Ethic & Respect
The right attitude for our social projects
As a volunteer in one of our social projects, you will be confronted with dealing with children, youth and adults from a different culture, and very often, from difficult social backgrounds. Although we do not require our volunteers to have a degree in education, social work, social pedagogy or work experience in these or similar fields, volunteers need to be aware of the great responsibility they are taking on.
People who decide to volunteer abroad not only want to travel the world (well, you can also do that as a mere tourist). Our volunteers also want to do good, give back to society and leave a positive footprint in the host country. Cultural immersion is an integral part of our volunteer opportunities. Don't lecture anyone, don't bluster around, but bring know-how to the right place and, above all, learn from the other culture yourself. Cultural exchange & respect, these are the keys of our volunteer programs. This applies to all our projects, be their focus conservation, animal welfare, construction, social or other projects.
When volunteering with local people, it is important to be particularly aware of cultural aspects and the do’s and don’ts. Because, apart from the fact that you should always and everywhere treat everyone with respect, the people in our social aid projects are not there for fun. Many have had very negative experiences in their life, some are traumatized or have great difficulty in rebuilding trust in other people because of what they have faced.
That is why we are looking for volunteers who are not only very patient, tolerant and open-minded, but also particularly responsible and dutiful. The people of the social projects, and especially the children, need to know for sure that they can rely on you. That you won’t just not show up again one day because the surf trip to the beach was so tempting or because the party night was too good.
In addition, we need volunteers for social and children's projects who are creative and motivated to make a difference in peoples’ lives. What may seem like a small step for you can be a big step for a child with a difficult social background. But also due to the very limited financial resources of many projects, progress can sometimes only be made in small steps. Then self-motivation, creativity and a good dose of proactivity are required to make a lot out of little.
We do not expect that you are a professional in education, social work, social pedagogy, or therapies. But there are a few things that we must ask for: For projects where a police clearance certificate is required, it must be impeccable. And: Everyone in the project must abide by the rules. Children, parents, staff, and volunteers. A big problem for many of the children in our children’s projects is that they come from environments where rules either don't exist in the first place (the law of the strongest often prevails) or they have been broken. To adjust these children to a "normal" life, they must relearn the value of rules. Please be aware that as a volunteer you always have an important role model function.
With all the trust that you can hopefully win: A certain basic distance should remain with children. Apart from the fact that you shouldn't have "a favorite child" and that everyone deserves the same attention, too much closeness is also not good, neither for children nor for adults. Because: You will leave at some point, and they will stay behind. The idea of volunteering abroad is to leave your footprint, not a gap.
Ethics & respect comes first, fun & experience second, both together give you a priceless view of the bigger picture.
If you have any questions, please contact us, we will find the right volunteer project for you!