INFORMATION CONCERNING WORK:

Volunteers will be expected to work approximately 30 hours a week. The work plan is largely up to the co-ordinator(s), but suggestions from participants are more than welcome. Weekends are usually free, however, some projects may require weekend work as well. In such cases, volunteers will need to be flexible and adjust to the institution’s regulations. Leisure time is largely up to the group and co-ordinators.

WHAT IS PROVIDED ON THE WORKCAMP:

FOOD – usually, the volunteers are served three meals a day in a local canteen. Alternatively, if explicitly indicated in the brochure, the volunteers prepare their meals themselves.

ACCOMMODATION – is provided at local schools, youth centres or sometimes in tents, all having access to all basic facilities (toilets, showers). Sometimes the volunteers are requested to bring sleeping bags, as indicated in the brochure.

One workcamp LEADER and possibly a WORK CO-ORDINATOR - The leader acts as a group coordinator and is responsible for assuring that the whole workcamp runs smoothly and that all potential problems and misunderstandings are quickly resolved. He/she is also a volunteer and doesn’t get paid for being the leader. She/He makes sure that the volunteers feel well and that the food and accommodation are satisfactory. He/she monitors and supervises all works. Moreover, he/she tries to live up to the group's needs and is responsible for coordinating free time activities (e.g. organising trips and excursions). Above all, his/her role is to integrate the participants and to maintain a friendly atmosphere throughout the workcamp. Should there be a work co-ordinator, he/she is responsible for making sure that all volunteers are aware of their duties. He/she distributes and supervises daily tasks, makes sure that all volunteers have the proper equipment and is in close contact with the local host. All co-ordinators work alongside with participants.

WHAT THE VOLUNTEER NEEDS TO PROVIDE:

· The volunteer covers all costs related to travel and insurance (health, personal belongings and luggage)

· A sleeping bag/mattress if explicitly stated

· Pocket money: the volunteers receive no money in return for their work and need to cover expenses related to the leisure time activities (bus fares, pubs, museums, discos, restaurants and transportation).

· Proper work clothes: this is particularly important for construction, renovation and manual projects.

· In certain cases of educational camps, where the volunteers teach English to kids, they are expected to prepare respective teaching materials before coming to the workcamp.

· Any extra materials and supplies that a volunteer may need for interactive games and role playing. Something typical from his/her home country (a costume, album, tape or postcard) to present to others are more than welcome.

WORK: The task will be to help the local community organize a program called “Summer in the City,” for the children and youth who are staying in the town during summer holidays. Volunteers will work in two youth centres of the local parishes, in two groups. Half of the group will work before lunch, and the other half will work after lunch. The daily program will include: games, sports, arts & crafts, excursions, cinema outings, playground activities, swimming-pool, and other events.

ACCOMMODATION: Volunteers will stay on the premises of the boarding school, in rooms equipped with all standard facilities - beds and sheets will be provided so there is no need to bring mattresses or sleeping bags. There is also a washing machine. During the week the meals will be served. At weekends volunteers may need to prepare their own meals, from the products bought by the host (the volunteers will have access to the kitchen).

LOCATION: Michalin is a district of Jozefow – a small town near Warsaw, located upon the Swider river and surrounded by the Mazovian Landscape Park. You can see nice pictures of the place here:

http://www.michalin.pl/swider/?modul=zdjecia_kategorie&kategoria=1 (website only in Polish).

TERMINAL: The nearest international railway station and airport are located in Warsaw.

LANGUAGE: English

WORK: Volunteers will support the pro-environmental efforts of the local community. The work will include tidying up the area, identifying dead trees for cutting down, recording the tree areas in the city, removing branches, garbage and other manual works in surrounding forests and the bank of the river Swider.

ACCOMMODATION: Volunteers will stay on the premises of the boarding school, in rooms equipped with all standard facilities - beds and sheets will be provided so there is no need to bring mattresses or sleeping bags. There is also a washing machine. During the week the meals will be served. At weekends volunteers may need to prepare their own meals, from the products bought by the host (the volunteers will have access to the kitchen).

LOCATION: Michalin is district of Jozefow - a small town near Warsaw, located along the Swider river and surrounded by the Mazovian Landscape Park. You can see nice pictures of the place here:

http://www.michalin.pl/swider/?modul=zdjecia_kategorie&kategoria=1 (page only in Polish).

TERMINAL: The nearest international railway station and airport are located in Warsaw.

LANGUAGE: English

WORK: Volunteers will help to renovate area of sociotheraphy centre for youth. The work will include simple manual tasks as painting, tiding up and renovation of playground.

ACCOMMODATION: Volunteers will stay on the premises of the boarding school, in rooms equipped with all standard facilities - beds and sheets will be provided so there is no need to bring mattresses or sleeping bags. There is also a washing machine. During the week the meals will be served. At weekends volunteers may need to prepare their own meals, from the products bought by the host (the volunteers will have access to the kitchen).

LOCATION: Michalin is a district of Jozefow – a small town near Warsaw, located upon the Swider river and surrounded by the Mazovian Landscape Park. You can see nice pictures of the place here:

http://www.michalin.pl/swider/?modul=zdjecia_kategorie&kategoria=1 (website only in Polish).

TERMINAL: The nearest international railway station and airport are located in Warsaw.

LANGUAGE: English

WORK: The workcamp will be part of the Summer School for the Curious, and will take place during summer camp for teenagers (14-18). The volunteers will be working as group animators whose task will be to organize workshops on various topics like: their hobbies, youth problems in their countries, future career, their culture, customs and traditions, science, political and economic life in the EU countries represented by the volunteers.

ACCOMMODATION: Volunteers will be accommodated in a holiday resort. Beds and sheets will be provided. All meals will be served in a canteen.

LOCATION: Zakopane, situated in the south of Poland at the foot of the Tatra mountains - the most beautiful and the only Alpine-like mountain range in the country - and only a two-hour drive from Cracow, is the highest town in Poland. It has been enchanting visitors with its unique atmosphere for over 100 years. The town has long been regarded as the winter capital of Poland, but it is also the tourist capital of the country. The official site of the town in English:

TERMINAL: Zakopane. The nearest international airport and train station are located in Krakow. You can also fly to Poprad (Slovakia)

LANGUAGE: English

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Preparation before the workcamp is required and some experience in working with young people would be an advantage. Volunteers are also encouraged to bring traditional music, photos or other things typical for their countries. Please send a short MOTIVATION LETTER!

WORK: The workcamp will be part of the Summer School for the Curious, and will take place during summer camp for kids and teenagers from primary schools and gymnasiums (7-15). The volunteers will be working as group animators whose task will be to organize workshops on various topics like: their hobbies, youth problems in their countries, future career, their culture, customs and traditions, science, political and economic life in the EU countries represented by the volunteers.

ACCOMMODATION: Volunteers will be accommodated in a holiday resort. Beds and sheets will be provided. All meals will be served in a canteen.

LOCATION: Bieliny is a village with 1900 inhabitants situated in the south-central Poland in the heart of Swietokrzyski National Park and Swietokrzyskie Mountains which are one of the oldest mountains ranges in Europe. The place is very close tofamous Lysa Gora (Bald Mountain) and is surrounded by Puszcza Jodlowa - primeval forest. Here are some photos from life of Bieliny Community:

http://www.bieliny.pl/asp/pl_start.asp?typ=6&katalog=GminaBieliny&tytul=Gmina%20Bieliny%20w%C2%A0obiektywie

TERMINAL: Krakow. The nearest international airport and train station are located in Krakow. You can also fly to Warsaw or Katowice.

LANGUAGE: English

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Preparation before the workcamp is required and some experience in working with young people would be an advantage. Volunteers are also encouraged to bring traditional music, photos or other things typical for their countries. Please send a short MOTIVATION LETTER!

WORK: Volunteers will work in the territory of sanatorium in Janowice Wielkie. The volunteers’ tasks will be mostly simple manual works as painting, gardening, tiding up and renovation of playground.

ACCOMMODATION: In a building. Meals will be served.

LANGUAGE: English

LOCATION: The village with 748 inhabitants is located in one of the most beautiful regions of Poland. Janowice Wielkie lies in the South West of Poland in the Rudawy Janowickie mountains that are situated between the Bobr river to the north, the Jeleniogorska Valley to the north-west, the Karkonosze Mountains to the south and the Kamiennogorska Valley to the south-east. The highest peak of The Rudawy Janowickie Mountains, Skalnik, is only 945 meters above sea level, yet its landscapes are among the most beautiful ones in the Sudety Mountains. In the vicinity of Janowice Wielkie you can find a lot of interesting places, mostly small mountainous towns. There is also a lot of possibilities to play sports like hiking and climbing.

TERMINAL: Wroclaw

LANGUAGE: English

WORK: For the last few years the Holiday Centre for Children has been organizing summer camps for school children aged 7-16, with an element of non-formal language training. The volunteers will be conducting language workshops and animating free time activities for the children. In the morning the volunteers will run language classes and in the afternoon they will play sports, games, go on excursions, etc. The camp will host around 60 pupils from primary and junior high schools. Several groups will be formed with around 5-10 pupils each, having similar language skills in every group (a few English groups).

The foreign volunteers are expected to: conduct language lessons in an informal way and prepare TEACHING MATERIALS before coming to the workcamp, take part in games, recreational activities and excursions, assist in running the educational programmes and prepare an international day (bringing postcards, photos, music, recipes, etc from your country would be very helpful).

ACCOMMODATION: Volunteers will stay in a children’s holiday house. Beds and sheets will be provided. All meals will be served in a canteen.

LOCATION: Glaz is a very small village located in the south-western part of Poland between Lodz and Wroclaw. It is surrounded by a beautiful forest.

TERMINAL: The nearest international railway station and airport are located in Wroclaw or Lodz. The nearest local train station is in Wieruszow. From Wieruszow a local bus will take you to Glaz where the camp is located.

LANGUAGE: English

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Preparing materials before the workcamp is required and some experience in working with young people would be an advantage. Since the children come from small towns/villages, and most of them have never had contact with a foreign language, volunteers are asked to be flexible, have good communication skills and the patience to listen, interpret and respond. Please send a short MOTIVATION LETTER!

NOTE: Smoking cigarettes on the premises, and around children, is not allowed.

WORK: The workcamp is organised by the Miedzylesie Social Care Centre, which was established in 1970 to care for intellectually disabled people. At the moment the Centre cares for 163 patients. Volunteers will help in organizing games, craft activities and excursions for the patients as well as assist the Centre`s staff in caring for them(e.g. feeding, walks). The presence of volunteers greatly helps in breaking the wall of social isolation that our patients experience. This social exclusion negatively influences both their physical and mental states, but thanks to our international volunteers, the patients have the opportunity to interact with different cultures, traditions and languages.

ACCOMMODATION: In the building of Miedzylesie Social Care Centre. All meals will be provided by the Centre.

LOCATION: Miedzylesie Social Care Center is situated in a suburb of Warsaw, capital city of Poland. It takes around 35 minutes by city transport to get to the center of Warsaw.

TERMINAL: The nearest major railway station and airport are located in Warsaw (1 hour ride by the public transport).

LANGUAGE: English

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Volunteers must be ready to work with intellectually disabled people and should have a strong motivation to do so. Previous experience in working with such children would be an asset. Please send a short MOTIVATION LETTER!

WORK: The volunteers will support activities of Pultusk Forestry. The work will be focused on taking care of green areas in the territory of forestry (cutting down bushes and weeds, planting trees, tiding up) and simple manual works (painting fence, etc.)

ACCOMMODATION: The volunteers will live in the building of forestry. Lunches will be served, breakfasts and dinners will be prepared by volunteers from food provided by the organizer.

LOCATION: Pultusk, situated on the Narew river (65 km from Warsaw), is one of the oldest Polish towns. It is famous for the longest town square in Europe but it also has a castle, gothic town hall and a number of historic churches. Currently it has about 19 thousands inhabitants and offers water sports activities (canoeing, boating) and cycling opportunities. During the summer events such as concerts or happenings are organised.

TERMINAL: Warsaw. The nearest international railway station and airport are located in Warsaw.

LANGUAGE: English

WORK: The volunteers will be working at the community day-care centre in Pultusk, helping to conduct a holiday play scheme programme for a group of 30 children between 6 and 14 years old. The service, provided from Monday to Friday between 10 AM and 4 PM, includes: games, sports, playground activities, arts and excursions. In the afternoon the volunteers will also participate in activities encouraging local youth to intercultural experiences: Traveller Club and Tandem Meetings.

ACCOMMODATION: The volunteers will live in a shared flat which contains also a kitchen and bathroom, washing machine is available. The volunteers will have hot lunches provided from Monday to Friday, whereas other meals will be prepared by them from products delivered by the organiser.

Note: Sleeping bags are needed!

LOCATION: Pultusk, situated on the Narew river (65 km from Warsaw), is one of the oldest Polish towns. It is famous for the longest town square in Europe but it also has a castle, gothic town hall and a number of historic churches. Currently it has about 19 thousands inhabitants and offers water sports activities (canoeing, boating) and cycling opportunities. During the summer events such as concerts or happenings are orgnised.

TERMINAL: Warsaw

LANGUAGE: English

WORK: Volunteers will support the pro-environmental efforts of the local community. The work will include tidying up the area, cleaning banks of river Narew, tourist paths and the Wieliszewskie Legi Nature Reserve. They will also help during one day sport/family event which will take place at the beach of the local lake.

ACCOMMODATION: Volunteers will stay in a school building and sleep in classrooms. Mattresses will be provided but volunteers have to bring sleeping bags. The participants will be preparing all their meals from food provided by the organizer. NOTE: Basic conditions!

LOCATION: Wieliszew is situated 30 km north of Warsaw, by the Zegrzynskie Lake and the Narew River. With its forest and lake it is a perfect place for holiday activities such as canoeing, jogging, cycling or paragliding. The official site of the town in English, German and Italian: www.wieliszew.pl

TERMINAL: The nearest international railway station and airport are located in Warsaw.

LANGUAGE: English

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