The renovation team

Mid-Term-Volunteer Placement Description:

Placement in the field: Renovation – Maintaining the Worldwide Friends houses.

Number of placements: 4

Location:“Fjarðabyggð" is an association of villages in the Eastern fjords of Iceland. It includes the towns of Eskifjörður, Fáskrúðsfjörður, Mjóifjörður, Neskaupstaður, Reyðarfjörður and Stöðvarfjörður, all tiny fishing villages with steep mountains towering just behind the houses. In this area you will see some of the features that make Iceland a unique place in the world: spectacular fjords with a rich sea life, a great variety of birdlife, and countless breathtaking hiking paths.

Short description of the project/projects: The volunteer will work under the supervision of the director of the organization and a professional carpenter. The main tasks are to maintain and renovate the houses that WF is using for the volunteers. The houses are located in different areas of the island.

At the beginning of the stay here, they will receive qualified training from the organisation members. This training will capacitate them to perform the projects´ activities. At the same time they will receive guidance in how to plan, organize and do the project, including topics as group management, conflict resolution, bookkeeping, development, leader roles, intercultural cooperation, motivation, etc. They will also receive practical information about planning a project, spare time activities, first aid, etc.

Activities:Our primary activity is organizing environmental-related projects where people coming from different countries perform voluntary work. In organizing them, much emphasis has been put on making sure the volunteers see that their work is important, they help a community in need, or they work for the protection of the environment. In the meantime, they themselves form a community and get in close contact with locals as well as with other participants of the project from different cultures and nationalities. They find out about each other's habits and ways of life, also getting an insight to the problems of the area and its inhabitants.

Profile of the organisation: Veraldarvinir, Worldwide Friends (WF), was founded in 2001 as a non-profit organisation promoting nature and peace oriented activities for volunteers wanting to spend some time in Iceland. We also send local volunteers intending to have similar experiences abroad. WF aims at promoting active participation of people and its mobility, intercultural learning and voluntary service, through non-formal educational activities. The main activities offered are workcamps, seminars, local events and exchange programmes suitable both for young people and adults. WF is a non-profit organisation with international scope.

Salary per month: No salaries or pocket money are paid

Starting dates:Flexible

Duration: Threeto six Months

Further support from the organisation:

Provides accommodation: Yes

Food is provided: Yes

Local travels: You will have the opportunity to travel all around Iceland free of charge with the scheduled minibus trips and excursions organized by WF Iceland.

Int. travels: Not paid

Insurance: not provided. You have to get a health and accident insurance for your stay in Iceland.

Desired Profile: 22 years old +.Course of studies: Only volunteers with experience or education related to the topic of the camp are considered as candidates for this project.

Linguistic skills: English spoken and written needed. Other languages are seen as an advantage.

Skills and competencies: Our long term volunteers have to be positive and highly motivated to participate in group activities. Ability to organize on her/his own initiative. Time-management skills and ability to work under time pressure during high peaks of the season.

WF MTV – 08

On the road around Iceland – travel project

Mid-Term-Volunteer Placement Description:

Placement in the field: Guiding – Driving small cars - Transport – pickup service, Administration,

Number of placements: 2

Short description of the project:

Planning and organizing the transport of the participants to and from the workcamps, free time excursions and also airport pickup.

Doing basic shopping for the camps

Picking up volunteers at the airport if needed

The volunteer has to be aware that he has a very special role – on the one hand he lacks the experience of living together with an international group of people for two weeks, and he is always a kind of “outsider” to the group. On the other hand, he meets all the different groups, sees all the camp sites, and thus gets a very good overview of everything. He also has the remarkable experience to bring a set of individuals to their camp, and take a close group back. For the camp coordinators he is the best personal connection to the WF headquarters and the other volunteers; for the participants, and at times also for the local contacts, he functions as an important representative of the organization.

The volunteer will have the opportunity to discover most parts of Iceland during his stay.

Activities: Our primary activity is organizing environmental-related projects where people coming from different countries perform voluntary work. In organizing them, much emphasis has been put on making sure the volunteers see that their work is important, they help a community in need, or they work for the protection of the environment. In the meantime, they themselves form a community and get in close contact with locals as well as with other participants of the project from different cultures and nationalities. They find out about each other's habits and ways of life, also getting an insight to the problems of the area and its inhabitants.