Apply for the European Solidarity Corps Volunteering periods in Finland! On this page you can find those projects coordinated by Maailmanvaihto that are currently seeking volunteers and instructions for applying for them.
To apply, please download Maailmanvaihto’s application form: application form (docx) or application form (pdf) and read instructions for filling in the form from the bottom of this page. Send your filled-in application to evs(a)maailmanvaihto.fi.
Please note that Maailmanvaihto only accepts applications which have been filled into Maailmanvaihto’s application form. Prior to applying, plaese read carefully the project descriptions below as well as the program information.
Available ESC Projects
1) Kisälli-Harjulanmäki
Due to sudden cancellation, we have a vacant place for a volunteer in Kisälli-Harjulanmäki!
Project description: Kisälli-Harjulanmäki has two main activities: it has a nursing home called “Harjulanmäki” for mentally disabled people and a workshop called “Kisälli” which provides art and work therapy for disabled people.
Location: Kisälli-Harjulanmäki is situated in Vihti, a small town located some 50 kilometers away from the city of Helsinki.
Volunteer’s role, tasks and requirements: The volunteers help disabled people in their daily activities at the Kisälli arts&crafts workshop and at the Harjulanmäki home. The work includes both artistic work and practical personal assisting (for example with eating and daily hygiene).The volunteers need to have interest in creative arts&crafts work as well as motivation to work with people with special needs.
Accommodation: The volunteers live in an apartment.
Available volunteering positions: One position available on 17.8.2019–16.8.2020 (12 months). >> APPLYING INSTRUCTIONS
The place is filled as soon as a suitable volunteer has been found!
Volunteers’ Experiences
Slovakian Miroslava Sloviakova volunteered in 2017–2018 in the workshop Kisälli. In March 2019, Mirka visited Finland again and looked back to her volunteering experience. What did volunteering in Kisälli give for her? Have a look!
Project description: Arts&crafts workshop Dagtek is a part of Kårkulla samkommun, which offers services for people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorders. The Dagtek workshop community consists for the moment of 22 persons, mostly women, with minor challenges with learning and four workshop coaches/mentors. There are four different workshops with different textile crafts, visual arts and ceramics. Each workshop has a coach who coordinates and leads the activities.
Location: Dagtek is located in Ekenäs (Tammisaari in Finnish). Ekenäs is a small town of about 15 000 inhabitants and it is situated by the sea in the Southern Finland. The majority language is Swedish (81%) and only about 17% of the population speak Finnish. Ekenäs is a part of the Raseborg commune (28 000 inhabitants). Dagtek is located in the centre of the town.
Volunteer’s role, tasks: Through ESC volunteer cooperation, Dagtek wishes to offer its community members a possibility to build networks and get a wider perspective on the world around us. At the same time, we hope to have one more person to be present for our clients and assist in the daily workshop activities and in social and practical situations during the day. The role of the volunteer is to support the clients with special needs in their textile crafts work, art activities, exhibition visits and all kinds of daily activities. According to their skills and interests, the volunteer can also organise activities and teach the clients new skills especially related to arts&crafts. Despite of their learning disabilities and other special needs, most of the clients of Dagtek workshop are quite independent in their daily activities. Thus, the role of the workers and the volunteer is not to take care of them, but to teach and guide them in the arts&crafts activities and to support their independence in different situations.
Volunteer’s requirements: It is important that the volunteer is socially active, flexible and motivated to participate in the community life as being there for the participants, being social, talking with the people, and bringing up their ideas to the colleagues and mentors. We hope to find a volunteer with specific skills or interest and motivation in visual arts or art in a wider perspective; ceramics, photography, dancing etc. Having a volunteer with interest in arts would enrich our community and give the volunteer a genuine possibility to share their skills and experience. The working language of Dagtek is Swedish, so is important that the volunteer is motivated to learn Swedish.
Accessibility: The physical environment of the workplace is suitable for young people with physical, sensory or other disabilities. Wheelchair access is possible through the backdoor, and there is an accessible toilet in the building. Since Dagtek works with people with physical, cognitive or social challenges, we have good skills in offering occasionally extra support for the volunteer if needed. However, we do not have the possibility to offer continuously intensive extra support for the volunteer.
Accommodation and practical arrangements: The volunteer is accommodated in a host family.
Description of the organization: The English Playschool of Kangasala is an early education setting with a special interest in global awareness, environmental education and teaching English as a foreign language to little children of age 2 to 6 years.
Location: The English playschool of Kangasala is situated in Kangasala, a small municipality situated some 20 km away from the city of Tampere.
Volunteer’s role and tasks: The volunteer´s role is to enable first-hand experience of intercultural interaction and to set a concrete example of the benefits of learning foreign languages. The volunteer is expected to learn some cultural, intercultural and transcultural aspects together with the children. The volunteer’s other tasks are those of an assistant teacher. The volunteer attends the children’s everyday routines and activities by assisting the teachers in various ways. The volunteer may e.g. help children in getting dressed for outdoor play, play games with the children, prepare teaching material, decorate the classroom and document activities and learning processes. The tasks can and will be modified according to the personal interests and skills of the volunteer. The volunteer will however never be alone responsible for a group of children but rather work along a teacher at all times.
Volunteer’s requirements: The volunteer needs to have interest in working with young children and participating in the routine work of a preschool/kindergarten. An interest in environmental education and sustainable development would be beneficial since we have a special interest in these. An interest to learn some Finnish is important since both Finnish and English are used in the interaction with the children.
Accessibility: The voluntary workplace is not able to host a volunteer with a physical or sensory disability.
Accommodation and practical arrangements: The volunteer will stay with a Finnish host family. Flexibility and motivation to live in a host family and to interact with the family members is essential. The lunch will be provided by the voluntary workplace and other meals by the host family. In case bus travels are needed for the way to work, the costs will be covered for the volunteer.
“This year in the English Playschool of Kangasala has been so great! I always felt appreciated and like a part of the teachers’ team.” – volunteer Christina Anton
How to apply? Three simple steps:
Choose from the list above the project you wish to apply to.
After selecting the project, download and fill in Maailmanvaihto’s application form: application form (docx) or application form (pdf). If you wish to apply to more than one project, please fill in a separate form for each project. Write your answers on the green blank fields. There is no length limit for your answers.
Send your application form as an email attachment to: evs(a)maailmanvaihto.fi Write the project name to the subject field. Attach your application to the message and send. Photos are optional.
Please note these things:
In order to apply, you need to have a sending organization in the country you live in. In case you do not yet have a sending organization, you can look for one from this database.
If you do not understand the content of the application form, please ask help from your sending organisation.
Maailmanvaihto only accepts applications which have been filled into Maailmanvaihto’s application form.
Prior to sending us an application, please read through the program information in order to get a picture on the European Solidarity Corps Volunteering.
ESC volunteering periods are targeted especially for those young adults who otherwise have less opportunities than their peers to participate in transnational projects. If you feel you have less opportunities than other young people, please tell about this in your application. There is a separate question on it in the application form.
