Volunteer programs abroad for professionals

If we take into account the fact that the average life expectancy in Japan is about 80 years, then using simple mathematical calculations, we can understand that after retiring, a person has another 15-20 years of relatively free life. But there are people who live more than 100 years. How do people fill this time?

This question worried me a long time. At least because someday I myself will become a grandmother-pensioner. Well, for everything else, I myself have a grandmother. An incurable workaholic with more than 45 years of work experience, at 62 she decided to retire. It seems that many Soviet people did not know how to live for themselves. So is my grandmother. Her whole life was devoted to the work and education of one child first, then another. As a result, the child has long been dead, the granddaughter first left for another city to study, and then generally from the country. And then the work was gone.

I was very worried about how she would perceive such changes and what she would find for herself a new meaning of life. The first six months were very difficult: ascent out of habit at 6 in the morning, constant emotional throwing on the topic of “what to do?”, Which resulted in a global apartment renovation several times, salting preservation followed by distribution to all relatives, as to eat such volumes alone is unrealistic. And although there wasn’t much need for all this, I always reacted positively to her “projects”, because a person needs to constantly do something, so as not to sour.

A year or two after retirement, she said that she just realized how great it was to not work, sleep until 9, and do whatever you want. But in general, she looks like an ordinary pensioner of a small Russian town, whose daily life includes a trip to friends and relatives, watching all kinds of TV shows and inventing at least some activities for herself.

After this picture, Japanese pensioners make a different impression: most often they are very active people who enjoy life. Sometimes it seems to me that these people have more energy than mine. In an attempt to unravel what the main difference between a Japanese pensioner and a Russian pensioner is, I recently talked to my old friend Yamashita-san, who has been active in volunteering for 12 years and retired at 75+.

Yamashita-san, photo taken 2 years ago, 75 years old

First of all, I asked if he was waiting for retirement or was work the main purpose of life for him too? And he, laughing, said that he was still waiting for this. He worked in the old Japanese system of life hiring, i.e. all his life he worked in one company. Salary and tasks were changing, but the company was one. And the last 3 months, he has been looking forward to the beginning of a free life, as he calls it. A man earned a pension, fulfilled his duty to the state, children grew up. Now you can take care of yourself and do what you really want to do.

Here I see the first difference between our pensioners. At the age of 60, rarely does a Russian person want to go to study, learn a craft or get carried away with a new hobby. The Japanese finally find time to realize their dreams: someone, tired of the fact that a week-long vacation is the maximum they have in life, is going to travel the world; someone goes to a photography school, learns to cook European dishes, or learns languages.

Even 7 years ago, when I was a volunteer in an international center, in my group of Japanese there were 2 Japanese grandfathers 65 and 70 years old who came to Russia to learn Russian. They, as expected, made student cards, because they were officially students of the Russian school. But often in museums we had problems: grandfathers did not want to give a student discount. “What kind of students are these?” They told me? "These are pensioners. And for pensioners we have no discounts. And we do not need to poke student cards."

Pensioners pay much attention to physical activity. Very often they join hiking clubs and go hiking and the mountains together. During the climbs, such pensioners often overtake me, which always surprised me insanely.

After retirement, a Russian pensioner sharply reduces physical activity. Well, with the exception of those who work in the country from April to October. Often overweight at this age gives pain in the joints, shortness of breath, high blood pressure, and a person decides to leave the house less and lie down more, thus coping with pain and poor health. Over time, this ends with the fact that even going to the nearest store requires a lot of energy and strength.

Our conversation with Yamashita-san took place during the ascent to the hill. The path in both directions is almost 6 kilometers, and he makes such trips 2-3 times a week. According to him, at this age, the muscles weaken very quickly, if you do not give them the appropriate load. Therefore, several times a week, regardless of the weather, he goes to the mountains. In case of snow or rain, he has a good set of waterproof clothing and rubber boots. At the age of 77, he also still drives very well. No concessions, because as soon as you begin to relax, returning to the old level of activity becomes more and more difficult.

The Japanese masses pay great attention to maintaining good physical shape in old age. In addition to hiking, many also go to the pool or gym. In each room there is at least one grandmother of about 80, who is engaged with small dumbbells. And the pensioners who are involved in walking cannot be counted at all.

Volunteering

Yamashita-san has been actively volunteering for over 10 years. He helps foreign students to solve everyday problems, arranges sightseeing trips, edits translations of texts, resumes and course papers. Even a knowledgeable Japanese student often comes in handy. He also helps with housing, moving, organizes various parties at home, leads students to restaurants and is always ready to give advice on any topic.

Last year, his father died, who was 106 years old. And now, Yamashita-san wants to make repairs in an empty apartment in order to provide an opportunity for visiting students to live not in a standard hostel, but in a traditional Japanese apartment.

Why does a Japanese retiree volunteer? The motives of everyone are different, but mainly this activity allows you to feel your need for society. And in the case of Yamashita-san, constant communication with young people helps to recharge your batteries and feel young.

2 years have passed since our last meeting, so I briefly talked about all the changes in my life (there were a lot of them), and also shared my plans for the near future. “There are so many wishes in youth!” He said. To which I said: "And what, in old age, there are already no such desires?". "In old age, there are many desires, too," he said. "And sometimes they even have to be artificially created and maintained. All this volunteering and constant physical activity support the desire and interest in life, because as soon as the desire to live disappears, death occurs."

Why volunteering? Yamashita-san says he might not have become a volunteer. But once, during his trip to the States, he tried to find a shelf with curry in a huge supermarket. And a man came up to him and offered help. And then he thought that he would also like to help foreigners in Japan. Indeed, without knowledge of Japanese and without understanding Japanese realities, foreigners often have to deal with it. The first time you get into a Japanese supermarket and do not know the characters, a foreigner can mistakenly buy salt instead of sugar or slices of fried garlic instead of almonds.

So Yamashita-san became a volunteer. For such people here you can find different options for work. To the question "What would you do if you didn’t help students?" he replied that he would lead the groups into the mountains. A guide is also a common option for volunteering.

Also, since he has a car, he sometimes helps retirees like him to go to the hospital or buy food for them.

What other types of volunteer work did we recall offhand?

1. All sorts of options for tourist excursions and tourist assistance.
2. Assistance to local traffic police in cleaning bicycles (bicycles parked in the wrong place are constantly taken to the penalty area).
3. Strengthening stairs in the mountains in difficult places.
4. Accompanying young children to kindergarten.
5. Surveillance at sea for floating.
6. Free Japanese language teaching
7. Escort of blind people during hiking in the mountains.

There are countless options. There is also volunteering in emergency situations, for example, when help is needed after earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Yamashita-san says he is especially pleased that students, even after graduating, continue to maintain a relationship with him. My friend, who introduced us, invited him to her wedding. And this is not an isolated case. It is doubly pleasant for him to watch how the life of more recently former students comes to mind.

After our walk I got a lot of energy. And not only because he constantly joked: “You, like a real journalist, write everything down. Let's arrange you to work for a newspaper.” First of all, I absorb the philosophy of life from such people so that at the age of 60 I won’t be an average Russian grandmother who watches the series all day.

Photos:

Projects Abroad PRO is a line of programs designed specifically for university graduates, professionals and retirees who wish to volunteer in developing countries.

You can choose a volunteer program for professionals in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the South Pacific. Programs can last from two weeks to several months - you yourself determine the start and end dates of the selected project.

The goal of professional programs is to listen to the needs of local communities and apply the knowledge and experience of volunteers in order to help and support these communities as much as possible. Projects Abroad selects the most suitable project for each volunteer, because it is so important that your knowledge is most useful. Working side by side with local partners and volunteer staff, you can apply your experience to improve the quality of life of the world's poorest people.

If you have skills or qualifications worthy of special attention and want to apply them in a new environment, then check out the projects offered by Projects Abroad PRO below on this page.

Requirements for Projects Abroad PRO Volunteers

To participate in Projects Abroad PRO programs, we are looking for confident, friendly and organized people with a positive attitude to international volunteer work. Each program is unique and requires certain skills from volunteers. However, any suitable experience will be taken into account when considering your application. We are looking for candidates matching one of the following parameters:

• Professionals at a career break with a diploma in the relevant field
• Pensioners with experience in the relevant field
• University graduates
• Professionals with two years of experience in the relevant field, but without a diploma or university degree
• Individuals with unprofessional qualifications in the relevant field. An example of a valid qualification:
  • UEFA coaching badge
• An example of a qualification that will not be accepted by us:
  • Duke of edinburgh award

Some countries require a high level of knowledge of Spanish or French, as verbal communication is the foundation of successful relationships with your program partners. If you are in doubt about the requirements, then contact us in any way convenient for you. Contact details can be found below on this page.

If you cannot find a suitable program, then be sure to contact us. We will try to organize an individual program where you can use your skills and knowledge. You can also contact us if you think that your knowledge may be useful on the programs, but they do not meet the official requirements.

Even if you are not a trained professional, you can take part in our programs. .

If we talk about terms, then charity is a help to socially vulnerable groups of the population: the elderly, orphans, and the poor. Patronage is the support of people of art: artists, writers, actors.

Let's start with philanthropists - or rather, those who we call volunteers. These people are ready to help not with money, but with deeds. Over the past year, there have been many such volunteers throughout the country.

Today, for example, volunteers of the Moscow movement VNUK have become more active. Before Easter, students and schoolchildren go to lonely grandparents, help them do the cleaning, wash the windows. The action is called "Clean Thursday" and it will last until next Thursday.

For pensioner Anna Pavlovna, the arrival of volunteers is a pleasant surprise. Lives alone, suffered a stroke three years ago. Since then, windows have not been thoroughly washed. It’s hard and dizzy from the height. Asks for volunteers.

Students Nastya, Natasha, Andrey and Kolya got into the volunteers through a website on the Internet. Since then, every free weekend has been helping lonely grandparents. Today they have 3 applications in different areas of Moscow. By Easter, pensioners mostly ask to clean the windows, but the volunteers are ready to clean the apartment, take out the garbage, and help with the repair.

According to the volunteer Andrei Chesnokov, if you can’t provide financial support, you can always help “physically”: “I found out on the website of the volunteer organization, I decided to help. So that it’s not very lonely, everyone has different situations: someone is fine, someone doesn’t. "

In addition to one-time actions, volunteers also have permanent responsibilities. Each of them has sponsored grandparents. The guys go to them regularly: help with the housework, bring gifts and simply brighten up lonely everyday life.

“Veterans need care and a company” - this is the abbreviation of the volunteer organization of VNUK. This year, 207 people turned to volunteers for care and company. They learn about the action either through the council of veterans or through their relatives who live far away, they cannot help come, but they leave a request on the site.

Lyudmila Alekseevna and Vladimir Vasilievich at first did not want to take part in the action - they say, the two of us, we can handle it ourselves. In addition, they are accustomed to volunteers with suspicion.

Lyudmila and Vladimir Kopylov, pensioners: “Now all the shares are held in order to buy something. Here we come to you - we will clean the carpet. Why?”

Volunteers of retirees convinced. While Vladimir Vasilievich is sitting at the book, the guys are washing the window, and the girls are washing the balcony.

Lyudmila and Vladimir Kopylov, pensioners: “We are just happy that the young people came to visit us, you can’t wait for your grandchildren, we’ve waited for strangers! Thank you guys!”

The action "Clean Thursday" is in Moscow until April 17. To take part in it, both pensioners and volunteers need to send an application to the site or contact social protection centers.

These people are volunteers, or volunteers: students, engineers, teachers, journalists, businessmen ...

  Volunteering is more than a hobby for them. This is a need, a way of life. They work for free - without salaries, benefits and privileges. However, there are still dividends - the happy eyes of a sick child who counts the days before meeting you, the “sponsored” grandmother from a nursing home who cries with joy when she sees you on the doorstep ...

Not all the same, after all, is measured by money. And, if you feel the need to help others, join in! There are many opportunities for this.

Help children

Hospitals

Many small patients have been hospitalized for months. Communicate only with doctors and parents. One can only dream of a walk. They live in four walls, and even fight with serious illnesses. Even for an adult - this is a serious test ...

But everything changes when volunteers come. They bring a holiday: you can fool around, draw, make applications ...

  It would seem a trifle. But not for a child torn from the world. Creativity and communication with new people allow you to forget about pain and a terrible diagnosis.

Orphanages

It is clear that volunteers cannot replace mom or dad with an orphanage child. But they don’t have such a task. But they help to make the life of the pupils joyful and eventful: they organize all kinds of master classes, exhibitions, concerts, entertainment programs and holidays. Older children are helped to prepare for the exam or the State Examination, exams at the university.

Expert Commentary:

Svetlana Nebyanskaya, Head of Trust in a Dream Foundation:

Our foundation holds visiting creative workshops for children who cannot attend classes on their own. We also go to hospitals with children with oncology: we draw, sculpt, hold meetings with interesting people for them. Of course, being a volunteer is not easy, especially psychologically. But someone must help. For beginners, we advise you to see photos of children (usually foundations keep them in the public domain) before you go to the hospital, weigh your strength and understand whether you are ready to take on such responsibility. The only good news is that, despite all the difficulties, the number of volunteers in recent years has increased. But they are still not enough.

Caring for the elderly

Nursing home

Many are perplexed: how can volunteers help the elderly? You will not draw and play with them? In fact, “old” enjoys the same as “young”: games in a trickle and chess, round dances and songs. And also to the guests: the elderly love pastille, caramel and marmalade. But the most important thing is, of course, communication. Many old people feel unnecessary and lonely, and volunteers often become their only close people.

  However, you can help in another way - to repair the ward or create home comfort in it, buy diapers and absorbent diapers. Or become a “grandson by correspondence” - write letters to your grandparents. It won’t take you much time, but it’s important not to quit what you started: old people always wait for news from their “grandchildren” and are very upset if it does not come.

Single pensioners

In order to help a lonely pensioner, it is not necessary to be in some kind of fund. Surely you have an elderly relative or an elderly neighbor who needs help: buy food, clean the house, contact the customer service if the refrigerator or washing machine breaks down - many old people become completely helpless when they encounter everyday problems.

Expert Commentary:

Elizaveta Oleskina, director of the Old Age in Joy fund:

Everything rests on the volunteers: they go to nursing homes, provide cars, give concerts, give presents, go for walks with the elderly, because many of them do not go out on their own. We have a hotline for the elderly: through it we help single pensioners. And for beginners we organize volunteer Thursdays - we meet with those who want to help, explain what kind of help is needed.

By the way

  You can become a volunteer by contacting one of the public charitable foundations. Here are just a few of them:

• Charitable Foundation “Volunteers to Help Orphans”
• Orthodox portal for charity and social activities
• Charity Fund "Sofia"

Important

If you do not have time to go to children or the elderly, you can help in another way:

• Transfer money to the account of one of the charitable foundations. Even if one person sends 50 rubles, in the end a decent amount will be collected.
• Take to the church children's things and toys. They will be given to those in need.
• Buy homeless sandwiches and tea - this will help him keep warm.
• Help the old man carry heavy bags to the house.
• Disseminate information on social networks about charitable foundations and people who need help.

To this topic

Anette Orlova, psychologist:

I have never been a volunteer. The only thing I did was to teach girls in orphanages for free, because they were completely not adapted to adulthood.

These children have very little social experience, so they need help, and I try to provide it.

It all depends on the state of mind, on many different factors. You can be an old woman at 50, and at 80 you can feel like a person who has the opportunity to work for the benefit of other people who are interested in the lives of other people. Therefore, we conceived the project “Silver Age Volunteers”.

The first time the team appeared when they went to the Olympics in Sochi in 2014. Our volunteers showed themselves very well there, since then this topic has declared itself. And now there are organizations that are engaged in sports volunteering, environmental volunteering, volunteering in conducting various events of various organizations. Today we will talk about social volunteering, i.e. helping people who find themselves in various difficult situations.

Despite the fact that our project is very young, there is already an experience of trial, error and success.

In Moscow, 2.5 million people over 55 years old, in Russia about 40 million people over 55 years old. How many of them do you think “volunteer”? Volunteering is just beginning, the reserve is huge, unclaimed. Moreover, we still need to change our mentality. Unfortunately, a lot of people are used to consuming. In all the social centers that we contacted, we did not find a response, because people come there with requests - give us, we need, help us. But it is necessary to instill in our elderly people that only by giving, we receive. We even had a project under the name "Only giving, we receive."

What has been done in Russia to engage 55+ people in volunteering?

When we started our project, we realized that in our country there is an Interregional Resource Center for Silver Volunteering in St. Petersburg, the “Silver Age Volunteers” Project of the Sochi 2014 Games Organizing Committee, Volunteer Projects for Elderly GBU “Mosvolonter” in Moscow and a project "Volunteers of Moscow 55+" Association "REDD". Not enough for the country, no?

What does the coordinator need to get started?

• Job interview
• Training
• Club "Silver Age Volunteers"
• Volunteer referral to NGOs

1. Interview

It is very important to conduct an interview at the level. We even developed a special questionnaire for volunteers of our age. Therefore, it is necessary to know the motivation of a person. From a person who, for example, is “just bored at home,” a good volunteer will not work. Most often, such people leave immediately. The interview just finds out. Sometimes a future volunteer (most often, a man) comes for an interview and begins to talk violently about himself - what a fellow he is! Such a person will also not work in a team. In general, things are not going well with male volunteers in our country. They can be great fellows, once worked a lot and worked well, they have rich experience, but this has nothing to do with motivation. In a word, the primary in the interview I have is the identification of motivation. You also need to find out what the health situation of this person is. He works or is free all the time. In addition, the questionnaire includes a telephone, email, address. We do not take passport data, we do not need them. Of little importance is the profession of man. But in general, if a person has something to give, then he can be taken to any team. If a person, in spite of a wonderful education, does not have a desire to give, then he will not be able to be motivated, to be in a team.

Silver age volunteers should be reliable, responsible people who will not let you down, but this is 100% impossible to identify at an interview. Here we cut off the most-most, but they more manifest themselves later in business.

Recently, it has become important for me to find out the religion of a potential volunteer. This topic is sensitive, but we had several unpleasant situations when people came from sects. Such people are aimed at carrying their message, although we all say that this is not our task. We do not carry religion, but love and help. Therefore, a person of a sectarian worldview can do a lot of harm. Especially in boarding schools for the elderly.

Further in my questionnaire there are conversations in the directions - where a person would like to go with his help, what is interesting for him is to work with children or with the elderly. Or he is more interested in the theme of animals, or work in museums, for example.

2. Training.

The training here is of course strongly said. Rather, it is a briefing, an introduction to the course of affairs. Firstly, people with a certain life experience come to us. And I need to insert this experience into a certain frame. We have developed specific memos for ourselves and we conduct our classes on them. Here a school of volunteers helps us a lot. For example, we tell people what is possible and what cannot be in a hospital. But the most important thing is training, of course. Occurs in practice. Our theory and practice are very closely connected.

3. Club "Volunteers of silver age."

It is not just desirable to create an affinity club when organizing, it is necessary! If you in your organization will be engaged in a team of volunteers of silver age, without a club you will not succeed. A club is a place where, firstly, you will get to know everyone closest. At meetings in the club, we talk about the difficulties of our work, share experiences, determine plans for the week and conduct master classes. For example, we have our craftswomen in the club, we felting wool, we make various things out of it, which are then sold very well at charity bazaars. The money then goes to treat children or to various charitable foundations. This is such a joy - we understand that at these meetings we are not only bullshitting, but doing really good deeds. Half of the people in our country are then taught to do these crafts by children in hospitals. Everything necessary for this - paper, modeling, shells - we prepare at our club. We also go on excursions and some activities that are interesting to our age - theater, cinema, meetings with interesting people. Therefore, our club is a success and helps us to unite our team.

Our volunteers can participate in projects in the following areas:

• - In cultural and educational projects;
• - Support for children in orphanages;
• - Social rehabilitation of people with disabilities;
• - Support and social rehabilitation of the homeless;
• - Help for children with diseases;
• - Support for older people in boarding schools;
• - IVF projects;

Project promotion + target audience

You can promote your projects through the following institutions:

• - Department of Culture (houses of culture, libraries)
• - Department of social assistance to the population
• - Department of Health
• - Department of Labor and Human Employment
• - Prefectures, district councils
• - USZN
• - Social Assistance Center
• - MASS MEDIA
• - TV shows
• - Internet resources
• - Ads
• - Social advertisement

Based on the statistics of the appearance of new volunteers over 10 months of the project, information through the Internet resources works most efficiently - 22%. In second place announcements in employment centers - 20%. Word of mouth also works well (people and other SB NCOs) - 13 percent. Contrary to all expectations, the worst is the promotion of the project through radio and television - only 1% of newcomers came and not a single one through an advertisement in newspapers.

Prospects

For individuals 55+

• - increasing demand in society
• - improvement of health and health
• - motivation for an active lifestyle
• - satisfaction from good deeds

For the state

• - improving the quality of life of the population (both those to whom the volunteers help, and the volunteers themselves)
• -decrease in the cost of medical and social services
• - increase in GDP
• - reducing social tension in society, promoting the value of good deeds
• - fulfillment of civic duty to older generations

My project is interesting in that it is twofold. Volunteer 55+ also receives help, who comes to us, he realizes himself, understands that other people and society need him. They feel their worth. And those to whom he, in turn, provides his assistance - children, seniors, dogs, etc.

What exactly do Silver Age Volunteers do?

The real deal. Our social activities are structured and regular.

Pilot project of our organization