Rising together
Start date: Aug 1, 2016,
End date: Jan 31, 2018
PROJECT
FINISHED
The project "Rising together" takes place in our organization S.P.O.S.A )Spoločnost na pomoc osobam s autizmom) in Bratislava which is a part of 22 regional organizations throughtout Slovakia established in 1994. S.P.O.S.A is a non-governmental, parental organization that helps people with autism to develop social and everyday skills with creating a life that is more independent to make easier their social integration. The S.P.O.S.A team consists of 3 full-time employees working mainly on administrative tasks (including the EVS coordinator) and of 3 EVS volunteers from different countries, cultures and backgrounds who organize various activities for the clients. The EVS volunteers have to be patient, flexible, respectful and interested in working with autistic people. In the mutual relationship that the clients build with the volunteers they have the opportunity to discover new cultures, gain new knowledges, develop communicational skills and as a result they will have an open-minded perspective on the society. To reach the previously mentioned objectives the volunteers organize regular activities every afternoon from 11 to 18 hours. The activities are aimed to develop everyday skills (e.g. cleaning, cooking, shopping), creative skills and cultural interests (visiting museums and theater, workshops such as art and musical) as well as outdoor activities (sports, walks) and education in different fields (mathematics, basic English, pronunciation). There are also some irregular activities, for example, rehabilitation camps with their families that take place twice a year in winter and summer or events like Christmas market and Internationa autism awareness day. These events are an opportunity to fight against prejudice and raising awareness of autism on local, regional, national and international level which is an expected impact of the project. In order to exchange educational methods and creativness we tend to increase the quality and quantity of education, training and youth work in our country, Europe and beyond. To see the impact on higher levels, we would like to start from the individual by offering them the opportunity to gain new perspectives and knowledges so that they can disseminate their new learned experiences in their local communities. In conclusion, the project puts an emphasis on human interaction between participants who will learn together and from eachother from the beginning of it to the desired impacts.