International WorkCamp in Taiwan Projects in 2008

Transcription

1 - Volunteer Together, We make our community better- VYA Taiwan International WorkCamp in Taiwan Projects in 2008 What is VYA...3 Project 1: International Workcamp by VYA...4 1) Introduction...4 2) How to apply for Taiwan WorkCamp?...4 3) Summary and Abbreviation List...5 a. Summary List...5 4) General Qualification...5 5)WorkCamp Detail Information...6 VYA-NICE/08-01, Taishi01, Taiwan 01/08-15/08 ARTS, Creative, EDU, 10 vols. 6 VYA-NICE/08-02, Taishi02, Taiwan 16/08-30/08 EDU, CONS, KIDS, 10 vols 7 VYA08-03, Lanyu, Taiwan 21/06-05/07 EDU, ENVI and Culture, 10 vols...8 Vision YouthAction Add: Floor 3, No.9, Lane 186, Rd. Shi Da, Taipei City, TAIWAN Tel: Fax: vya@vya.org.tw General matters: vya@vya.org.tw :workcamp@vya.org.tw WorkCamp:workcamp@vya.org.tw Official Website WorkCamp: WorkCamp:

2 What is VYA An NGO/NPO organizing workcamps and other voluntary projects in Taiwan & Asia The Executive committee of IAVE-IRC (International Association for Volunteer Effort s International Resource Center, IAVE-IRC) since Full Member of NVDA (Network for Voluntary development in Asia) since 2007 Full Member of CCIVS at UNESCO (Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service) since 2008 VYA in short: a) : Over 283,436 young people have participated our voluntary activities since first held in 2002 b) 160,000: Over 5,000 young people served as volunteers, donated more than 160,000 hours for social services. c) 2551: Cultivated 2,551 youth leaders d) 700: Cooperated with over 700 NGOs. e) 38: Supported 38 Taiwanese young leaders to intern in NGOs in Washington D.C., USA. 1) Brief History Vision YouthAction was founded in 2002 by 30 young leaders who participated in international volunteer exchange project between Taiwan and U.S.A. From 2002 to 2007, VYA had been successful in setting up a regional youth volunteer center to promote very short term community service from one day to one week. Over 5,000 young people served as volunteers, donating more than 160,000 hours for social services in the past few years. In August, 2007, in collaboration with NICE Japan, the first international workcamp in Taiwan originated in a small fishing village in the mid-western coast of Taiwan. It has been developing rapidly and variously catering to the huge needs of projects & motivations of people! 2) Our Mission and Dream a) To promote youth engagement in public affairs and international voluntary services: We encourage and help the youths to participate in various kinds of voluntary services. Through voluntary service, [we grow exchange naturally among world youth and local people through living, working, talking, laughing together and promote global understanding and friendship]. b) Nurtured future Young Social Entrepreneurs: We assist youths to run NPO with the concept of social enterprise and venture capital, solving social problems efficiently with new business model. 3) Activities To achieve our mission and dream mentioned above, VYA runs the following activities; a) Very short term community service projects (VSTCSP): Organizing with National Youth Commission, VYA advocates Taiwanese young people getting involved in community voluntary services. Every year, at least 2000 youth volunteers are involved in VYA VSTCSP and organized more than 130 community service projects by themselves. b) International WorkCamp in Taiwan: VYA organizes workcamps and sends Taiwan volunteers go abroad. The first Taiwan international workcamp was held in 2007 in cooperation with NVDA and NICE. In 2007, only one project with 8 international vols and 17 local vols/ sent 10 vols to 4 countries. c) VolunteerMatch.org.tw: the first professional online IT management system for volunteer administration in Taiwan. This website offers NGOs & youth volunteers training courses, application for service certificates, volunteering opportunities hunting, 2

3 and consults of volunteer administration. d) Training Projects for Young Social Entrepreneurs: VYA maps out a series of training projects for young people intending to engage in a long-term career in non-profit organizations. By doing so, we cultivate young social entrepreneurs to be equipped with global perspectives, leadership, value of civil society, and the capability of organization and management. 4) Members & Partners VYA is completely independent from any political, religious, economic power. There are 4 professional paid staff in charge of VYA and regular volunteers as assistants. The General Assembly/ Executive Committee of VYA are held twice a year. VYA has: a) 2100 members around the world and 500 volunteers in Taiwan. b) 32 local partners and has built partnership with more than 200 local NPOs around Taiwan to promote voluntary service. 5) Finance VYA is a non governmental organization, independent from other agencies such as political and commercial entities. a) Income: 87.18% of its operating cost was generated by the projects and service income, 11.48% from government donation and 1.33% from private donation in b) Expense: 2.65% was used in offices operating cost and 97.35% was spent on projects (food, lodging, project staff salary (30.66%) etc.) c) Project cost of workcamps in other Asian countries and weekend workcamps are paid mainly by volunteers. d) Project cost (food, accommodation, etc.) of international workcamps in Taiwan are mainly supported by VYA and local partners (finance source includes NGO partners budgets, local governments, sponsoring foundations, etc.) In 2007: Income: NTD $5,840,917 (USD 179,169 Expense: NTD $5,723,705 (USD 175,574) Surplus: NTD$117,212 (USD 3,595) 3

4 Project 1: International Workcamp by VYA 1) Introduction Welcome to join our workcamps, share happy time and create fresh new age together! All campsites have good-natured and warm people, so you will discover the colorful and vigorous face of Taiwan and those are completely different from stereotypical images you may have through media. < All workcamps share the following features (unless mentioned in each project description) > a) Age limit : From 18 (No maximum). In some projects, we accept kids with their parents joining together and in some cases, volunteers 1-2 years fewer than 18 (aged 16-17) are welcomed as well. b) Language : English (Mandarin or Taiwanese is not required, but we welcome your trying!) c) Insurance : We provide small amount of insurance only for accidents during workcamps IN Taiwan. d) Accommodations : Mostly, there're showers, kitchens and toilets. Basic, but enjoyable enough. e) Study Part : All workcamps are designed for youths around the world to learn and work on a better future for global community. 2) How to apply for Taiwan WorkCamp? A: Apply through our workcamp partners or NVDA!! Non-Taiwanese volunteers liv ing outside Taiwan have to apply to local Workcamp NGO partners of their own countries instead of toward VYA(if there are no such NGO partners there, then people need to apply through NVDA ( Only people live in Taiwan, can apply to VYA directly by sending the application forms and paying the fee to; Name of account: Vision Youth Action, Fu-Tong HSU Name of Bank: Taipei Fubon Bank, Kuting Branch Bank Address: No.100, Roosevelt Rd., Sec. 3, Taipei City 100, Taiwan Account Number: * If you are members of NVDA, you can directly send/ host volunteers to/ from us. * If you are not members of NVDA, you need to send applications to Eiji at NICE (in@nice1.gr.jp). VYA may also send volunteers to you through NVDA. B: How much should volunteers afford? a. Transportation fee: Volunteers have to afford the transportation fee to and back from workcamp sites by themselves. b. Registration fee: the registration fee volunteers pay to VYA according to the following situations..food and accommodation during the projects are provided by VYA & the local partners; a) From organizations charging no fee to VYA vols. : No fee b) From organizations charging some fee to VYA vols. : US$200 per a workcamp (+) c) Individual applicants who are living in Taiwan : US$250 per a workcamp (++) * Most of European/ North American/Japan/Korea partners are a) and Most of Asian/ African/ Latin American are b). + This depends on the agreement with each NGO?partners. We usually charge the same amount as they do while we can consider discount/ exemption for the partners in less expensive (developing) countries. ++ This includes fee of life-long membership and Pre-workcamp. People originally from less expensive countries (GDP: below 5,000 US$) are discounted to US$150. C: Detail information of the project 1-2 months before the projects begin, volunteers will receive Information Sheets (details of the project: what to bring, the meeting place, how to get there, etc.) together with Acceptance Letter and VYA Volunteers Guide through the partner organizations. D: Book the flights as soon as being accepted! Don t wait for the Information Sheets; otherwise you may miss economy class! In all the workcamps in Taiwan, volunteers will have to meet in the accommodations or the train stations in the afternoon of the first camp day. And the workcamps finish in the afternoon of the last day. Some projects are located quite far from the airports and the inexpensive route takes much time. We advise volunteers to arrive at/leave Taiwan at least a few days before/after the projects begins/ends also because volunteers should not expect much sightseeing during the projects.(if you want to do it, please do it before/after the workcamps!) Before the workcamp begins, we may be able to arrange some VYA volunteers/members to homestay the participants, otherwise we will recommend youth hostels. (For further information, wait for the info.sheets!) 4

5 3) Summary and Abbreviation List a. Summary List * Vols. are the numbers of international volunteers to be recruited. * Vols NICE. are the numbers of NICE Japanese volunteers to be recruited. Vols. Code Name Location Dates Types Vols. Note NICE VYA-NICE/08-01 Taishi 01 Taishi, Yun_Lin 01/08-15/08 ARTS, Creative, EDU nd VYA-NICE/08-02 Taishi 02 Taishi, Yun_Lin 16/08-31/08 EDU, CONS, KIDS st VYA/08-03 Lanyu Taitung Country 21/06-05/07 EDU, ENVI, Culture 5 5 Taishi 01 Taishi 02 b. Abbreviation List ARCH: Archaeology AGRI: Agriculture ARTS: Arts CONS: Construction DISA: Disabled EDUC: Teaching, Awareness ENVI: Environmental ELDE: Work with Elderly FEST: Festival HERI: Cultural or Heritage KIDS: Work with Kids MANU: Manual MEDI: Medical PEACE: Peace RELIEF: Disaster Relief RENO: Restoration, Renovation SOCI: Social STUDY: Study, Research * "Social work" means work with other types of people besides ELDE, PHYS, MENT and KIDS (e.g. Refugee, Homeless) OR work with various types of such people with special needs. 4) General Qualification a) Best motivation for the voluntary work (special skills and power are not necessary) b) Responsibility to follow rules of VYA & the partners and cooperation to run the workcamps c) Best efforts to understand and respect cultures of the hosts and other volunteers d) An Open mind to make friends, trying to speak English (in the groups) and the local language e) To adapt to and enjoy simple living conditions Fun and refreshing as it may be,, if you seek for pure entertainment on vacation, please don't apply and do just travel. If you are here for voluntary service to make a better world and friendship with local people and other volunteers, you are super welcomed!! 5

6 5)WorkCamp Detail Information VYA -NICE/08-01, Taishi01, Taiwan 01/08-15/08 ARTS, Creative, EDU, 10 vols. (5 for NICE members) After the background information (partners, aims and histories) of the workcamps; T : Terminal (The closest big international airport) LA : Leisure Activities SR : Special Remarks PF : Participation Fees W : Type of voluntary work S : Study theme A : Accommodation L : Location * For Accommodation, CV = Cooked by Volunteers MP = Meals are provided. SB! = Sleeping Bag is necessary SBN = Sleeping Bag is unnecessary Taishi workcamp, the very first international workcamp was held in 2007 in Taiwan together with NICE Japan. The wrokcamp is so successful that local residents advise VYA turn it into a regular activity. VYA, NICE, Taishi Artist Association and Taishi Junior High School will go hand in hand to continue the workcamps this year.. We will teach English in school, play with teenagers and paint for community to create local landmark Global Street to promote global understanding and friendship. Participants will also have opportunities to experience traditional local market, night market, and eco-tourism in free schedule, chat with local people and enjoy the passions from them. Taishi, located in the countryside of Yun-Lin County is a small, serene town in the middle of the western coast of Taiwan. Free from disturbance, Taishi is rich in marine resource such as oyster and shells. For seafood lovers, this is definitely a heaven. However, with the industry transformation, the economic structure in Taishi are facing challenges, population drain resulting from unemployment deepens the rural-urban divide. Besides, a large number of local residents are married to mail-order wife due to the poor social/economical status, and the amount keeps increasing in recent years. Because of the scarcity and unequal distributions of resource, children have limited access to education, especially English learning environment. Confronted with the conflicting situations, the community people still lack of understating toward their own culture and social values. Therefore, through the workcamp held in Taish, we wish to promote global understanding, trigger the learning interests of children and enhance their capacity of English through in-depth interactions between local residents and cross-national youths. Empowering the young generation to think globally, act locally, we introduce Taishi to the world with a brand new perspective Aims: 1) To add new tourism attractions in Taishi town through global and local voluntary power 2) To promote friendship/understanding/solidarity among local people and cross-national volunteers 3) To ground a firm foundation and extend development of international workcamps all over Taiwan 4) To enrich and improve the variety of learning resource and environment for school children. W: We will teach English and play with children in school, work together with local youth and artist to draw streets and walls of a fishing village to create a Global Street. We meant to create a public space for community through the coloring project In the meanwhile; we will also join community environmental clean events to help cleaning beach (Taiwan straits). S:participants are encouraged to share and join the discussions of the community development process and future prospect of their motherland. A: Local district civil hall/home stay. Sleeping bag is required! Food will be offered by local people but volunteers still have a chance to cook in some cultural exchange events. L: A small fishing village in Yun-Lin County, locating on the middle-western coast of Taiwan. T: Tao-Yuan international airport. 4 hours of bus away from Taishi (about NTD$ 400, passengers may need to transfer in Taichung to get to Taishi or take bus from Taipei directly) LA: Excursion, exchange parties with local people, eco-tourism (optional), etc. SR: High motivation for learning and respect to local culture. Chinese language and artistic skills are welcomed but not necessarily required! PF: Free (VYA will provide meals & accommodations). Volunteers should cover the transportation and living expenses by themselves during free schedule. 6

7 VYA -NICE/08-02, Taishi02, Taiwan 16/08-30/08 EDU, CONS, KIDS, 10 vols. (5 for NICE members) After the backgrounds (partners, aims and histories) of the workcamps; W : Type of voluntary work T : Terminal (The closest big international airport) S : Study theme LA : Leisure Activities A : Accommodation SR : Special Remarks L : Location PF : Participation Fees * For Accommodation, CV = Cooked by Volunteers MP = Meals are provided. SB! = Sleeping Bag is necessary/ SBN = Sleeping Bag is Not necessary Organized with Taishi Hong-En charity Organization, a local and Christianity based non-profit organization; the workcamp project in 2008 will be launched hand in hand with NICE Japan as well. Hong-En offered a free after school tutoring project for local children from single-parent, Asian wife and grand parenting families since These children are socially and economically disadvantaged, short of financial aids and learning resources. Vols will help Hong-En to organize an after school tutoring project during summer time. From 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday, participants will design some indoor and outdoor activities (such as English teaching, music class or sport playing) to assist children in learning through play.. Besides, vols will cook lunch for children. On the other hand, the constructions of Hong-En s office building has been neglected for a long period, staff in Hong-En doesn t have extra energy to take care of the building; so vols will help to reconstruct the building, color the wall, clean up and cutting the grass around the buildings, and redesign the space allocation for kids to improve the overall living conditions. Participants will also have opportunities to experience traditional local markets, night markets, and eco-tourism in free schedule, chat with local people and enjoy the passions from local people. *Taishi, located in the countryside of Yun-Lin County is a small, serene town in the middle of the western coast of Taiwan. Free from disturbance, Taishi is rich in marine resource such as oyster and shells. For seafood lovers, this is definitely a heaven. However, with the industry transformation, the economic structure in Taishi are facing challenges, population drain resulting from unemployment deepens the rural-urban divide. Besides, a large number of local residents are married to mail-order wife due to the poor social/economical status, and the amount keeps increasing in recent years. Because of the scarcity and unequal distributions of resource, children have limited access to education, especially English learning environment. Confronted with the conflicting situations, the community people still lack of understating toward their own culture and social values. Therefore, through the workcamp held in Taish, we wish to promote global understanding, trigger the learning interests of children and enhance their capacity of English through in-depth interactions between local residents and cross-national youths. Empowering the young generation to think globally, act locally, we introduce Taishi to the world with a brand new perspective. Aims: 1) To support the Hong-En and to create learning-friendly atmosphere for the children there 2) To add new tourism attractions in Taishi town through global and local voluntary power 3) To promote friendship/understanding/solidarity among local people and cross-national vols. 4) To ground a firm foundation and extend development of international workcamps all over Taiwan W: Participates will come up with different approaches such as music/english/sport/funny game class to help local children with learning, and help improve the living conditions. We will also cook lunch for children. So participants are encouraged to prepare props or any refreshing ideas for teaching. And don t forget to prepare traditional dish/food of your countries; we will cook lunch for kids. Besides, vols will help to reconstruct the building, color the wall, clean up and cutting the grass around the buildings, and redesign the space allocation for kids to improve the overall living conditions. S: participants are encouraged to share and join the discussions of the community development process and future prospect of their motherland. 7

8 A: Local district civil hall/public building/home stay. Sleeping bag is required! Food will be offered by local people but volunteers still have a chance to cook in some cultural exchange events. L: A small fishing village in Yun-Lin County, locating on the middle-western coast of Taiwan. T: Tao-Yuan international airport. 4 hours of bus away from Taishi (about NTD$ 400, passengers may need to transfer in Taichung to get to Taishi or take bus from Taipei directly) LA: Excursion, exchange parties with local people, eco-tourism (optional), etc. SR: High motivation for learning and respect to local culture. Chinese language and artistic skills are welcomed but not necessarily required! PF: Free (VYA will provide meals & accommodations). Volunteers should cover the transportation and living expenses by themselves during free schedule. VYA08-03, Lanyu, Taiwan 21/06-05/07 EDU, ENVI and Culture, 10 vols. After the backgrounds (partners, aims and histories) of the workcamps; W : Type of voluntary work T : Terminal (The closest big international airport) S : Study theme LA : Leisure Activities A : Accommodation SR : Special Remarks L : Location PF : Participation Fees * For Accommodation, CV = Cooked by Volunteers MP = Meals are provided. SB! = Sleeping Bag is necessary. SBN = Sleeping Bag is Not necessary This is the first time for VYA to launch an International WorkCamp related aborigine. It takes place at Lanyu, a small island off the southeast coast of Taiwan. Subordinate to Taitung County, Lanyu, the small but gorgeous island, is famous for its abundant natural resources. Furthermore, Tao (or Tau), one of the aboriginal tribes in Taiwan, has given Lanyu a touch of cultural uniqueness. Due to the fabulous scenery and culture, Lanyu has become a rising star in tourism. In fact, VYA did a short-term voluntary community service in Lanyu last summer. From the service, we realized that Lanyu is a place that needs more attention. Its remote location has caused problems and scarcity in certain resources. Take education for example. The education resources are extremely limited that children are unable to have sufficient English learning. Environmental problems also began to arise and worsened as tourism prospered. It is the experience that motivates us to keep working on this beautiful island to meet local needs in action. Therefore, in 2008, VYA will cooperate with Dong Ching elementary school and the local community development associations in Lanyu, to conduct a project that focuses especially on educational and environmental issues. We will teach children English promoting global vision through international cultural exchange events and help them acquire more knowledge about environmental protection via designed curriculums and outdoor activities. By doing so, we hope our younger generations can understand how important it is to love and care about where we live with a boarder perspective via this WorkCamp in Lanyu. Aside from the interaction with children, participants can get a better idea about the historical and cultural background of Lanyu by meeting local people, visiting community development organizations, 8

9 and experiencing the unique aboriginal Tao culture. During free time, participants will be able to appreciate the marvelous scenery and enjoy the eco-tourism. If we are lucky enough, there may also be a chance for us to experience the harvest festival of Tao, which is a traditional celebration held every summer. Aims: 1) To protect both natural and cultural resources by global and local voluntary power 2) To promote friendship/understanding/solidarity among local people and international vols. 3) To help provide a better learning environment for children in Lanyu. 4) To establish the basis for future development of international work camps all over Taiwan W: We will teach English and play with children at school, and work together with children and local youth to clean the beach along the elementary school. We will also take participation in community environmental clean events to raise local people s attention of environmental issue. S: Educational issues in remote areas and future plans. A: We will stay in the library of the elementary school. Sleeping bag is needed! By the way, participants may get chances to experience staying in the unique traditional houses built underground! Food will prepare by local people but volunteers still have a chance to cook in some culture exchange events. L: A small island in Taitung County locating in southeastern Taiwan. T: Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. About 1.5 hour ride (about NT$ *2) to Taipei Railway Station, where the WorkCamp leader will meet participants and leave for Lanyu (about 7 hours by train to Taitung and about 20 minutes by plane to Lanyu Airport with a total cost around NT$2145*2.).Costs in going to the meeting place, train and fly ticket fares in going to the basecamp are to be paid by the participants. LA: We will have free excursion, cultural exchange parties with local people, eco-tourism (optional), etc. SR: High motivation and enthusiastic for doing voluntary service, confident and active in interacting with people, and willing to show respect to nature and local culture! Chinese language and artistic skills are welcomed but not necessarily required! PF:Free (VYA will provide meals & accommodations). Volunteers should cover the in-country transportation and living expenses by themselves during free day. 9