Do you want to do the European voluntary service in Slovenia? Do you want to help people with disabilities? Do you want to meet people from all around the world?
There is one free position in the association Barka for the “Let’s live and work together”.
BARKA Association is one of the first small-scale residential care facilities for adult people with intellectual/mental disabilities in Slovenia, providing also employment in the Workshops for these people. Ten of them are living in houses of Barka and seven are coming from parents or other institutions to work in Barka. Beside people with learning disabilities, there are also volunteers who are living with them in the houses – Barka gives emphesize on the community.
There is link of our and international web site.
Long-term EVS project “Let’s live and work together” welcomes one more volunteer to join L’arche community in Slovenia. Starting date 12/02/2012. Period: 6 months
This project is one of the permanent activities of The Association for Assistance to People with Learning Disabilities – l’Arche (Barka). Right now, Barka has already two EVS assistants volunteering and it has open call to welcome another one.
Volunteer’s main task is participation in helping and accompanying persons with learning disabilities in our house where they live or during their work in our workshops. Role of volunteers is that with their presence they enrich the daily life and work of people with learning disabilities:
1. Assistance in the house – helping them in the morning to wake up and in the evening to go to bed; – preparing meals together, do weekly shopping for the household and necessary cleaning; – accompanying them in sports activities, playing games, social activities (welcoming visitors, going for a visit or a trip,…). Long-term volunteers are also invited to help with hygiene needs of people with learning disabilities.
2. Assistance in the workshops: – assisting persons where they make paper, candles, greeting cards, bags, carpets, envelopes, mosaics, ceramics, wood objects and furniture,… by showing them how to do it, making this job easier for them, bringing new ideas and introducing some different working methods. Volunteers are also invited to the celebrations, events (holidays, Christmas, pilgrimage…) that are prepared regularly in our association. They also take part in weekly meeting for assistants and once a month they can participate in trainings that are given by psychologist or psychiatrist. Assistants will also learn a bit of Slovenian and get to know Slovenian culture, have the opportunity to share their cultural and social background, gain unique experience by living in the community.
In the first few months the most important part is to work in the house and help there. Afterwards, volunteer can express a desire to work in the workshops as well. The only special condition Barka has for the volunteer is that for the first two months volunteer lives in the house – community together with people with mental/learning disabilities to experience community life. Afterwards, it is preferable if volunteer feels like staying in the community, but Barka does not demanded – he/she can move outside the community to live in a flat.
There are also two l’Arche communitties in Italy, one in Bolognia and one in Rome if they are interested to see how it works. Otherwise, if you have any further questions, please let us know!
Submit your candidature with cv and motivation letter at sve@cesie.org . Deadline 22/12/2011
