CCIVS - Asian Newsletter

Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service

Editorial..........

It gives me immense pleasure to bring out the first CCIVS - Asian Newsletter. The compilation and editing of this document was possible only because of the timely cooperation of all our partner organisations. This Newsletter will serve as a mean to share among ourselves about what we are doing. Hope all of us will be enriched by this effort. Rakesh S. Soans

********************************************DaLaa Association - Small is Beautiful!

DaLaa Association, the spreading flower of South Thailand has just celebrated the power of communities, the need for alternative teaching and food autonomy for her 10 years... and it's

not finished. Small is beautiful!

********************************************News from Gentur, Turkey

Pat Barker, a retired physical education teacher who volunteered in Senior Camp in Afacan Youth House in Turkey between 1 and 8 November 2014. To collect olives together with other international volunteers, visited GENTUR office where she met voluntary work coordinator Zafer lmaz and the project leader Nevin Balaran Alkan. Pat was warmly welcomed and told her experiences of work

VSA -Thailand the Land of Smile

2014 is the changing year of Thailand. As there were serious political situation in the beginning of the year and everything goes as there could be. Still, many questions arise while thinking about Thailand.

Does the situation in Thailand calm yet?

Thailand is one of attractive country always sensitive to tourism industry. Tourist or foreigner is the most important agenda that we always keep in mind, not because we are afraid of tourism industry is affected but this is culture. If you have been in Thailand or in Asian countries you would experience e that the guest will be the priority.

If you have participated in work camp in Thailand, you would experience how important it is to treat a guest. And again this is culture. Hence, in every situation you will be safe. Politically now calm and we are trying to improve in the way it should properly go.

What is the highlight throughout 2014?

There was demand for teachers to teach English in Thailand. We always think about how to improve English for communication, but in this year we found the truth of education gap in Thailand. We found effective communication in English in the city. So there is a need for international volunteers to be with children but we seek Thai volunteers who can learn about their country. This is the reason of non-formal education we found that can influence change on the same culture.

Are there any interesting activities in 2015?

There are new hosting project called Peace Village 2. The aim is to develop inter-cultural community. Hatyai Wildlife and Nature Education Center is the new center

camps. She made her first work camp in 1990 in Germany. Then she continued to volunteer in different countries like Czech Republic, Mongolia, and Hungary. Finally she came to Turkey for the Senior Camp in 2013 for the first time and upgraded the age record of the organization from 76 to 79. The old record belonged to the Swiss volunteer Susanne Roth but now Pat has it, as she came one more time to Turkey in November 2014 again for the Senior Camp after celebrating her 80th

birthday in February. GENTUR delivered a plaque to Pat for registering her record and remembered her active participation and commitment on voluntary work.

********************************************Training for Trainers Batch 5 IIWC - The Ready to Act New Generation of IIWC TrainersIIWC recruited new trainers by conducting the 5th Batch of Training for Trainers in the organization. The training was steered by the IIWC’s Pool of Trainers and aimed to create qualified and reliable trainers who can conduct trainings within and as well as outside of IIWC. The training was also to refresh and enrich the knowledge of some previous in-house trainers who have been actively involved in the organization from 2010 until now. As the result of the training, all previous trainees and the new generation were gathered and they created their own work plan to be self-driven in developing themselves within IIWC and IVS activity."

********************************************Snapshot from Smile

********************************************Tidings of Field Services and Inter-cultural Learning

Beach walk and Sand Sculptures: The sea turtle conservation team along with seven work camp

providing for volunteers who are interested to be in different hot and humid weather and feel how they are. And the only one project for volunteers is Free Home Stay Providing. This is an idea to be thankful for your volunteer spirit. We believe who decide to be volunteer is the one who has public mind.

********************************************Children’s Parliament: FSL-India formed Children’s Parliament in 6 villages during 13th

Happy Move Camp (HMC). FSL-India further strengthened Children’s Parliament formed during 12th

HMC in 7 villages. The basic objective of forming Children Parliament is to motivate children so as to maintain water and sanitation facilities developed during Happy Move Camp. It is a kind of initiative to encourage them to know the importance of personal hygiene for their lives. 

World Water Day: With a view to spreading awareness on World Water Day, FSL-India joined hands with Water Literacy Foundation and undertook an awareness campaign on 22nd March 2014. FSL-India staff,

3 long-term volunteers (LTV) and 300 local participants took part in the campaign through bicycle ride from Freedom Park to Vijayanagar in Bengaluru. Similarly from 17th to 21st March, members of Chennai office carried out a series of programs at schools and oriented on water conservation.

Host Family & Contact Person Workshop: Every year the LTV team at FSL-India hosts Annual Host Family and Contact Person Workshops across South India. This year, the workshops took place in seven zones; Hunsur, Bangalore, Pondicherry, Chennai, Kundapur, Mulky and Sirsi during the month of January. Two external trainers joined FSL-India team and facilitated the workshop which focused on experiential learning. A total of 177 members participated.

volunteers conducted an exciting Beach Event in Uppunda Tarapathi Alevekodi village on 16th November 2014. The first activity on this afternoon was a sand sculpture competition. Children and some adults enjoyed building sea turtles or hatchlings out of sand and the results were impressive.

International Coastal Clean-up Drive: FSL- India in collaboration with NSS unit of Bearys Degree College, Corporation Bank and Municipality of Kundapur observed International Coastal Clean-up Day on 27 th

September 2014. Around 200 people participated in the event. It started from Kodi lighthouse to Kinara restaurant covering nearly 3 kms distance. The president of the local municipality Mrs. Kalavathy inaugurated the event by distributing gloves to volunteers who also appreciated FSL- India and volunteers for cleaning the beach.

All the 6 volunteers from Germany exchanged their life experiences with NSS students and community people. In Pondicherry region FSL- India organized winter camp in Villupuram. It was a two weeks camp where 9 LTV volunteers participated

Observation of The International Volunteers’ Day: FSL-India Kundapur team observed International volunteers Day in Chaitanya Special School, Kundapur on 5th December

2014. The team volunteered to help and cleaned the play ground and installed merry-go-round which was donated by volunteers. In the Happy Move Camp villages such as Thennari and Uthukadu in Kancheepuram District of Tamil Nadu, "International Volunteers' Day" was observed involving the school Children. The celebration kick started one week before 5th December, the International Volunteers' Day. LTV volunteer Ms. Hannah visited the schools and shared with the children her pleasing experience of volunteering.

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Snapshot from Volu

Winter Camp for Volunteers: Winter camp was organised in the newly built Training center in Kundapura, from 6th to 17th October where 12 volunteers participated. After

orientation the work started with clean-up activity. On the second day volunteers were briefed on Sustainable Agricultural Project and were asked to make a nutrition garden. Winter camp at Bellur successfully completed with lots of life experience and inspiration on 17 th

October.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), most youth believed “ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all” and “promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all” came out to at the top.

Three SDGs settled at the same rank: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture; urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts; and promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions. The polling was part of Youth for Sustainable Development Assembly (YSDA)’s consultation with youth on post-2015 development agenda, held last September in the Asian Development Bank Headquarters in Manila.

International Partnership Convenes for NEETS Project

Organizations from Europe, Asia and Latin America met last November in Davao, Philippines to discuss the implementation of a project titled “NEETs in NEED”, which aims to create a space for NEETS in social entrepreneurship though youth mobility program. The project uses activities such as the European Voluntary Service and mobility of youth workers to improve disadvantaged youth’s understanding of social enterprise and equip them with skills needed to thrive in it.

Besides discussing the practical arrangements and implementation strategy for the project at the Partnership Building and Social Enterprise Integration Seminar in the Philippines, the partners developed the modules that would be used for the project, which integrate social enterprise theories and practice in the youth mobility programs.

********************************************Youth for Sustainable Development Assembly (YSDA)

Education, Employment Still Top Priority of Youth in Philippines

Ensuring quality education and decent work for all are still most important to young people. In the recent poll among young people in Philippines that had them ranking 17 (WHV-RTC) that was organized by YSDA. It was a 12-day work camp held last July in Kiangan, Ifugao. It mobilized 40 young volunteers from Europe and Asia to conduct volunteer actions at Nagacadan Rice Terraces, one of the five terrace clusters that make up the Cordillera Rice Terraces, a declared UNESCO World

Heritage site.

Volunteers focused on abandoned rice terraces as these tended to threaten the stability of the whole terrace system when unmanaged for a long period of time.

Working closely with locals, the volunteers strengthened foundations of terrace wall through stone and mud walls. They also took advantage of rainy season and planted rice on their rehabilitated terrace. Volunteers renovated and painted a local school library, engaged in educational activities and repaired the eco-trail signs in the Open Air Museum.

********************************************NVDA will have its 10th GA in Japan with 24 NGOs!

The 10th General Assembly of NVDA (Network for Voluntary Development in Asia) will be held in 2015 Jan. 28-Feb.03 in Tochigi and Tokyo hosted by NICE. It will be done together with AVS (Asian Voluntary Service) Special Forum financed by the Japan Foundation.40 leaders from 24 IVS NGOs (incl. many CCIVS members!) in 19 countries/ area have been accepted till Dec. 17th that is the biggest size of the NVDA’s GA and possibly, the history of the meetings for IVS NGOs in Asia.The program will consist of workshops, voluntary work, exchange party, networking forum with the universities and companies, Asian Volunteering Fiesta and the GA itself.CCIVS will be introduced there by its Treasurer and possible partnership between two sister networks would be discussed as a part of the plan for 2015!

Other activities under the project are: the Territorial LABs, a

workshop to introduce young people to Erasmus + Programme and the European Voluntary Service (EVS); creation of a questionnaire that will guide selection of youth participants; and the 7-month EVS in partner countries. The seminar was hosted by Youth for Sustainable Development Assembly (YSDA). Organizations from six countries participated. The project is being managed by Asocacion Cultural Euroaccion Murcia, and is made possible through the support of the European Commission through the Erasmus+ Programme.

YSDA Project Lands in European Heritage Fair

LEIPZIG – Six projects under World Heritage Volunteers Initiative this year were featured in 10 th Denkmal Trade Fair held in Germany last November 6. One of the projects was World Heritage Volunteers-Rice Terraces of the CordillerasVolunteers were from Hungary, Poland, Spain, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Thailand, and Philippines. The youth camp was made possible through close partnerships with the Municipal Government of Kiangan, Barangay Nagacadan, Philippine Youth Environment Network and UNESCO National Commission of Philippines. It was also supported by the European Commission’s Youth in Action Programme.

********************************************SJ Vietnam Observes International Volunteers’ Day

This month SJ Vietnam collaborated with Vietnam Youth Union and UNV to celebrate International Volunteers’ Day on the 6 December 2014.Under the theme “I love Vietnam”, around 10,000 volunteers from nearly 100 Vietnamese and foreign clubs, organizations attended this spectacular event. A wide range of activities were also organised such as camping, music and dance performances, quiz show and so on. The event was a good opportunity for voluntary organizations, groups and clubs to exchange their experiences in social activities. On this event, SJ Vietnam awarded one of our scholarships to the best Vietnamese volunteer of the year which is the free training in Europe about leadership skills in 3 weeks.

(9th GA of NVDA in Thailand)

********************************************NICE will have the 25th Anniversary!

On 1990 Feb. 4th, 7 youth who had participated in IVS projects abroad founded this NGO in Japan with cheers of beer in the bar of Tokyo. In 24 years, NICE organized 3,846 various types of workcamps/ IVS projects and exchanged 56,508 volunteers with participation of over a million of local people. We appreciate to all the wonderful cooperation with all of people and organizations incl. CCIVS and its members! There will be the memorial party on 2015 Jan. 31st in Tokyo and we’ll be very happy if you could send any messages for our celebration!

(Staff members of NICE) (20th Anniversary of NICE)