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In
this section:
Community
Work Projects
SEE 'LATEST NEWS' FOR DETAILS OF THE 2008 COMMUNITY WORK PROJECT LAUNCH
Since 1973 the former Jersey Overseas Aid
Committee has organised parties of volunteers from Jersey
to work with the members of Communities in developing countries
for up to four weeks and the Commission is continuing with
this policy.
Each participant normally
contributes £450 towards their own travel expenses and
JOAC funds any additional costs of travel, plus insurance,
medical kits, vaccinations, food and accommodation. The Commission
also funds all the materials and supplies necessary in order
to complete the projects. The volunteers engage in Jersey
fund raising activities to finance additional community support
in the host country.
It is the Commission’s
view that community work projects are critical in developing
awareness in Jersey of development issues. They also play
an important part in Islanders own personal development. Furthermore,
the importance and educational benefits of the cultural exchanges
arising from the projects cannot be overstated. Accordingly,
JOAC intends to continue to provide financial support for
community work projects by allocating £190,000 of its
budget for 2007.
To ensure that community work projects provide
a worthwhile experience for Jersey volunteers and the host
community, and ultimately, to guarantee a long lasting benefit
to the host community, JOAC will:
i) build long-term
relationships with those receiving assistance, with a view
to achieving self sufficiency;
ii) increase the emphasis on the role of the host community
and in particular the endorsement and ownership of projects;
iii) place more importance on the engagement of participants
from the overseas local community;
iv) ensure that the aims and purpose of all projects are clearly
established;
v) introduce evaluation procedures for host communities;
vi)
encourage the continued involvement of leaders and volunteers
on their return to the Island;
vii)
encourage more people to participate by limiting the number
of projects on which non-
leaders may participate
A separate Sub-Committee
deals with all matters relating to community work projects,
and is made up of members of the Commission and members drawn
from the Island community having overseas aid project experience.
Those wishing to apply for projects will need to complete
an application form (available from the Executive Officer),
provide a full breakdown of costs and provide any other additional
information they feel relevent to the application. The Sub-Committee
holds a special meeting in May of each year when projects
for the following year are selected and reccommended by the
Sub-Committee to the Commission.
Volunteer
Requirements for Future Projects
Over
the years the Commission has found that a team of equal numbers
of males and females with an age range of 20 to 60 works well.
Ideally the Commission would wish to include some skilled
tradesmen and a nurse. It is a policy of Commission that,
on longer projects, volunteers who have some experience of
undertaking other projects with Overseas Aid will be given
preference.
Applicants
should be reasonably fit and should not suffer from any health
problems which would prevent them from carrying out physically
demanding work at a high altitude for eight hours per day,
five and a half days per week.
Each volunteer,
if accepted, will be expected to make a contribution of £500
(£50 returnable upon attendence of debrief session)
to the Project cost and to provide all his/her personal kit,
innoculations and insurance. Additionally applicants should
also have
lived in Jersey for at least five years and be able to take
fours weeks leave from their employment/studies.
Applicants should
be prepared to give up much of their free prior to departure
to prepare for the Project. Fund raising is an essential part
of the preparation. The funds raised will be used to improve
the lives of people in the local community, in areas decided
by the Team. Fund raising is an important means of building
Team spirit and cohesion.
The Commission
will hold a Public launch for their 2008 projects in January
next year. Further details and application forms can
be obtained for the Executive Officer.
Uganda
Work Project
The Luweero district is 40 miles from the capital of Uganda, Kampala, with a scattered population of 608,000 people. The town of Luweero itself is small, the main language being Bugandan and some English. Most people in the area are subsistence farmers and extremely poor. The temperature of the area is usually around 25-30deg C and cools slightly in the evening. In August 2005 a team of thirteen Jersey volunteers led by Sam Eastwood spent three weeks in Luweero helping to construct a library, classrooms and a semi-detached staff house in the grounds of the existing Girls Primary Church School. The project was funded by the former Jersey Overseas Aid Committee. Sam had previously been involved in nursing training at nearby Kiwoko Hospital where she had worked alongside Alfred Lejju who in addition to his duties as an HIV/AIDS outreach worker had also taken upon himself the responsibility for the primary education of a group of orphaned children, by 2007 the group numbered eighty two. These children are excluded from the local primary school as they are unable to afford the necessary uniform and stationary. Their education took place in a wooden shack with a tin roof and dirt floor. Alfred spoke of his dreams to provide better teaching facilities for all of these children. A project concept was born and soon an application to build classrooms, a hall, offices and latrines was submitted to the JOAC for consideration. The application was successful and in 2007 a team of fifteen left Jersey to undertake the project. The new Sermon on the Mountain School is now completed and provides a well deserved opportunity to large group wonderful children. Some of these children will have the ability and hopefully the opportunity to continue their academic studies. However the majority will have no choice but to go into low paid unskilled jobs. A solution to helping these young people out of an almost inevitable poverty trap is to offer them vocational training in worthwhile skills such as carpentry, tailoring and even IT. The project for 2008 is to build workshops and accommodation for the students in order for them to have a decent training environment. Accommodation will be in the diocese Guest House and will consist of twin bedded rooms with a shower!! Meals are taken together in a communal dining room which are prepared and cooked over an open fire by our Ugandan hosts. At the moment it is anticipated that the Team will be away from Jersey for three weeks in August, during the school holidays. The date has yet to be finalised but volunteers will be informed as soon as the exact dates are known. It is essential that the Jersey Team does not, in any way, offend the local population. All applicants must be prepared to abstain from smoking and drinking alcohol for the duration of the project. Swearing is not acceptable at any time and displays of intimacy may also offend. The Team will almost certainly be asked to attend church on Sundays. If a potential volunteer feels that these rules are too restrictive, he/she should not apply.
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Zambia
Work Project
Katete is part of the Eastern Province of Zambia and is adjacent to the borders of Mozambique and Malawi. For this reason the team will probably fly into Malawi and be driven across the border for a 2 hour trip to Katete all of it on the Great East Road which is tar [ WITH African pot holes - be warned ! ] This road links South Africa with Kenya and Tanzania. The area is up on a plateau and for that reason has a fairly constant cooling breeze, but it is very cool early mornings and at night! It is less than 1Km from the Hospital which is more of a town in itself than Katete and a further kilometre down the road. Chipata is just an hour away and here one has a good selection of shops and a wonderful fruit and vegetable market...all locally grown of course! You will soon learn the art of bartering . A visit to the South Luangua National Park regarded as many as the finest in the world is possible from Tiko!
Jersey Overseas Aid has had direct contact with St Francis' Hospital, KATETE, in Zambia's Eastern Province for over twenty years. It is a huge Mission Hospital and is run ecumenically .It has a very high reputation for its service and runs official Training Schools for Nurses, midwives and clinical Officers and is recognised by the Zambian Government as a place of good practice...though the appropriate funding and salaries do not always follow that recognised quality. St Francis' Hospital is on a huge site in itself - it even has its own brickworks - and serves an area the size of Wales and is always extremely busy! Several of the projects under the Hospital's umbrella have been to its out-lying satellite bush clinics where all the problems of the continent can be experienced in any one of the places....food shortages, HIV Aids, poor crop returns and fair trade and also demand for education . These people have nothing; give everything and are happier with their lot than most Europeans ever experience!
One of the Mission Nurses at St Francis, Elke Radcliffe when she retired decided to stay in Katete and set up a small community based Skills Centre called “Tikondane” Chichewa for " love one and other ". Here local people can be given some basic skills in building, needle craft, tie dyeing etc. with a view to providing themselves and their families a small income. After these morning activities they can then attend afternoon formal education classes. Due to the demand on the centre Elke applied for practical help from Jersey Overseas Aid to extend the premises and expand the work amongst the local people.
This project would be an ideal starting point for anyone who has not undertaken this kind of voluntary work before. At the moment it is anticipated that the Team will be away from Jersey for three weeks during the month of August. The specific dates are not yet to be finalised, volunteers will be informed as soon as the exact dates are known.
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India Work Project
Kalamavour, in situated in the Pudukkotti District of the Tamil Nadu State, India. Pudukkottai District covers an area of 4663 Sq. Km. which has a coast line of 39 Kms. The district is located approximately 500 km drive from Chennai International Airport. As per 2001 census, the total population of the Pudukkottai District is 14,59,601, with 7,24,300 male and 7,35,301 female. As the land is not fertile, so agriculture is not very common at Pudukkottai. People are engaged in the mining of granite and laterite. Another source of income is the handloom industry.
John Rajiah, after studying at the Bible College of Wales, founded Ethernal World Ministries (EWM) which is based in Chennai (Madras), with a wider ministry in the state of Tamil Nadu. The work of EWM was started in 1989 with a home for a few orphans however this was very basic with the roof made of coconut leaves and during the monsoon, the water poured in. EWM now has 4 children’s homes and looks after over 700 children on a daily basis providing for their needs. These children come from a variety of backgrounds including streets, abandoned by parents at birth, natural disasters, “bought back” those who have been sold.
2 years ago, after the tsunami, over 40 children were rescued in the Pudukkottai area and a home was established, firstly in a church hall then in rented accommodation which is the current arrangement. They now need to build an appropriate home which will house over 60 children and also provide the village people with a small clinic. This will provide a loving home for many poor orphans, families and mothers who cannot afford to look after their children including special care to pregnant women and babies. Food, clothing and education will be provided for them. The building will also have a free clinic for health care for the children and village people.
It is currently planned that accommodation will be provided in two locally built mud huts with thatched roofs situated in the village. The team will employ local ladies to cook and wash and EWM will ship in water for drinking and washing (local supplies very unsafe). This area in very high malarial risk and therefore all precautions will have to be taken.
At the moment it is anticipated that the Team will be away from Jersey for the month of September. This date has yet to be finalised, volunteers will be informed as soon as the exact dates are known.
India has a strict dress code, especially for ladies, smoking is not allowed in public by law and EWM will not permit alcohol on its premises at any time (this includes the accommodation)
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