VOLUNTEERING WITH CHILDREN
A long-term volunteering project to be held from November 2019 until the 9th of August 2020.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT
The Association CUCURUMILLO was founded over 15 years ago. On one hand, it was created to satisfy the needs of a group of mothers who wanted to give at their children an education that respects their evolutionary processes. On the other hand, to satisfy the desire of a group of teachers to create an educational space where “life itself” was present. Thus, Cucurumillo created an inclusive education of all human abilities: creative, aesthetic, intuitive, physical, emotional, multicultural, ecological, ethical, cognitive, etc. The two cerebral hemispheres develop all of these areas, in a balanced and harmonic way, fostering the personal development.
Our main objective is to promote free and autonomous learning directed to child from his/her childhood to the adulthood, passing by the adolescence period, supported by an active and effective participation of the families and the community, in a friendly environment.
The purposes of Association are:
a) To maintain and manage “stable games” workshop in the province of Murcia.
b) To promote and create “Educational Facilities” directed to primary, secondary and high school education.
CUCURUMILLO's base is philosophy of work in the theories of Steiner, Rebecca Wild, Loris Malaguzzi, Paulo Freire, Pestalozzi, Vygotsky and Piaget. CUCURUMILLO apply the principles of these authors in its Educational Project, providing some basic principles, which reflects the framework of the work with children. The Program provides to the child a feeling of respect, love, and tenderness so in this way they can grow understanding themselves, as well as listening and addressing their needs.
The three pillars of our project are:
• Respect and recognition of the roots of the children.
• Respect the boys and girl individualities.
• Respect the connection with Mother Earth.
The main activities are:
a) The creation of a workshop-games, and educational initiative for the realization of our main purposes.
b) The organization of conferences, courses, exhibitions, conferences and other educational activities directed to children, youth, parents and teachers with the aim to achieve the goals of the Association.
c) Dissemination and distribution of brochures, newsletters, magazines and all kinds of publications for educational purposes.
FRAMEWORK OF THE PROJECT:
The voluntary work will be carried out in the space of the CUCURUMILLO organisation in Cabezo de Torres (Murcia). Cabezo de Torres is a little town with the population of the 12.327 habitants (2011). The activities of the volunteer will also carry out in other existing local organisations, in the city of Murcia. Cabezo de Torres is one of the favourite residential and recreational areas of the habitants of the region of Murcia. For what concern the European voluntary day life, they will live in Murcia, sharing apartment with other volunteer. Also, the majority of the families (parents and the children), with whom the volunteer will work, live in Murcia, and finally, some of the activities related with other organisations partners with Cucurumillo will be carried out in Murcia.
The Region of Murcia is one of the single-autonomous regions of Spain, situated in the south east of the Iberian Peninsula, between two autonomous regions, Andalusia and Valencia, and between the Mediterranean coast and the Region of Castilla-La Mancha. The capital of the region is the city of Murcia. The population of the entire region is 1.472.049 habitants. Region of Murcia is famous to be one of the best producers of fruits, vegetables and flowers of Europe that includes also the most important vineyards of the municipalities of Jumilla, Bullas and Yecla, which produce vines classified by the “Controlled designation of origin”. Also, is important the touristic sector of the region, concentrated in the coast with their numerous unspoiled spaces and the “salted lake” of Mar Menor. The region stands out for his petrochemical and energy industry and for the food industry.
The volunteer carries out his activities in the local community principally composed by the children, parents, staff and volunteers of CUCURUMILLO, who are involved in this Project. The project want develop knowledge and competences to all the participants. In order to make both professionals and parents aware of the need for educational reform in the educational and family system.
ACTIVITIES:
The activities that volunteer will carry out:
- Support the workshops and educational activities: free time workshops with children, maintenance workshops, decoration activities of the working place with the parents, environmental workshops and maintaining the ecological garden with children and parents, music workshop, dance workshop, games centre, “open space”, cooking workshop, etc.
- Support and participation in the creation of educational materials for children and parents
- Support the intercultural workshops and realize a specific workshop about the culture and the country of origin of the children
- Support workshops games, as well as educational and recreational initiatives.
- Support the organization of the courses, exhibitions, conferences and other pedagogical activities on educational reform in the educational and family system, directed to children, youth, parents and teachers.
- Support the production, publication and dissemination of brochures, newsletters, magazines and publications.
- The volunteer will have a space to propose activities or ideas to implement on educational project.
About the learning opportunities, the volunteer:
- Will be benefited from practical experience carried out with the support of Cucurumillo staff.
- Will improve the knowledge of child development and his personal growth, and how to organize daily project tasks at educational, psychological, organizational and practical level.
- Will participate in the workshops, talks, training organized by the association, focused in our methodology of working with children and how to make a schedule of activities with youth, parents and adults.
- Will receive training on creating and maintaining an organic garden.
- Will attend workshops about multiculturalism, which will be reinforced by the daily experience of living, working and spending leisure time in the city of Murcia.
- Will learn a new language: Spanish. Which will give him/her more opportunities, not only for interacting with local people in the host country, but also in seeking a job, because Spanish is a language spoken in many places and to learn another language, always opens doors in the professional future.
PROFILE OF THE VOLUNTEER:
From CUCURUMILLO we are looking for volunteer interested and motivated to participate in our project. People that like to work with our profile of users, especially with children. For us, it is also important that this person has curiosity and interest in our methodology of work.
We think that it´s important that the person who want to work with us as volunteer, is dynamic and curious about the “free learning”. It´s important he/she likes working with children, respecting their evolutionary process, their emotional state and their personal situation.
The ability of working in team, the creativity, music, singing, dancing, art, etc. it will be positively valued. We will also value positively people who love nature.
We don’t have preference about the gender of the volunteer, but we will value positive a gender balance among the staff of CUCURUMILLO association and the volunteers who work with us.
ACCOMMODATION AND PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS
The volunteers participating in our project will live together with other European volunteers in an apartment situated in city centre and rented by the coordinating organization Euroaccion. Each volunteer will have his/her own room to guarantee privacy and good living conditions. Each month the coordinating organization Euroaccion will transfer to the volunteer’s Spanish bank account (opened at the arrival in Spain with the support of the coordinating organization) the amount of money correspondent to the pocket money and the food money. This money will be managed by the volunteer freely and independently.
The coordinating organization will pay monthly the rent of the apartment and the bills, in order to make volunteers free from these tasks. The apartment will be located around 30 minutes from our organization. There is a bus line that takes the volunteer directly from his house to the place of work and vice versa with frequent passages. The coordinating organization will cover the costs of the monthly tickets for the public transport.
ESC - EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY CORPS
As a volunteer the European Solidarity Corps allows you to learn through non-formal experiences, improve existing or acquire new skills for your personal, educational or professional development.
The ESC covers:
• Your travel expenses from where you live to Murcia and back (return ticket);
• All fees for visa and residence permission;
• Comprehensive insurance (health, accident and liability insurance);
• Free accommodation: a room in an apartment;
• Pocket money in the amount of 150 euros per month;
• Food allowance 150 euros per month;
• Participation in on-arrival and mid-term meeting.
If you are interested in this project, please, send us your CV and Motivation Letter AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to noemi.euroaccion@gmail.com with the subject VOLUNTEERING in CUCURUMILLO.
