Alternative Education in Poland

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Active Women Association is a non-governmental organization established in 2002 and located in Sosnowiec, Poland. AWA acts on the local, regional and international level and its mission is to support and promote the social inclusion, democracy, civil society and active citizenship...
We have been coordinating several European Solidarity Corps projects in, among the others, those taking place in Special Needs Schools in our region.

The aim of the project is to introduce non formal, creative methods in educational institutions for pupils with fewer opportunities, to become a part of the school community and have a chance to make a change- to contribute in the development and growth of the kids and the school. The project is also an unique opportunity to live in a foreign country and work for a social goal, to develop personal and professional skills.

The schools which are involved in the project are targeted at young people with light moderate and strong mental retardation as well as those with conjugated disabilities, including autistic students. One of them is based on a system which includes crisscrossing activities from the Early Child Development Support, through education and care home, to living facilities and job for people with mental disability. The schools create an "Ideal Worlds" in which disabled people can learn, live and work to the best of their abilities in peace, with a smile on their face, surrounded by teachers and staff who are also their friends. The schools use laboratories (biofeedback, recording studio), special working spaces (ceramics, art-glass), numerous therapies (music therapy, handicraft, hippotherapy - 4 horses belonging to the school, dogotherapy, filotherapy- two cats and a few dogs), polysensory park, green rooms with greenhouses, cases with vegetables and herbs.

Participants of the project work 30-35 hours per week. The tasks of volunteers include
-TAKING ACTIVE PART IN A DAILY LIFE OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY
-ORGANIZATION OF ACTIVE AND CREATIVE ACTIVITIES WITH PUPILS IN ACCORDANCE WITH PERSONAL SKILLS, INTERESTS AND PASSIONS USING NON- FORMAL METHODS
-CO-ORGANIZATION AND PARTICIPATING IN OUTDOOR EVENTS SUPPORT TO THE TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS IN TAKING CARE OF THE KIDS
-CREATING OWN EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS WHICH ARE PART OF AN VOLUNTEERS’ LEARNING PROCESS
-ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORTING SCHOOL PROMOTIONAL PROJECTS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY -ORGANIZATION OF NON-FORMAL EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES IN ENGLISH AND MOTHER TONGUE OF VOLUNTEER

iF YOU ARE BETWEEN 18 AND 30 YEARS OLD AND A RESIDENT OF COUNTRIES OF EUROPEAN UNION and if you:
-enjoy working with young people of fewer opportunities and doing creative activities with them
-are motivated, eager to take initiatives, open minded, flexible
-are empathic, patient, able to show friendliness and comprehension to the children, also with disabilities

-are socially active, eager to work for local community, communicative and ready to face challenges that international cooperation brings
-motivated to teach a language and also to learn new languages
-have artistic & creative skills (painting/drawing, dancing, singing, manual skills) or willing to learn new ones
-understand the important of respect to the children perceived as young people and be ready for non-violent contact as well as conflict solving
- want to get more self-confidence and leadership skills
-want to learn how to become a therapist/educator and help others
- speak English on min. B1 level...
don’t wait any longer and contact us!

In return each participant of the project receives:
- an accomodation in a volunteer’s shared apartments in Sosnowiec
- monthly pocket money /120 euro/ and monthly food allowance /130 euro/
- reimbursement of travel costs / home country- Poland and return)
- local transportation card to valid in the whole region (buses and trams)
- health insurance
- Polish language course
- YouthPass Certificate- a document which describes all new competences and skills gained during the project

Find more information in the infopack and, if you are interested in joining us, please fill up the application form which you can find there: http://eks.aktywnekobiety.org.pl/current-offers-in-poland/