Allianssi Youth Exchange–ALLI02 WHV Suomenlinna – 05.08.-18.08.23

Posted on April 16, 2023
by Volunteering Nepal

Allianssi Youth Exchange – ALLI02
WHV Suomenlinna – 05.08.-18.08.23 CULT/ENVI 12 vols 20-30
Finland, Helsinki

Project: WHV Suomenlinna
P: Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) is a sea fortress, which was built gradually from 1748
onwards on a group of islands belonging to the district of Helsinki. . The landscape and the architecture of the fortress have been shaped by several historic eventsThe UNESCO World Heritage Site in Suomenlinna is restored, maintained and governed by the Governing Body of Suomenlinna that operates under the Ministry of Education and Culture.The project intends to raise awareness among volunteers of the need to protect and promote World Heritage

W:The main task for the volunteers will be to participate in landscaping work, under the guidance of the site management and specialists. The volunteers will also collect visitor data through surveys, and will have an important role in the pre-production of the Classic Boat Race event. Participants will have the chance to join orientation and discussion sessions on World Heritage, authenticity, preservation, values, social sustainability, and ecological sustainability issues. There will also be a Camp Day as an open invitation to engage the locals in volunteering landscape work at the site.

A: The volunteers will stay in dorms in Suomenlinna hostel, lunches will be provided, dinners prepared by volunteers.

L: Suomenlinna (More information: http://www.suomenlinna.fi/en/) in Helsinki. Suomenlinna is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Finland and constitutes a district of Helsinki with 800 inhabitants.

R: The volunteers need to have interest towards World Heritage and prepare themselves before the camp in order to tell about the World Heritage projects in their home countries. The applicants need to write a one page motivation letter explaining why they would like to join the project, if they have any previous experience in WH volunteering and what could be their contribution to the project.

T: Helsinki. There is a 15 minutes ferry ride from the centre of Helsinki.
SR: One page motivation letter together with the application is needed. The volunteers need travel insurance for the duration of their stay. Registration fee 50 euros

ALLIANSSI
Allianssi Youth Exchanges promotes intercultural learning and global understanding. Our aim is to give young people a chance to do concrete work with others from different backgrounds and ethnic origins and widen their world view. Allianssi Youth Exchanges is owned by the Finnish National Youth Council Allianssi which is the umbrella organisation of Finnish youth and educational organisations with over 140 nationwide member organisations.

VOLUNTEERS
Usually most volunteers in our camps are 18-30 years of age.. The volunteers come mainly through our European partner organisations, but in every camp there is usually representation from other parts of the world as well. Occasionally we also organise family camp, some camps for younger volunteers with the minimum age of 16 years and some camps with age limits such as 20+ or even 30+. In 2023 we are still recovering from covid-19 and organise a smaller amount of projects than usually.

WORK
The work is very often manual like painting, renovating, organising festivals and different activities or landscaping/gardening keeping in mind the learning by doing principle. We find it important to encourage and increase intercultural learning between the volunteers and the hosting community. No special skills are required, only motivation. The working hours are 30-40 hours per week. Most camps are arranged in small communities in the beautiful Finnish countryside.

CAMP LEADER
The camps are usually run by Allianssi camp leader in close co-operation with host organisation camp leader. The Allianssi camp leader is either a volunteer with some experience or a student of youth work. In some camps the local camp leaders nominated by the camp host take care of the leading.

ACTIVITIES
There are plenty of opportunities to visit local places of interest and enjoy Finnish countryside, lakes and forests. And the Finnish sauna, of course! Most of our camp hosts are local associations so there is usually local involvement in the activities.

REGISTRATION FEE /EXTRA FEE
Due to imbalanced volunteer exchange and no public funding we are forced to ask the incoming volunteers to contribute towards our administration costs by paying a registration fee of 50 euros in some camps. The partner organisations collect the registration fee from volunteers on application and Allianssi will invoice the partners at the end of the season OR the volunteers pay to us through bank transfer before the camp.

HEALTH ISSUES
In most camps the volunteers are not insured (except ESC volunteer teams). Since the travel to the work camp and theft of personal property should also be covered we expect all the volunteers to take their own travel insurance. In addition, we advise all volunteers from EU countries to take the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) with them. No drugs are allowed at Allianssi camps under any circumstances. The use of alcohol might be restricted in some camps. However, by law the minors are not allowed to buy or consume alcohol or cigarettes at all in Finland.

LANGUAGE
The language on all our camps is English and all volunteers are expected to be able to communicate at least on a basic level in English. It is quite widely spoken, so you will manage in English almost everywhere in Finland.

WHAT TO TAKE WITH YOU
Since the work is usually practical/manual we recommend that the volunteers bring with them sturdy shoes and working clothes and gloves which can get dirty. Bring enough warm clothes for cool evenings. Swimming gear is important to bring with you since there are usually plenty of opportunities for saunas and swimming in a lake. A sleeping bag is a must for most camps.

SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is a vital core value to our organization thus we wish all the volunteers taking part in a work camp in Finland take this into consideration. Both the hosts and volunteers should do their best in taking care of i.e. the sorting of the waste, saving energy, not littering, supporting local products and respecting local culture. We encourage our camp hosts to provide mainly (preferably only) plant based food.
Even if Finland is located quite far in the north, remember that travelling there by train, bus or ship is also a good possibility. Test your carbon footprint:
https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/consider-your-impact/carbon-calculator/

FINLAND
Do you know that Finland is the happiest country in the world ? Finland; Suomi in Finnish, is situated between Sweden to the west, the tip of Norway in the north, a long border with Russia to the east, and Estonia to the south, across the Gulf of Finland. Finland is the northernmost country in the world after Iceland. But the climate is not as freezing as that might suggest, partly because of the warming influence of the Gulf Stream. During summer even sunbathing is possible as temperatures range from 16°C to 25°C. There may be some rainy and chilly days too, and therefore the volunteers should have proper outfit for working outdoors. Finland has a long coastline. The archipelago to the south and south west of the country contains around 30,000 islands. Finland is also the land of lakes, almost 200,000 at the last count. Two thirds of the country is covered by forest. In terms of land area, Finland is the seventh largest country in Europe while the population is only about five million. Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish. The currency unit in Finland is the Euro.

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Paper Wings

04:47 11 Apr 24

Monique Daulton

08:07 02 Apr 24

Just had the most incredible 2 weeks volunteering with VIN in Okhaldunga. I worked with the women empowerment - life skills programme teaching the women about self confidence & self esteem. I feel very humbled & enriched by all the incredible women I met & the VIN staff & organisation who give so much to empower marginalised communities in Nepal

Sandy Storey

12:02 25 Mar 24

Namaste! I am pleased to have volunteered with VIN in Nepal as a teacher trainer. I carried out general teacher training in Okhaldhunga with teachers from nearby areas as well as more specific English language training for one month in both Nishanke and Bhaudare. VIN staff provided me with support before, during and after. I also made new friends with volunteers from all over the world. VIN seeks to empower marginalized communities in a holistic fashion. It is a noble cause, and I am happy to have made a contribution. Dhanyabad :)

Cherine wong

13:33 19 Mar 24

I undertook a management and administrative internship at VIN in their head office. It was eye inspiring, eye opening and enriching - it's the people who make an organisation so special, and Buphi and the team are the heart of it.

I very much enjoyed my time at VIN, the work I got to do, learning more about this not for profit and the incredibly profound sustainable projects and programs they run. They're a beacon of light for Nepal and I'm glad I got to make a small contribution to their work.

Suvi-Tuuli Vehviläinen

11:28 01 Mar 24

I’m Suvi, I’m 26 years old and I’m from Finland.

I was doing the Youth Empowerment; Youth Club and Life Skills project here at VIN in Okhaldhunga.

We formed 3 new Youth Clubs in the area, Taluwa, Thulaccap and Bhadaure. We trained the Board Members of these youth clubs and gave them skills to manage the Clubs by themselves, for examples how to manage budgeting and how to arrange meetings and events for the youth.

I think the youth clubs really do make a difference in the area, because they give a voice to young people and give them possibilities to influence and change the communities here in Nepal.

In addition to forming and training the Youth Clubs, we also did general Youth training, which included learning Life skills such as creative thinking, building self-confidence, goal setting, computer class and learning English through fun games and conversations.

I learned a lot from this experience. I learned about a new culture and a new way of life. People here are extremely friendly and warm-hearted and young people are so eager to learn new skills. I learned a lot about the youth club formation also, because it was new to me - I mean different than in my country. I look forward to hearing from the Youth Clubs in the future.

The most memorable thing of my experience was giving support to young people and getting the smiles and laughs from them when they completed the tasks or did very well when talking in English. I really had the best time telling them “Good job, well done!”

The youth empowerment project in total made me really understand the phrase “youth are the future”. It really hit me that they actually are the generation that will decide how things will go from now on and they are the ones who can have an impact on their community and later on the whole country. That made me feel I’m doing an important job with every single supportive feedback I’m giving.

I had the best team, I love how everybody was supporting me through my whole journey. And everyone was so chill. I was having a hard time at some point doubting whether I’m doing a good job, afraid that I’m not giving a good performance, that should I be able to do more, but with support I came to conclusion that it is the little things that matter. Just meeting the youth and chatting with them is a lot, it doesn’t have to be a circus.

I would definitely recommend this project to other people, for the same reasons I mentioned earlier. It is a great opportunity to build a future together with the local youth, hear what ideas they have and make things happen. The project is a great way to practice English also. My English is not perfect and neither is theirs or most of the volunteers here, so it’s a good chance to learn together.

In total I’ve enjoyed my stay here very much. I actually ended up extending my stay a little, cause I just couldn’t leave. I’m very grateful for my experience and the work I got to do, to make a change here in Nepal.

Pramila Maharjan

06:44 24 Dec 23

My experience at VIN was amazing.I choose VIN for different role within community. I had very good time in Jitpur fedi.We made the beautiful connection with community people's. I love to work together within the international volunteers and local volunteers. Thank you for giving me this great opportunity to deed into the community.

PRAJWOL POUDEL

14:35 20 Dec 23

Volunteering with VIN has given me lots of new experiences and memories. Working with international volunteers, community people, and VIN staff was wonderful. I did meet some amazing people and made new friends and this volunteering has made me feel like I can make a change to the community of Nepal. I do wish to join back with VIN at some point again..:)

justine Squire

05:09 11 Dec 23

I’ve had an amazing experience with VIN. From the first emails to prepare to commit to this program, my arrival and induction, the support and check -ins during the volunteering and of course the exit and farewell, all of which I received excellent support and communication.

VIN is a wonderful NGO organisation which has been in existence for 18 years and was founded by a local person who grew up in an isolated village in the far east of Nepal, hence, he is really in touch with the needs of his people.

I was involved in the Women’s Empowerment Program.

I developed a presentation for women in small villages. With a beautiful local girl (my translator), I trekked 20mins - 2 hrs to various villages. We taught leadership and self -care through the use of posters, music, dancing and games.

I was also asked to run a more in-depth program with women that were leaders in their communities. We spent 2 days with these women, working on communication, public speaking skills, roles of committee members and meeting protocols. The women in this program noticeably improved in their confidence over the 2 days!

As well as being able to contribute to Women and their empowerment, I was enriched personally through being involved in the rich culture of the Nepali people. The other volunteers and I were welcomed into Tihar celebrations - an experience we will never forget.

I highly recommend being involved in this program.

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