Portugal: ESC: Volunteering in Lousã: working with teenagers

About the local hosting organization

Activar is a non-profit local development association located in Lousã. Its work with the community is based on the development of social and cultural projects in various fields of action, namely: childhood, youth, social development, sport, professional training and tourism. Activar has strong links with the community and strong partnerships at local, national and international levels. At Activar, we believe that sharing and cooperation are the main drivers for improving learning and development and for increasing social value. The main activities developed by Activar are: Childhood activities (support to about 160 children aged 3 to 6 in Animation and Family Support Activities and development of Extracurricular Activities with about 500 children aged 6 to 10); Youth office (organized activities and individual support for young people aged 10 to 30); Local Social Development Contract (family involvement and training, education for global citizenship, prevention of risky behavior in adolescents, local production and consumption model, local culture and heritage preservation, active aging activities, etc.); Sports (Karate, Krav Maga, Zumba, among others); Tourism (nature tourism activities such as hiking and team building events, promotion of “Casa da Eira” - tourism office, local products store and exhibition center in the schist village of Talasnal and “Casa do Caminheiro” - rural accommodation ; Vocational training center.

Presentation of the programme

Volunteers will work daily with teenagers from the youth center, integrated in a local school. You will also develop other punctual activities within Activar and a personal project of your choice. Tasks: integrate within the group of teenagers and support the team in the implementation of activities; develop your own activity with teenagers, bringing intercultural value; share your experience and promote volunteering among the local community; support other innitiatives/events from Activar; develop a personal project; participate in team meetings; learn basic portuguese; organize a volunteers group event by the end of the project.

About the accomodation

You will have a bedroom in a fully equipped flat in the centre of Lousã, with access to services nearby: bakeries, supermarkets, cafes, pubs, pharmacies, health centre; post office, swimming pool, gym, nature and cultural spaces. Food allowance will be given monthly, through Revolut account . There are local public transports and a bus to the city of Coimbra. You will be able to reach the workplaces and main services by bike or on foot and might also use Activar's van punctually for long-distance activities. There is access to Wi-Fi, electric heaters, bed linen and bath towel.

About the leisure activities

Regular meetings and integration in Activar's teams as well as "on the job" training will be provided. You will be given access to Online Linguistic Support (OLS) platform and we will also suggest other tools to study and learn the portuguese language. Support for clarifying doubts and motivation to improve your skills and develop your ideas will be given by the youth office workers, the ESC coordinator. You will also be enrolled on the On-arrival training provided by Portuguese National Agency.

Requirements

The Participant profile: We are looking for volunteers with: interest and pleasure to work closely with teens; openness to live in another country and adapt to a new environment in a very small town; creativity and interest in handcrafting, music/theatre, sports, etc; awareness of your responsibilities as volunteer; flexibility and openness for collaborative work; sense of mission and purpose; willingness to contribute to the community and non-profit organisations; a wish for self-growth and self-investment; curiosity and openness towards diversity and new cultures; commitment to learning basic Portuguese; willingness to share experiences.Deadline: