Recreations in institutional care system for disabled children
TANTEM ASTIKI MI KERDOSKOPIKI ETAIREIA
TANDEM (Tandem Astiki Mi Kerdoskopiki Etaireia)
Athens, Greece
Description
The project takes place in P.A.A.P.A.V. (formerly known as PIKPA), which is an enclosed institution for disabled/neurodivergent children and young people in South Athens. The institution is a home for around 75 residents aged between 2 and 30 years old, with various impairments and/or social difficulties. Most of the residents do not have any contact with their families. The volunteers bring light, love, and care to the everyday lives of the children by engaging them in different activities (swimming, handcrafts, cooking, lessons, excursions..) and are part of a wonderful local and international community. Volunteers are encouraged to take their own initiative and have the support of the coordinator on an everyday basis. Most importantly, we strive to be the bridge to the outside world, promoting values like equality and inclusion, and recognizing the value and potential in each person rather than focusing on their disability.
Accommodation, food and transport arrangements
The volunteers live inside the institution premises, within a separate building from the children and young people. The area around is beautiful and very green; especially in the summer, it is delightful to have the sea in front of the house. It takes around 45 minutes by public transport to reach the center of Athens. There will be approximately 4-6 long-term volunteers living together. Two volunteers share a large room and bathroom. Volunteers live, cook, eat, and work together all the time, so be prepared for a very intense experience in community living.
Training during the activity
The volunteers receive arrival training concerning their daily tasks (proper use of wheelchairs, feeding, changing diapers). Additionally, they take part in an exchange for one week with another ESC project. Apart from that, we offer occasional training sessions to learn new techniques supporting the social model of disability. Weekly meetings and stable evaluations support personal development. All ESC volunteers participate in the On-Arrival and Midterm training organized by the National Agency (NA).
Participant profile
Motivation, enthusiasm, responsibility, and commitment are absolutely necessary. It's important to remember that most of the residents lack contact with their families and have no other contacts outside the institution. Therefore, they depend on the sensitivity, love, and attention of volunteers. Creativity, patience, initiative, maturity, and a good sense of humor are also important as the work can be challenging. An intermediate level of English is useful as it's the language of communication between volunteers and coordinators. Previous experience with disability is not mandatory.
Activity dates
From 01/07/2023 to 30/06/2025
Activity location
Athens, Greece
Activity type
Individual volunteering
Looking for participants from
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo * UN resolution, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova (Republic of), Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine
Activity topics
Social challenges
Health and wellbeing
Education and training
Creativity and culture
Working against discrimination (including gender discrimination)
Deadline for applications
Application deadline: 31/12/2024 23:59
Project code
2023-1-EL02-ESC51-VTJ-000120089