|
Belarussian Orphanage Project |
|
Love . Dignity . Integrity . Respect |
|
Volunteering in Belarus. Outside of fundraising for our projects, the main aspect of our work at the Belarussian Orphanage Project is to organise volunteers to travel to Minsk to work in our Orphanages and Institutions. Applications are open to individuals of all ages and backgrounds and our groups are made up of Transition Years, 5th years, College and University Students and Adults. Our minimum age requirement is 16 years. We have no upper age limit, but you must be fit to travel!. No formal qualification is required (full training will be provided) but when recruiting we look for Volunteers who are enthusiastic, hardworking, FUN!, good craic and above all, have an unending supply of energy and a passion for working with differently-abled children and adults. The photographs on this site give you the best idea of the kind of work we undertake.. A big emphasis is on both fun and contributing your all in the week, 10 days or 2 weeks you are in Minsk. How to apply: Step 1; Complete our online application form and send it to bop1@eircom.net. The form can be download from; Step 2; You will then be notified of the dates and times of the next information seminar closest to you.. If there are no seminars within a few weeks of your application then we keep your application on file and notify you by email of our next series of info seminars. 3. Attend your interview… we invite candidates to a walk in interview. Our interview panel is made up of leaders and volunteers who have experience in traveling to Belarus and working with us. You will be notified of interview times and venues by email. 4. Attend your training course and provide us with the documentation requested.. (passport details, references etc) Dates and Venues for training will be emailed to all applicants upon receipt of the Application Form. 5. Travel to Minsk for an amazing experience! If you are under 18 years then we also give information on our parents meetings as their consent is vital prior to proceeding to the interview stage. Following Interview the successful applicants will be offered their place and invited to a number of compulsory training days. Here they will be given more details of fundraising procedures and attend special classes on techniques for working with those in our care. Volunteer training takes place over a 2 day period. (A full syllabus and schedule will be given to successful candidates) This training will take place at a central location in Ireland, where you get to know your group in friendly and interesting surroundings.. and will provide you with the knowledge that you have joined a very special team of people. We also include basic conversational Russian, an overview of the history of Belarus and its culture and you will also be given a detailed insight into the daily lives of the Children and Adults that you will be working with. And all of this is done with an emphasis in getting to know the rest of your group as ‘friends before you fly’…. All lectures will be presented by qualified personnel and each volunteer will receive a special certificate of attendance. BOP also assists volunteers in all aspects of fundraising for their trips, issuing you with ID cards, sponsor cards / letters and BOP t-shirts/polo shirts/ Hoodies etc. This website endeavors to give you an overview of our work, but attendance to the information session is recommended as there will be many experienced BOP volunteers of all ages to answer your queries on a one to one basis. Our interview and training programme is organised in cooperation with the directors of the institutions in which we work and we cannot accept volunteers on our projects who do not complete the training course. For further information, dates etc please refer to the Application Form page where the application form is also available to download or email us at bop1@eircom.net |
