HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL CARE FOR MIGRANTS IN TRANSIT
El Aaiún, Sahara
Two rounds:
June 1 to July 7
July 15 to August 30 (possibility of extension until September 30)
Embedded Files
Profile:
Profile:
Mainly for students with degrees in medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, psychology, social work, international relations, pedagogy, teaching. However, the participation of other degrees may be considered depending on the interest and experience shown in projects with migrant population. From 21 years of age (exceptionally 20 years of age depending on maturity and experience in similar projects).
Flexibility, ability to work in a team, adaptability and maturity to work in a sensitive geopolitical environment will be valued. It is important to take into account the margin of recognition that the Catholic Church receives from the Moroccan authorities in the performance of humanitarian work in such a sensitive field as migration, which requires a very discreet action.
Finally, the Caritas team counts on the participation of the three religious congregations present in the Apostolic Prefecture of the Sahara: the Missionary Oblates of the Immaculate Conception, the Slaves of the Immaculate Conception and the Society of Jesus. Caritas participates in the liturgical life and in the accompaniment of Catholic sub-Saharan university students. Caritas volunteers are more than welcome to participate in the various expressions of the life of faith.
Places:
4 for the first round
4 for the second round
Location:
Location:
Aaiun, Western Sahara
Dates:
Dates:
Two rounds:
from June 1 to July 7
from July 15 to August 30 (with the possibility of extension until September 30).
Language:
Language:
French. It is important to have the ability to communicate in the language (speaking and understanding). It is needed to be able to carry out daily activities.
*Language in which the project will be developed.
Project and activity identification:
Project and activity identification:
Caritas of the Apostolic Prefecture of the Sahara has as its main mission in El Aaiun and Dakhla the health and psychosocial care of the most vulnerable population, especially migrants in transit: accompanying them to hospitals and health centers of the Moroccan Health Service (in addition, to medical services, laboratories and private pharmacies); offering, in addition, health and hygiene awareness.
Caritas provides special attention to women, especially during pregnancy and child rearing; sewing workshops offer a space for safety, expression, etc.; it also organizes a “childhood space” that welcomes migrant children who are not in school on a daily basis. It also offers assistance in carrying out certain administrative formalities, mainly the registration of births at the Civil Registry.
It also offers a training space for entrepreneurship, especially for women with greater prospects of stability in the territory.
Assignment: Volunteers support the Caritas base team in various tasks: welcoming the beneficiary population; accompanying them to hospitals, health centers, laboratories... where they receive health care; leading workshops in which they can take care of their mental wellbeing and learn useful things about health, hygiene, etc.; taking care of children in the “Childhood Space” that operates from Monday to Thursday, or when there are workshops for women, facilitating the participation of mothers.
Volunteers with medical qualifications can attend consultations to discern the best medical response to the situation presented, just as volunteers with nursing qualifications can dispense cures, pharmacists can discern the best value for money drugs in the cases presented, etc.
Timetable: Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm (hours of operation). Some afternoons a week (workshops and activities). Very occasionally we receive notices about people hospitalized in the Emergency Room that require immediate response, even at night, weekends and holidays.
When? Two different batches are offered.
First batch: from June 1st to July 7th.
Second batch: from July 15 to August 30 (with the possibility of extension until September 30).
Additional information
Caritas will send a document with useful information for volunteers containing the code of conduct to commit to in writing.
The organisation will ask for a criminal record certificate and a negative certificate of sexual offences.
There are two premises in the city of El Aaiún where Caritas' work is mainly carried out, although it also carries out activities in other enclaves such as El Marsa, or points of interest where it works.
Volunteers will be provided with the necessary resources to carry out the activities (Caritas identification waistcoats and, whenever necessary, a computer). It is a good idea to have your own mobile phone and to buy a local phone sim in case you need to make contact (wifi is available both in the Caritas premises and in the volunteers' flat).
Description of the beneficiaries:
Description of the beneficiaries:
Vulnerable population of the Aaiun, especially migrants in transit, women and children.
Previous training:
Previous training:
All students selected for the VUELA program will receive common training for participation in volunteer activities.
Consult YOUR UNIVERSITY in the following links for training dates, location and conditions. Don't forget to mark them in your calendar. This training is mandatory and is part of the project.
Field support:
Field support:
Field accompaniment will be provided by the organization itself.
Lodging and meals:
Lodging and meals:
The volunteers' accommodation will be in a house that Caritas offers in El Aaiún, where they will live together and organise the logistics of the house. There will be no cost for accommodation but there will be a cost for maintenance, and volunteers will have to contribute individually to the common bag.
The volunteer flats provide basic services with a certain austerity. Community organisation is important, especially for food shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc. The Caritas team always makes sure that the flats are not overcrowded, but it will be more common to have to share a room than to have a single room.
Information about the possibility and conditions of financial support for these concepts can be found below, by consulting YOUR UNIVERSITY:
Transport:
Transport:
The student is responsible for arranging and paying for transportation to the intervention site, and must inform the project's reference university of the date and time of arrival at least 15 days in advance.
University of reference for the project:
University of reference for the project:
Comillas Pontifical University (María Iglesias Martínez)
Page updated
Report abuse