Volunteering Opportunity for 2 months in Netherlands at Olde Vechte Foundation

Between 4th September- 3rd November Olde Vechte is hosting the 11th generation of Group EVS in the project “Wider Horizon”.

The main general goal of the project is to increase the inclusion and employability of young people with fewer opportunities across Europe. The target group of the project are “young people with fewer opportunities” – a term which includes youngsters from many different backgrounds who, for a variety of reasons, face some form of
exclusion in their lives, and are therefore also often excluded from Erasmus+ projects.

During their 2 months stay the participants will engage in volunteer work in local organizations five days per week, for approximately 36 hours, including one day a week dedicated to workshops with different topics and goals according to the phase of the program and the needs of the group. During weekends volunteers are free to organize
activities and short trips around autonomously. Throughout the all period, participants will live together and be responsible for their daily routine (waking up on time, managing budget, cooking,etc.), with the support of 3 professional qualified mentors. Volunteers will have the chance to get involved in the Dutch culture and society while contributing with their volunteer work.

Aim of the project is to give the young participants an opportunity to increase their independence and ability to take action, and thus create new opportunities in their personal and professional life. All what they learn can be used to bring new energy, inspiration and power in their own living situations back home. Keywords are:
Autonomy and empowerment: the focus is always on each and every participant’s abilities, and the acknowledgement of their results, solutions, learnings and potential.
Interdependence: living, working and spending free time together with people from other cultures, participants discover different approaches towards life, and how to create cooperation within a group, setting rules and limits, supporting each other and learning from each other while enjoying.
Employability: volunteers acquire knowledge, practical capacities and attitudes that can help in gaining employment and in being successful in the chosen occupation, discovering in themselves the capacity to build a fulfilling life.
GOALS AND METHOD
Life skills: creating and maintaining a structured and healthy daily routine and being an active member of
society through volunteer work, increases the ability to adapt to different situations, to maintain positive behaviours, and to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life.
In the frame of the general goals of the project, a wide space is left to each and every participant to define their own goals and pursue them. Mostly, personal goals are connected with making next meaningful steps in life, as applying for jobs, for other experiences abroad, or more generally taking ownership of one’s own life, creating something
beautiful out of it.