THE ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
OF CHURCHES IN
Voluntary Service in
can become
Courage is the ability to let the well-known go
Why do a voluntary service abroad?
· Get to know a new culture and mentality
·
Language development
·
Self-confidence and independence
·
International contacts and new friends
·
To develop social work-skills and gain direction for future career
·
Learn more about the church and different work environments
·
Get a larger view of the structure of society and social problems
·
Chance to reflect on own culture and values
·
To become aware of European thought
You should be…
·
18-30 years old
·
open to a new culture, different lifestyle and new experiences
·
motivated to help people
·
brave to explore your own ideas
·
able to accept different living conditions
·
open minded
·
able to act independently and bring initiative of your own with you
There must be a structure…
·
About 35 hours working time per week
·
Pocket money
·
Health and casualty insurance
·
Accommodation
·
Holidays (2 days per month) + public holidays
·
Language course
·
Supporting seminars (before, during and after the service)
·
Travel costs (to and from the host-country)
·
The service takes 11
months of your life
Working with
·
mentally disabled
·
seniors
·
youth and kids
· church
·
school
What’s good to know about Slovakia?
|
Inhabitants: |
5,43 million people |
|
Country’s territory: |
49.035 km² |
|
Member of EU: |
1. May 2004 |
|
Currency: |
Euro |
|
Religion: |
Roma Catholic 68,9%, other 13%, Evangelic 6,9% , Reformed 2¨%
Orthodox 0,9%, |
|
Ethnic groups |
Slovak 85%, Hungarian 10%, Roma 2%, Other 3% |
|
Capital: |
Bratislava |
|
Inhabitants: |
546 300 people |
Slovakia is situated in the middle of Europe. Middle and northern Slovakia
are more mountainous; the Carpathian bow extends across these regions. The
south of the country lies in the lowlands; this is an important area for
agriculture. The most important river is the
Danube which connects the
capital Bratislava with two European metropolises –
Vienna and Budapest.
Why Slovakia?
·
Little big country
·
Diverse nature
·
Hospitable and friendly people
·
Good size to discover the whole country
·
Center of Europe – thereby good possibilities to visit other European cities
·
Good and cheap transport system
Experiences from volunteers…
·
"The big change that I noticed was that I became more confident in new
situations and new places after having a year of experiencing the extreme of
these things."
·
"I
noticed many changes in myself over the year of my service, and since I have
been back. After adapting to another culture I think I learned to be more
flexible and open to new or different things."
·
"I
learned how to cook Slovak food, and came home and have been sharing it with
everyone!
“
·
"I think throughout the year my faith went through difficult times, but
ultimately became stronger because of the new experiences."
·
"Slovaks are very accepting and hospitable people."
·
"I
think that I grew a lot during my year in
·
"I
grew in my faith because I tried to find my own point of view."
·
"A
challenge was to understand people around me, to find out why they react the
way they react."
Some links about Slovakia:
www.cia.gov/library/publications
Contact:
Nata Hovorkova - Coordinator of the
program:
Ecumenical council of churches in
Palisády 48, 81106
mobile: +421/903/195-884
volunteer@ekumena.sk
www.ekumena.sk
These projects are realised by ECCSR and hosting placements; co-financed by
the Youth in Action Programme, Action 2
