Volunteer in our NGO providing support for displaced women and families in Audruicq, France

Details

• 

  Description

  We are a grassroots NGO providing holistic support for displaced women and families living in informal outdoor settlements in Calais and Dunkirk. We are a women for women organisation, committed to creating safe spaces for women and children. We aim to provide women with the means to live with dignity, we advocate for access to shelter and for other human rights to be met.
  
  We are a small team of between 7 and 14 female (or non-binary) volunteers in northern France with support from 3 members of staff on the ground as well as remote team members. We are a mobile service, operating from our vehicles. We offer support by going on the ground every day, where people are living and staying, to spend time with them, by organising activities (such as arts and crafts and language exchanges), by fulfilling their material needs on an individual basis, and by connecting them to professional organisations for more specialised needs (medical, legal, or psychological). Recognising that “basic needs” includes mental health and well-being, we serve as a moral support, and create dedicated spaces where women can feel comfortable, whether their wish is to talk to someone or to be left alone.
  
  We know that it can be physically and emotionally draining - it is very active and busy and we are outside a lot. The informal camps can be an emotionally challenging environment, especially for people who have never been in this field before. It is really important that people are prepared for these challenges and we offer support to help prepare our volunteers for this as well as during their stay. The help can also be a lot of fun and powerful - we help with some incredible people!

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Charity Work

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
• 

  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

  ×

  ...

  ...

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  What's this?
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are a multi-cultural, multi-lingual team so there is plenty of opportunity for sharing and experiencing at home in the evenings/on days off as well as when helping in the field.
  
  You will have the opportunity to meet fantastic people both in the communities we support and in fellow volunteers.
  
  You will gain practical skills and experience of field tasks, as well as logistical and administrative tasks if this interests you. Our team are learning every day!
  
  You will gain a better understanding of the situation for displaced people in Northern France and of human rights work in general.

• 

  Help

  Our NGO could not operate without the support of our amazing volunteers!
  
  We are looking for open-minded, motivated people with a willingness to learn and follow instructions.
  
  We don’t require specific skills or experience, but there are a few things that are always helpful to our team:
  
  As a mobile service, we are always looking for people who are willing to support us with driving - if you are able and comfortable driving, this would be a huge help to our everyday tasks. If you join our team you won’t be driving all the time, you will still have a good variety of responsibilities and driving is shared between all drivers.
  
  We are always looking for volunteers who are logical and methodical to help out in our warehouse making sure all of our stock is organised! This is an essential part of our work so we are able to provide basic items and necessities to the women and families we support.
  
  Our volunteers help directly with displaced people, so you must be open-minded and professional at all times. We are particularly looking for people who have experience helping with vulnerable communities, who have a good understanding of boundaries, agency, dignity and other important considerations in this line of work. This is not a requirement but it is important that volunteers are willing to learn about helping with an anti-oppressive approach, appropriate professional behaviour and to follow our safety protocol closely.
  
  Typically volunteers will do a mixture helping in the field and in our warehouse, with at least 2 days off per week.
  
  Due to the complex nature of our tasks we ask for volunteers to help for a minimum of 4 weeks. If volunteers are only able to stay for a short period, they may be based in the warehouse for more of their tasks. If volunteers are available to commit to a longer period of around 8 weeks more training will be offered and therefore tasks will be more diverse and include providing direct support.
  
  Our language as a team is English, so it is important that you are comfortable speaking English. If you speak French, or any of the main languages in the informal camps (e.g. Kurdish Sorani, Farsi, Amharic, Urdu, Arabic amongst many more) that would be a great asset.

• 

  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
• 

  Accommodation

  We have a shared volunteer house with a shared living space, kitchen and dining room, toilets and showers as well as a garden space. We have several volunteer bedrooms - it is likely that you will be sharing a room with one other volunteer. It’s very homely, relaxed and friendly - we take turns cooking and eat together most evenings. We share responsibility for doing grocery shopping as well as home chores of cleaning and cooking.
  
  A warm lunch is provided on site for volunteers every work day.

• 

  What else ...

  Our team are all off together on Saturdays which offers the opportunity to spend time together in a social setting or do day trips in the surrounding area. There are beaches nearby as well as Belgium being a short drive away. The town where the volunteer house is located has a canal which is lovely for walks and there is a local market on Wednesdays. The town is a short train ride from Calais and is not far from Dunkirk either- both of which have plenty going on!

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

• 

  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week