During this time the volunteers will work primarily with 2 orphanages and one non-profit organization serving needy children in the Ganja area. Volunteers will be split into groups of 2-3 during the course of a work day. Volunteers' responsibilities center on providing educational, recreational, cultural, artistic, and athletic activities for children receiving services from these institutions. These can take the form of classes, courses, workshops, clubs, games, competitions, and excursions. Since most of the target population attends school between mid-September and mid-May, the work schedule will primarily allow volunteers time for activity preparation in the mornings and activities in the afternoon and early evenings. In addition, pre-school aged children will be available for activities throughout the day should volunteers desire to work with this age group.

ORGANIZATIONS: Centre of Youth Initiatives Horyzonty from Poland (www.cim-horyzonty.org) invites to participate in the EVS project hosted by our partner Bridge to the Future Youth Union in Azerbaijan (http://www.bf-az.org/en/index.html). It's a national Non-Governmental Organization established in April 2000 by youth initiative. Union is a legal member of international youth organizations and networks such as Youth for Exchange and Understanding (YEU) and Human Rights for Education Youth Network, and its members are represented on their boards. Their head office is located in Ganja, from which they coordinate their entire network of over 150 members and more than 60 volunteers from all parts of Azerbaijan involved in their activities.

PROFILE OF THE VOLUNTEERS: It is necessary that volunteers are proficient in the English language in order to communicate with local staff and help the children to improve their language skills. Volunteers must have a strong desire to work with children. Characteristics of a successful volunteer are energy, motivation, creativity, and patience. While teaching experience is not essential, volunteers should be comfortable working with groups of children in an intercultural setting on a daily basis. Children enjoy physical activities such as sports and games, so volunteers should be comfortable organizing and participating in activities of this nature.