About the Civilians of Debrecen Program

History, Aims:

“… refugees really do want to learn. A lot of them visited the Hungarian classes that we held in English; in many cases the one and only problem was that we “teachers” were too few or it would have been nice to have one or two more classes. There were students who learnt the topics ahead as we were progressing slower with the group, but they came regularly as well. It is true that for some of them studying Hungarian became a nice way to spend time, when one or the other “stricter” teacher took out the Hungarian alphabet again as there were new people eager to learn who joined the group.”
Vincze Noémi – volunteer in the Refugee Camp

The group has been operating as a simple volunteer group from January 2006, but it is only sine 2008 that it has become an open project towards everyone and we work with new goals and new methods.

The aim of the program is to provide the chance for students and young adults living in Debrecen and in Hajdú-Bihar County to experience volunteering. It can be one occasion or more for those who are willing to try themselves out in creative activities and we would like to develop their skills in an informal way.

The speciality of the program is that every volunteer activity is backed up by the serious professional knowledge of the coordinators. Before the volunteer activity we always have a preparation session that is compulsory for the volunteers, and at the end we have a closing session where we process and discuss the feelings, emotions, experiences generated during the activity, and for those who work as volunteers on a longer run we provide continuous professional mentoring. It is important for us that the volunteers experience all this in a safe environment.

We believe it is important that everyone should experience the joy of helping others. In our opinion it is something based on mutuality. Those who take part in this project – whether they are occasional or permanent volunteers – can experience a lot of new things, they can discover new skills or they can deepen older ones. We try to give a point of view to them or to help them to find their own views of life.

Partner Institutions:

We provide volunteer opportunities in the following institutions.


• Refugee Camp – Debrecen:
  • teaching Hungarian by English
  • sport activities with the children living there
  
  Criteria: Good knowledge of English – in the case of teaching only above 18, there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory. In the case of sport games the age limit is 14 and there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory.
• The home of under aged handicapped children and day institution of Debrecen: creative workshops
  
  Criteria: Volunteers have to be over 16 and there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory.
• Ray of Hope Children’s Home of Debrcen: providing extra help for the children of the institution
  
  Criteria: Volunteers have to be over 16 and there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory.
• Institution of Deaf:
  • thematic workshops (lifestyle, music)
  • sport games
  
  Criteria: Volunteers have to be over 14 and there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory.
• University of Debrecen Centre of Medical Sciences, Children’s Clinic, Department of Oncology: activities with the ill children of the department according to their needs
  
  Criteria: Volunteers have to be over the age of 20 and there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory.
• Dr. Kettesy Aladár Primary School (Primary School for blind and visually challenged kids):
  • thematic activities (life style, music, peer support)
  • sport games
  
  Criteria: Volunteers have to be over the age of 14 and there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory.
• • Animal Shelter – Debrecen: walking the dogs
  
  Criteria: Volunteers have to be over the age of 10 and there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory.
• Home of Elderly People and Visually Challenged – Debrecen: chatting with the elderly people, playing board games and cards
  
  Criteria: Volunteers have to be over the age of 14 and there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory.
• Nyírerdő: collecting litter and collecting acorn
  
  Criteria: Volunteers have to be over the age of 10 and there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory.
• Child Protection Office of Hajdú-Bihar County:
  
  Criteria: For university and collage students and there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory.
• Penitentiary of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour in Debrecen:
  
  Criteria: For university and collage students and there is a preparation session before the volunteer activity and a closing one at the end, both of them are compulsory.

Volunteers can join in the volunteer activities continuously, this gives them chance to try themselves but it won’t become a permanent compulsory task.

The vision of the projects future:

The DECI’s aim is to provide continuously a chance for those who would like to try themselves in volunteering, and to call the attention for the social problems and for the question of social responsibility. It is a continuous goal with the methods used (preparation, closing, learning through experiencing, community learning) to develop the skills and competences of the participating volunteers such as openness, tolerance, empathy. In the development of the program it is an aim to broaden the territory to reach a regional level, with this the number of volunteers would grow as well as the number of partner institutions. We hope that in the future, such programs will get into the education system, so students will be able to join such work through their own secondary school or university.

Contacts:

Kitti Szarvas - program coordinator
Phone: +36/30-718-86-47
E-mail: szarvas.kitti@kozpontegyesulet.hu