Disability support in Athene

Every volunteer has a different programme depending on the children s/he is working with and the personal capacities and interests of the volunteer. However, all volunteers share the following tasks:

• 1 hour per day helping the nurses (bathing, feeding, brushing teeth, changing diapers)
• 3 hours per day (in the mornings mostly) keeping company to children with heavy disabilities who do not attend school (walks, music, massage, simple games)
• 3 hours per day (in the afternoons) participate actively in the group activities of the Activity Center inside the institution and / or accompanying the children or the youngsters of the institution to their outside activities (sports, extra lessons or therapies)
• 4-5 times per week swimming in the sea (only in the summer) and 1-2 afternoons taking some children outside to the playground or for gardening.
• 2-3 times per week Cooking for the group of volunteers and 1-2 times/week cleaning the premises of the volunteers.

Besides that, we organize and carry out the following activities:

• Stimulation for babies and severely disabled children (play room, music, walks inside the institution or just physical contact)
• Individual learning project for specific children (e.g. practicing self-help skills, learning the alphabet, learning how to use money, Cooking lessons, Computer lesson, English language workshop etc)
• Other leisure activities (Physical education or sports, Beauty group, Artistic expression: ex. painting, handicraft, singing, dance, etc)
• Social integration (visit to a supermarket, to a bank, a museum or a post office etc)
• Entertainment (organising parties, Outings in Glyfada or Athens, going to the movies or to a festival, excursions etc)

Young persons from from 18 to 30 years who would like to work with people with a severe mental disability.

• Willingness to learn Greek
• Interested in working with children/youngsters
• Able to take own initiative

Food

The volunteer will receive 40 Euros as food allowance each week, directly from the hosting organization.

Accommodation

Volunteers live in a house inside the institution with a terrace looking on the seaside. You will live with 4-6 other long-term volunteers and share a kitchen, living room and two bathrooms with them. Volunteers all live, cook, eat and work together all the time so be prepared for a very intense experience in community living! Also, we have to support each other quite a lot as some of us may have difficulties to adjust at the beginning or may have some physical disability.

Volunteers use the local transport and are picked up from the airport for their arrival. The work takes places in the institution where the volunteers will be living.

For trips on your days off, you can use local transportation (using the pocket money provided). For instance, to the center of Athens takes about 45-60 minutes by bus.

Greek is necessary for communication because neither the children nor the majority of workers in PIKPA speak English. Of course, nobody here will force you to learn perfect Greek if you don’t want to, but a minimum level is required to participate actively in the project! During your stay you can attend a Greek course by a private teacher (about 1-2 hours per week) until two months before your departure. Of course it is possible to change this schedule if volunteers and the teacher agree.

Volunteers work 7 hours per day, 5 days a week (a total of 35 hours per week). Language lessons and meetings (1-2 hours per week) are included in the working hours. All volunteers have different time and day schedules depending on the needs of the children and their personal wishes. There are two days free per week (usually but not always weekends) and two more holidays free per month.

PAAPAV ligt in Glyfada, een rijker gebied van Athene dat aan de kust ligt. Het uitzicht vanuit de inrichting is erg mooi omdat het omringd is door de zee. Glyfada zit vol met cafés, bars, sportscholen, bioscopen, winkels, enz. En er zijn veel disco’s en nachtclubs op het strand. Als dit echter niet jouw ding is, maak je geen zorgen: er rijden regelmatig bussen naar het centrum van Athene (45-60 minuten rijden) en daar kun je vinden wat je zoekt, van archeologische bezienswaardigheden tot alternatieve bars. Athene wordt als een hele coole stad beschouwd!