Youth Care & Community Development

Aldeas de Paz operates a Community Attention Center (CAC) as part of our “Breaking Down Barriers”  project  in Samana where our local team consists of teachers, therapists, social workers and a pedagogue who help our beneficiaries, children, youth and adults with disabilities living in disadvantaged communities, both individually and as families.
In our Attention Center and also through educational support in the community, we provide psychoeducational, psychosocial, learning, participation, awareness, recreation and free time in which each participant can develop their own skills through play and the arts, active participation in the community and social interaction.
Aldeas de Paz offers educational support accompanied by awareness-raising activities on inclusion and diversity. Committed volunteers are always welcome as there is a constant need for individual attention and tutoring and sport classes. We place volunteers to help our local team attend to our students in the care center and users in home visits. Whether it's due to poor study habits or lack of individualized help and special needs, in the Dominican Republic many children and youth with disabilities struggle to keep up.
Often a student's lack of confidence is their number one obstacle, so we provide a warm fun learning environment filled with praise and encouragement. That's how our volunteers help children experience success in school. Aldeas de Paz runs a successful humanitarian campaign and home care plan aimed at people with disabilities whose socioeconomic and health situation is threatened because of the current health crisis which has impacted heavily on the economic and social situation of our beneficiaries and their community. Facing the current health situation, our goal has been to bring physical and mental health, nutrition and inclusion. Now, the combination of our previous work at the Community Attention Center (CAC) and the action plan to alleviate the food, health and education crisis led us to develop the Youth, Community Care & Development program. In addition to our established community activities and programs, volunteers are welcome to develop new projects with the financial and organizational support of our charity. In the past, there have been projects like environmental awareness programs or sports activities for the local children provided by the volunteers. Additionally to volunteer opportunities at our own attention center volunteers may assist at a local school and daycare center as well as with English or German classes for the local public.

Requirements 

No previous experience or special skills are required but basic Spanish language skills are very helpful. However, all that is truly necessary is enthusiasm, self-reliance, flexibility, patience and an open mind. Nevertheless, volunteers that already have experience in teaching, working with children or working with people with various challenges are strongly encouraged to apply. We welcome individual volunteers, families and groups regardless of age, experience or background. We provide free Spanish classes on a regular basis, full support and 24/7 backup. An ideal volunteer is proactive, result-focused but still patient and willing to engage in activities autonomously while still having our support and supervision. You are welcome to bring some arts & crafts materials.

What to expect

We are constantly adapting our programs to community needs and volunteer numbers and capacities. If you wish to specialize we will do our best to accommodate your personal preferences, but you can be asked to be involved in a combination of activities while being placed at this program of your choice. Although project work will be provided, volunteers are encouraged to come up with their own ideas and initiative. This is an excellent opportunity to practice all your skills and learn new ones! Our main focus is on:

1. Community Social Work: Direct family attention, monitoring, accompaniment and follow-up and referral of cases, Social Diagnosis, proposal of initiatives and projects, inter-institutional coordination and network for people with disability in Samana

2. Education and raising awareness: Attention center Aldeas de Paz for children and young people with disabilities and special needs. acquisition and reinforcement of knowledge, promoting personal capacities individually and guiding them to the experience of inclusion and equal opportunities, Psycho-educational and psychosocial care, learning, participation, awareness, recreation and free time, public relation and media, talks/workshops, content creation and publications.

3. Work and social inclusion: work inclusion, career advice, employment promotion, design projects, INFOTEP

Activities can include but are not limited to

• Work together with our team, teachers and psychologists providing attention to our special need students: Learning through play, development of activities to work on the socio-emotional, cognitive, phono-articulatory, sensory, psychomotor and practical life areas, support them in their own ideas to promote their self-determination, individuality & autonomy, the realization of the plans, projects and activities created in advance

• Help our team with activities for special need education on individual and group level at our Attention Center and/or on home visits

• Assist with presentation of talks and family intervention with different themes, according to context and needs

• Assist with educational and social support activities and take part promoting activities to create didactic materials using recycling techniques

• Help prepare and lead thematic workshops (some Spanish skills are helpful) and assist with direct attention, monitor and accompaniment of users to other goods and services

• Attend weekly meetings with other volunteers and staff to create weekly lesson plans and educational projects and help design and edit multimedia content

• Learn how to identify individual, family & community needs and help with case studies and Intervention to assess development and methodology

• Assist with recreational, developmental and therapeutic activities for children and young adults with special needs

• Assist children and spend time with them, playing, organizing, teaching and doing art & craft activities, singing and dancing helping them with their educational and social inclusion process

• Assist our team with youth, family and community development activities and engaging support for parents & caregivers on home visits. (basic Spanish skills are helpful) 

• Help organize special events like fundraising parties, cooperating with other organizations and supporting community activities when help is needed

• Assist organizing and leading intercultural events and regular meetings for locals and volunteers with cross-cultural activities fostering exchange and integration

• Plan and execute workshops on disability and related topics based on the characteristics and needs of target groups (advanced Spanish skills are needed)