ESC Project: Building bridges for integration

‘De Takel’, a Don Bosco center for youth care in Oostende, is looking for 2 European volunteers to do a one year ESC-voluntary service. De Takel is a youth center for young people between 12 and 25 years. It is a place where they can come together for all kinds of activities and socializing. The target group for De Takel consists mainly of: young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods of Oostende, refugees, minors… . This creates a very multicultural audience, with mostly indigenous youths and a large number of vulnerable young people.
The main task of the volunteers is to build up a relationship with the youngsters and to gain their trust. In this respect, the volunteer is expected to accompany them in the activities and their visit to the youth center and take part in the daily activities of the Youth Center. The volunteer will be supported in this by the experienced staff of De Takel. They have been working with ESC-volunteers for some years now, and have developed a good guidance system to work with the volunteers.
In 2018 De Takel started a girls department to reach out to more girls from families living around De Takel. Step by step, with an attractive program and some nice initiatives, De Takel builded up an engaged group of girls who are now coming to weekly activities of De Takel.

More specifically, the tasks of the volunteers will consist of:
- To build up a relationship with the youths visiting the De Takel. Listen to their stories and establishing contacts with them.
- Assistance, being there for the visitors of the Youth Center
- Accompany the young people during their visit and stay at the youth center.
- Homework support
- To plan, organize and supervise creative, relaxing and educational activities in and outside the Youth Center. F.e. cooking activities, different hand crafting activities
- Organize/Guide sport activities for and with the young people
- Maintain the bar in the youth center
- To guide excursions in and outside Belgium during holidays
- To play games with the youngsters (board games, billiard, table tennis, table soccer...)
- To participate in meetings with the youngsters.
- To attend the staff meetings
- Take part in European Don Bosco Youth-net activities www.donboscoyouth.net
- Organize an international project with the young people from De Takel. (2020)