Jordan 2019

The volunteering experience is a project proposed by the association in collaboration with Caritas Jordan, which aims to raise awareness on topics such as:

– Refugees’ emergency in Jordan

– Refugees’ reception and hospitality

– Integration processes

The experience of volunteering started thanks to the relationship with Caritas Jordan, a non-governmental organization that today counts more than 2000 volunteers and 400 employees throughout the country. Thanks to a deep connection in the territory and to the experience in the sector of humanitarian action, Caritas Jordan represents the only organization that can work throughout Jordan.

The volunteering experience started in 2014 with a first visit to Jordan that was then repeated in the following years with the attempt to extend the experience to other organizations and other young people who feel the need to engage on this topic with the aim of reaching a better understanding of the situation in the region.  

The experience of volunteering is therefore addressed to organizations and young people who want to start a path of serious commitment for those people who live in regions affected by war or characterized by its effects, and who therefore want to create a bond of dialogue and connection between one side and the other of the Mediterranean.

We believe that this bond can be built from the encounter between people who live in those lands and us, the participants. We have the chance to meet them, we decide to support them by donating our time, by taking care of their stories and telling them once we come back home. For us the main and focus points of our commitment and engagement in trying to create the so desired connection can be found in our presence there, in the commitment to the host community and, once back home, in the realization of fundraising activities for school and educational projects for the children we met in the country.

The objectives of volunteering are therefore creating a link between the youth reality of our territories and Jordan and realizing a cultural dialogue that allows breaking down prejudices and distances that divide us. The experience aims to create a network of young people who are committed in the creation of new projects, both in their home town and, as in this case, in Jordan.

Volunteering activities

• Activities with Jordanian, Iraqi and Syrian refugee children

The participants of the camp will attend every day (except for Friday and Sunday) the informal school projects (Summer School) that Caritas Jordan organizes in the parishes where the Caritas center of the city is located. This assistance consists in helping teachers during English lessons or during leisure activities such as organizing games and community activities.

• Field visit

Meeting with Syrian families in the areas and cities where they are more established.

Visits to the parishes that welcome Iraqi refugees who for a year and a half have been hosted by Caritas Jordan with the help of the parishes. The estimated number is around more than 10,000 Iraqi refugees.

• Relations with the local community

The last but not least point is the bond with the host community. The community that hosts us is living a reality of poverty and above all closure and mistrust towards the surrounding world. Our commitment is also to build relationships with the community that sometimes can face an isolated situation.

• Sightseeing and tourism activities

During the volunteer camp we organize touristic visits in the region, with attention to the host city and to all the archaeological and cultural areas in Jordan, such as Jerash or Petra, as well as visits to the archaeological sites surrounding the area and the city of Amman.

The sightseeing and tourism activities have a significant importance as they represent one of the main income sources for the country, which is now falling sharply due to the major problems that the region is now facing.

** The proposed dates are still indicative of the possible period of the experience and not necessarily the definitive ones.

• First shift: 13 July – 28 July
• Second shift: 27 July – 11 August
• Third shift: 17 August – 31 August
• Fourth shift: 30 August – 14 September

Age for participation: 18 – 30 years

The experience will take place in the Caritas centers of Jordan

The costs are borne by the participants

Remember that your passport must still be valid after six months of the return from the trip!

The duration of the volunteering camp goes from 15 days to a month of activity.

Travel expenses such as visa, board and lodging, flight, daily expenses are on the participants.

It’s not a camp for everyone! We know that spending on such an experience can be huge and difficult to sustain, which is why economic difficulties must not limit the participation. The camp organization committee undertakes the commitment of making the participation accessible by organizing the experience with downward costs.

Despite this, the camp organization committee, as a non-profit association, does not have scholarship or grants. We encourage and support personal initiative to find funds for self-financing.

For us this is a fundamental point: as young people we do not have the economic support to deal with expenses, but this has not stopped us. Indeed, it has spurred us to organize, proposing solidarity with friends and relatives.

Accommodation

The accommodation is given thanks to the availability and reception of Caritas Jordan and the parishes of the country hosting us. The costs for the accommodation are in fact symbolic and considered a mere donation that will then be donated to the host parish to cover the costs of the stay.

Transports

All the travels in the Jordanian territory of the group are organized thanks to the buses that the parishes of Jordan make available at discounted prices that facilitate us in the freedom of travel for the various changes in the program, also ensuring a security in internal movements in the country.

Food

The food is self-managed. The participants will be guided in the managing and organization of the shopping and cooking.

VISA

Jordan provides the possibility of obtaining one-month tourist visa directly at the airport in Amman. This is usually the practice we follow when we go in the country. We also suggest the use of the Jordan Pass service available on the site visitjordan.it

A fundamental aspect of the journey is the work to be carried out with the participants of the camp. The group leader of Non dalla Guerra aim to build a path for the participants consisting of three phases:

1. Before the camp:

this phase consists in accompanying the participants to a deep geo-political understanding of the reality that they will meet, with meeting focusing on training approaches, methods and practical tools fundamental for situations that imply cultural differences and relationships with different backgrounds.

1. During the camp:

the group leader will help the group with activities and tools as a resource with which re-elaborate the experience. These personal and group activities represents an element which over the years has become increasingly important and relevant in the effectiveness of the experience.  

1. After the camp:

this phase, both personal and group will serve to elaborate and manage all the emotions experienced towards something concrete that everyone will find according to their possibilities and characteristics. The participants will be asked to organize events and activities in their local and hometown community to tell their experience in Jordan with the objective of raising awareness on the topics promoted by the association.

CALLS FOR PARTICIPANTS CLOSE ON THE 15TH OF MARCH 2019

The application form allows you to take part in the volunteer camp in Jordan organized by the Association Non dalla Guerra in collaboration with its local partner Caritas Jordan.

Once you filled the application form:

– within 10 working days you will be contacted by one of the group leader of the association Non Dalla Guerra who will program with you an interview to be carried out face-to-face or via Skype;

– the interview will be selective for the participation in the camp;

– once you have received the positive result, you will be asked to confirm your participation in the camp by paying the participation fee.