NB!
The volunteer should speak Russian at an intermediate level because social workers know only Estonian and Russian and at the same time, most mothers and children are Russian!
Introduction
Tallinn Children’s Home opened its doors on January 1, 2001. Its main objective is to ensure a safe and secure growing environment for children and young people without parental care and to support families with disabled children. The institution provides several different social services, with the biggest and most substantial of the provided services being the substitute home service.
Tallinn Children’s Home is divided into 13 units: one of them is Shelter for Children and another is Shelter for Mothers and Children, both of which have hosted EVS volunteers already since 2005.
The main objective for Shelter for Mothers and Children is to protect mothers and children, but also to help mothers to get back their self-confidence and independence. Reasons for seeking assistance is mainly due to the problems with housing, family relations, and domestic violence. The shelter helps mothers to manage and organize their lives, find a job, register at a food bank etc. It is also important just to listen to their problems and to give them advice.
Location
Shelter for Mothers and Children is in Tallinn, in the district of Nõmme, which is about 20 minutes away by bus from the historical center of Tallinn. The area is surrounded by a big park and forest, which is a beautiful sight every time of the year.
Work tasks
- Running different workshops for the mothers and children in the Shelter (e.g. drawing, handcrafting, singing, sewing) 25%
- Helping to organize and search different possibilities to expose the works or the achievements made by the mothers and their children in the Shelter (e.g. exhibitions) 10%
- Introducing one’s culture and running cultural evenings as a part of intercultural learning 10%
- Organizing events in the Shelter: (e.g. movie evenings, reading books, teaching one’s mother tongue, cooking with the mothers and their children etc.) 20%
- Helping to organize Estonian National holidays and the birthdays of the mothers and their children 15%
- Organizing outdoor activities (using recourses of beautiful Nõmme nature – a perfect place for skiing in winter, picnics or cycling in summer) 20%.
The volunteer will be encouraged to propose one’s personal projects/initiatives related to the theme of this ESC project which can be supported by the host organization.
The volunteer can take part in local as well as in international training activities related to one’s service.
The working hours will be around 7 hours a day from 10:00 or 11:00 (depends on the agreement between the volunteer and the tutor). The total working time will be around 30-35 hours a week. The volunteer will have 2 sequence days off per week. Volunteers will be working under the supervision and with support of local pedagogical staff
Benefits of volunteering
- The volunteer can acquire practical and social skills while interacting with mothers and children.
- Volunteer gets social work experience.
- The volunteer can work in a great team.
- The volunteer can practice Russian and Estonian languages.
Requirements for the volunteer
- The motivation for working with children.
- Experience in working with children and adults.
- Having competence in drawing, painting, handcrafting.
- The volunteer can speak Russian at an intermediate level because social workers know only Estonian and Russian and at the same time, most mothers and children are Russian.
- Ready to spend most of the time with kids, taking care of them, playing etc.
- NB! It is a social work shelter and the stories of people can be quite hard. Please make sure before applying that you are mentally and physically fit for that.
Application
To apply fill in the application form in the left column and send it to [email protected]
NB! We are a bit flexible regarding the project dates which means we can change the service dates according to the needs of volunteer.
