Work Profile 2013–2014

MaailManvaihto – iCYE Finland

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We are happy that You are interested to come and experience a voluntary work year in Finland! This is the Work Profile of Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland. It is made in order to give you an idea of the different types of voluntary work placements the ICYE program in Finland can offer. This Work Profile offers examples of possible voluntary workplaces in Finland. Please keep in mind that this profile does not hold all the projects and not all the projects in the profile are hosting volunteers each year. In the matching process we do our best to take your preferences into account but we cannot guarantee a place in any particular workplace or area in Finland.

YOUR SKILLS, INTERESTS AND PREFERENCES

Please read carefully what types of placements are available in Finland and then send us the Preference List with information on which types of voluntary work places you are interested in. You can find the Preference List from our website at www.maailmanvaihto.fi/en/volunteering-finland-work-profile. In the preference list form you can also give us more information on your skills and experiences.

We aim at finding you a work place where you can use your skills and learn more. It is also our aim that the voluntary work place can benefit from your contributions. The information you give us through the Prefe-rence List is important for us in the search for the best possible voluntary work place for you.

VOLUNTARY WORK IN FINLAND

Most voluntary work placements within ICYE Finland are on the field of social work and education. The vo-luntary work is mostly done in non-profit organisations and institutions. The social work in Finland is mainly carried out by the government or municipalities, and it is done by trained professionals. Every year several volunteers get a voluntary work place in the social work field, mostly with a live-in situation. This means that the volunteers work and live at their work place. In these work placements you will be able to commu-nicate with different kinds of people and learn about the Finnish social and educational system.

Previous experience or, at least, interest in social work and some knowledge of English will make it easier to find a social work placement for you. The most important thing is a positive attitude and motivation for voluntary work and to learn new things. Especially in the beginning of the period and for a person without a special profession or experience, the work is often quite practical. On the other hand, the work tasks de-pend a lot on the volunteer’s own initiative! There is always an opportunity to shape the work tasks accor-ding to your interest and skills. So, please remember to be active yourself and make suggestions on how to develop your work tasks during your voluntary work period!

Most of the work places are situated on the countryside and the public transport connections to nearby towns and cities may not be very good, so it may not be easy to go to the city very often. But anyway, one of the most important parts of the experience is to get to know the culture through the local community. There nevertheless are also some work places in the capital city Helsinki and smaller towns.

Please note, that volunteers participating in the European Voluntary Service will be placed in EVS accredited voluntary work places. The detailed descriptions of them can be found in the EVS database: http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_en.cfm

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DIFFERENT TYPES OF VOLUNTARY WORK PLACEMENTS

Here is a list of the different types of work placements that Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland coordinates:

CHILD WELFARE INSTITUTION Child welfare institutions include different kinds of organizations but usually ICYE volunteers work in foster homes. Foster homes are created for socially excluded children who are taken into custody from their bio-logical parents because of drug and alcohol abuse or mental and social problems. The ages of the children vary from toddlers to teenagers. The community provides them care, social teaching and a home-like environment. The homely atmosphere is often strengthened by the fact that the professional staff might be living on the foster home area with their families.

Most foster homes in Finland work in close co-operation with cities and municipalities which finance and monitor them. The purpose of this arrangement is to provide their inhabitants with family-like surroun-dings, close contacts, as well as advance their development and sense of security. The volunteer will parti-cipate in all the daily activities of the home and depending on his/her skills take part also in creating new activities for the inhabitants.

FARM WORK In some work places the volunteer can take part in farm work tasks, such as helping to take care of farm animals. Farm work usually includes outdoor tasks. The volunteer might work in, for instance, a farm of do-mestic animals. It is important that the volunteer is interested in animal welfare and is not afraid of manual work. FOLK HIGH SCHOOL (kansanopisto in Finnish) Folk high schools are boarding schools for mostly young people aged from 16 to 30+. Most of the folk high schools are situated on the countryside. This provides excellent opportunities for social development and for learning from the Finnish culture directly from the Finnish youth. A good motivation and active initiative taking are a necessary condition of a successful year in ”opisto”.

The volunteer work tasks vary according to the volunteers’ skills and interests: from assisting teachers, giving language courses, organising free-time activities for the students to practical work like helping in the kitchen, library, office or garden and maintenance work. Sometimes it is possible to combine both voluntary work and studying some subjects in the folk high school. In some folk high schools the volunteers work with immigrant students who study Finnish language and culture.

KINDERGARTEN (päiväkoti in Finnish) Kindergartens are day-care centres for children who’s both parents work during the daytime. Children in these kindergartens are aged between 1 and 6 years. Volunteers working in kindergarten help the staff in various ways: playing with the children, helping with eating and dressing in outdoor clothes as well as helping in cleaning the kindergarten. We have found the kindergartens to be the best places to learn the language! Some volunteers have been placed in English or Spanish language kindergartens or those using special pedagogic methods, like Montessori or Steiner kindergartens.

OLD PEOPLE’S HOMEOld people’s home is a service organiszation that takes care for elderly who are not able to live on their own. The homes offer accommodation and daily activities for them. Usually the elderly live in the houses in rooms of one or two people, and the houses also include common, such as living rooms, for all the inha-

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bitants. Usually the homes for old people aim at creating a homely atmosphere for the elderly. Volunteers help the staff of the homes in daily work tasks, such as assisting the elderly in dining and outdoor activities.

SCHOOL (koulu in Finnish) / EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION Most of the schools in Finland are run by the government. Some schools are interested in hosting volun-teers in order to create a possibility for the pupils for intercultural learning and practising a foreign lan-guage. In the elementary school there are 9 classes (with the possibility for the extra 10th class) and the children are aged from 6 to 16. The volunteer will work along with the teacher in the classes with the daily school work, but also help the school staff in other tasks like organising international days, festivals or other happenings. Some of the other educational institutions, such as schools for children with special needs and vocational schools, have been interested in hosting volunteers, too. WORK WITH PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDSMany of our work placements offer education, work and accommodation services for people with special needs. There might be people with developmental, mental and physical disabilities and the work places offer varying work tasks. Volunteers are working, for example, in day activity centres, schools, arts&crafts workshops and communities. Work with the disabled people depends on the type of the project in which the volunteer is working. Work can be very practical: helping the people in their everyday duties, such as dining, but at the same time there are opportunities for learning and assisting in different types of therapy, art classes, handicraft workshops, agriculture, garden work, animal care, etc. Work with the people with special needs is challenging and requires some patience – especially in the beginning but it is also very rewarding. YOUTH WORK Youth work is work that aims at supporting the growth of young people and advancing their active citi-zenship as well as intergenerational interaction and social strengthening. In the youth work field volunteers might, for instance, organize free-time activities for youngsters in a youth center.

OTHER WORK PLACESThere are some special projects that do not fall into any of the above mentioned categories. There are, for example, some cultural projects, non-governmental organisations and local voluntary centres offering a voluntary work placement for the volunteer.

Please, fill in the ”PREFERENCE LIST” form and give it to your sending organisation or send it directly to ICYE Finland. You can find the Preference List from our website at www.maailmanvaihto.fi/en/volunteering-finland-work-profile. We do our best to make everybody feel good in his/her placement so the more you tell us about your interests and personal skills, the more likely you will be placed in a suitable work pla-cement. In brief, by delivering us a preference list you will more likely get the type of placement you wish for. We nevertheless CANNOT guarantee you the placement you have chosen and we want to remind you that the wishes are not binding. They only give us an idea of what kind of work you are interested in. When you get the information of your voluntary work place from us, please contact them prior to your arrival to Finland! ICYE Finland will provide you with contact details. Contacting the voluntary work place will help you a lot because then you will have a clearer idea of the place where you are going to. You can directly ask the staff of your work place questions about practical things and other issues you have on your mind. It is also nice for both you and the people working in your voluntary work place to be in contact with you and get to know each other a little bit before your arrival.

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VOLUNTARY WORK PLACEMENTS

On the following pages you will find examples of hosting voluntary work places with which we are coope-rating with. Whether all of them take a volunteer or volunteers this year depends on various factors. For the projects which cannot offer accommodation ICYE Finland needs to first find a host family before we can confirm the placement for the volunteer.

Usually each workplace hosts one ICYE volunteer at a time but in some cases there can also be two ICYE volunteers at the voluntary work place at once.

1. Children’s Home of Päiväkumpu (child welfare institution) 2. Kindergarten of Hyrylä (kindergarten) 3. Fallkulla Domestic Animal Farm and Youth Center (farm work, youth work) 4. Savonlinna Christian College (folk high school, work with immigrants and people with special needs) 5. The English Kindergarten of Kotka (kindergarten) 6. Päivölä’s Adult Education Institute (folk high school)

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1. CHilDreN’s Home of PäiväkumPu

WORK FIELD

Child welfare institution

VOLUNTARY WORKPLACE

Päiväkumpu is a home for children and adolescents who have been taken into care. We have room for 14 inhabitants, and our staff includes 13 employees. The institution is run by Romano Missio which is an association with an aim to help and support the Roma (gipsy) culture. Päiväkumpu aims at providing children with a homey atmosphere, warm and per-manent relationships, safe limits and balanced life. We want our inhabitants to become independent adults. Website: www.romanomissio.fi

VOLUNTEER’S ROLE AND TASKS

Volunteers spend time with children and adolescents and helps with housework tasks, such as cleaning, cooking and doing the laundry. They work together with personnel of the house.

VOLUNTEER’S REQUIREMENTS

We hope that the volunteers are really interested in working with children and that they can speak English well. It is not possible to smoke or use alcohol at our residence. It is important that the volunteer is oriented to peaceful countryside life and enjoys nature.

LOCATION

Päiväkumpu is situated at countryside in Hämeenkoski which is a little village of (about 2 000 inhabitants) about 30 kilometres from the city of Lahti. Päiväkumpu is located 4 km away from the center of Hämeen-koski. Bus connections between Lahti and Hämeenkoski are good. Other cities quite near Hämeenkoski are Hämeenlinna (50 km) and Tampere (100 km). Bus connections are good to these towns, too. Some of our personnel live in Lahti. They can offer a lift for the volunteers when possible.

PRACTICAL ARRANgEMENTS

We have a little house for the volunteers. There are 2 bedrooms, little kitchen, living room and toilet with shower. Sauna is in the mainhouse.

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WORK FIELD

Kindergarten

VOLUNTARY WORKPLACE

Our house is a traditional kindergarten. Groups have four modes of operation for the period 2012–2013, with a total of 65 places for 0–6 year age kids. 17 people work at the kindergarten. The staff includes kindergarten teachers, nannies, cook and day-care center director. The kindergarten is run by the mu-nicipality of Tuusula. Our day care has a common educational vision of respect for every human being as him/herself. In cooperation with the parents we take care of the safety of the children as well as their individual growth and development. In co-operation with the parents we make early childhood education plans for each child. This plan is based on the views of parents and the early childhood education plan of Tuusula mu-nicipality.

VOLUNTEER’S ROLE AND TASKS

Volunteers work with groups of infants and help the staff to organise daily routines of the kindergarten, such as table cover, bed-making, clothing arrangement and children’s plays and games. We also hope to get some new ideas to our work from other countries and cultures.

VOLUNTEER’S REQUIREMENTS

The volunteer should have good interaction skills and be motivated to work with kids. It is hoped that the volunteer is able to communicate with adults in English, and an interest in learning the Finnish language is an advantage. Sports, music and expression skills are highly desirable!

LOCATION

The kindergarten is located in Tuusula which is a municipality situated about 30 km away from the capital of Finland, Helsinki. The municipality is very rural and sparsely populated. There are about 25 000 inhabitants in the municipality. The kindergarten is located centrally in Tuusula, near the center of area called Hyrylä. Bus station, library, health center, shops etc. are situated nearby. The kindergarten has a beautiful lake view.

PRACTICAL ARRANgEMENTS

Volunteers live in a host family so it is important to be motivated to adapt to family living. Lunch included in the working days. Volunteers can, if they want to, bring their own snacks in the staff fridge.

2. kiNDergarteN of Hyrylä

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3. fallkulla DomestiC aNimal farm aND youtH CeNter

WORK FIELD

Farm work, youth work

VOLUNTARY WORKPLACE

Fallkulla Domestic Animal Farm is the only munici-pally owned youth centre in Finland where young people can take part in practical work with livestock. Falkulla was established in 1989. Fallkulla gives young people aged 9–17 the opportunity to tend sheep’s, pigs, goats, cows, hens, ducks, rabbits and horses as well as the chance to participate in vario-us handicrafts activities. Falkulla is run by Helsinki city youth department. Website: www.nuoriso.hel.fi/fallkulla

VOLUNTEER’S ROLE AND TASKS

There are various tasks for the volunteers, such as feeding the animals, cleaning the barn and stable, mil-king the goats, brushing the animals, horseback riding, taking care of the common cleanliness of the cattle shed.

Other work tasks include youth work, gardening and other outside work as well as office work. The volunta-ry work period will provide the youth, the staff of the farm and the volunteer with international experience as well as possibilities to improve language skills.

VOLUNTEER’S REQUIREMENTS

Volunteer should be interested in animals and their well-fare. (S)he must be in good health and cannot have any allergies (animal, hay or dust). Special skills, such as arts&crafts and music skills, are valued.

LOCATION

Fallkulla is located in northern part of the capital of Finalnd, Helsinki. There are some 600 000 inhabitants in Helsinki. The farm is situated near the residental areas of Malmi and Tapanila. There is a good public transportation network in the area.

PRACTICAL ARRANgEMENTS

Volunteers live in a host family in Helsinki area so it is important to be motivated to adapt to family living.

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WORK FIELD

Folk high school, work with immigrans and people with special needs

VOLUNTARY WORKPLACE

Savonlinna Christian College offers studies in diffe-rent fields, such as visual arts and music. The staff consists 18 permanent employees and 77 part-time emplyees. Through the year the average daily clientele of the institute is roughly over a hundred. It is a joy to work at our relaxed atmosphere and we greatly appreciate initiative and personal freedom. The aim of Savonlinna Cristian College is to integrate altruism and Christian values into our daily routines. Website: www.sko.fi

VOLUNTEER’S ROLE AND TASKS

The volunteer will work with physically and mentally challenged students (different age groups) and assist classes for immigrants. In addition, depending on the season the volunteer will complete various other tasks related to different field such as maintenance, cleaning, sometimes assisting in the kitchen or at daily office routines. We do our best allocating you to a field of your own interest. Our staff is highly motivated to overcome possible language barriers and to work together to achieve common goals. International under-standing is regarded important as foreign nationals form the largest part of our student clientele.

VOLUNTEER’S REQUIREMENTS

Good English skills. The courage to attend lessons as teachers’ assistant. Teaching can happen to either among adult immigrants or people with special needs.

LOCATION

Savonlinna is a city of nearly 37 000 inhabitants. The distance between the city centre of Savonlinna and the college is 6 kilometres, easily travelled by a public bus. The institution is located next to a peaceful lake with a small grocery store accessible on foot. Organizing short courses and hosting visitors overnight are activities that keep the institution vibrant throughout the year. Annually the Finnish courses are attended by students from twenty different countries.

PRACTICAL ARRANgEMENTS

The volunteers are accommodated in single room student flats at the work placement. During working days meals are provided by the institution. During the weekends the volunteers are able to prepare their own meals from the provided ingredients. The student apartments include a shared kitchen.

4. savoNliNNa CHristiaN College

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5. tHe eNglisH kiNDergarteN of kotka

WORK FIELD

Kindergarten

VOLUNTARY WORKPLACE

The English Kindergarten of Kotka offers early child-hood education both in English and Finnish for children aged 1–7 years. There are 42 children and 6 teachers in the kindergarten. The kindergarten is run by the Finnish-American Society.

In the kindergarten it is believed that every child is unique. Respecting others and environment as well as good manners are valued. Central to the goals of the kindergarten is providing the children with a chance to familiarize themselves with the English language and culture. The mission state-ment of the kindergarten is ”Together with the parents we want to raise our children in a safe and caring environment that will encourage the children to grow into self-motivated, confident, and co-operative individuals. We believe every child is unique and hope to strengthen his/her self-esteem. We emphasize the importance of good manners as well as important social skills. The children are immersed in the English language through curriculum and play. We hope to instill a sense of global awareness and tolerance of all people.” Website: www.kotkansay.fi/kindergarten

VOLUNTEER’S ROLE AND TASKS

The volunteer works and plays with the children and assists the teachers in different duties and everyday routines. Work also includes sharing cultural differences and similarities with the staff and the children. Volunteering in the kindergarten offers a chance to improve own skills in English, to learn Finnish as well as to develop social skills and get to know Finnish culture.

VOLUNTEER’S REQUIREMENTS

The volunteer should be able to communicate in English and motivated to work and play with children aged 1–7 years. The volunteer should have good social skills.

LOCATION

The kindergarten is located on the south-east coast of Finland in the city of Kotka, about 130 kilometres away from Helsinki. Kotka is a city of about 55 000 people. Local bus connections are rather good.

PRACTICAL ARRANgEMENTS

The volunteer will live in a host family so it is important to be motivated to adapt to family living. Breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack are served at the kindergarten during school days. Other meals are provided by the host family.

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WORK FIELD

Folk High School

VOLUNTARY WORKPLACE

Päivölä’s adult education institute (Päivölän opisto in Finnish) is an education institute in which one can study languages, tourism, mathematics, natural sciences as well as law. The objective of the educati-on is to prepare students for work life. Each year the institute organizes a wide range of intensive cour-ses in which one can learn languages, various arts, leisure skills, information technology, mathematics etc. The institute organizes courses not only for people of working age but also for school children, young people and senior citizens. For senior citizens it offers special courses for mental wellness. Päivölä’s adult education institute is private and independent. Website: www.paivola.fi

VOLUNTEER’S ROLE AND TASKS

Tasks will be given according to the skills and interests of the volunteer. It is possible that the volunteer will participate both in recreational activities (e.g. dance classes, sports club, film club and related to Latin dan-ces ) as well as in different office tasks of the institute. The institute appreciates self-initiating persons and hopes to have exchange of cultures and customs between the staff, the students and the volunteer. The tasks of the volunteer will be arranged and modified in a way that the students get the best of language and cultural exchange.

VOLUNTEER’S REQUIREMENTS

English language proficiency, flexibility and active participation are very helpful in the daily tasks.

LOCATION

The institute is situated in a countryside locality called Sääksmäki which belongs to the city of Valkeakoski. There are about 4 500 inhabitants in Sääksmäki and about 21 000 inhabitants in Valkeankoski. Valkeakoski is situated between the cities of Tampere (35 km away) and Hämeenlinna (44 km away).

PRACTICAL ARRANgEMENTS

The volunteer will be accommodated at the dormitory of Päivölä. The easiest way to reach the voluntary workplace is to come by train to Toijala (the train station is situated about 9 km away from the institute) from where the voluntary workplace will arrange onward travel. The meals are served in the student restaurant of the institute.

6. Päivölä’s aDult eDuCatioN iNstitute

Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland

Oikokatu 3, 00170 Helsinki, FINLAND Tel. +358-9-774 1101

Mobile +358-44-318 0888 Fax +358-9-7310 4146

E-mail hosting@maailmanvaihto.fi (Program Coordinator)

www.maailmanvaihto.fi

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