Leaving the nest

It isn’t simple for young disabled people to make those experiences that allow them to gain adulthood, skills and self-reliance, and to live life in a very independent way. The project “Leaving the nest” aims to offer a meaningful experience of this sort, experimenting the welcome of young foreigners, and sharing with them knowledge and educational, enriching paths.
This international exchange project aims to be another element of our path, through an experimental proposal able to promote, at a local level, the chance to meet young disabled from other countries of the European Union, and to develop a positive knowledge, in a welcoming, friendly and sharing atmosphere, to increase self-reliance and consciousness of the world around them.

The suggested activities are:

ACTIVITY 1.
January 2017: international preliminary meeting in Torino with the involved educators.

ACTIVITY 2.
February/March 2017: selection of participants at every local level of the three involved Countries.

ACTIVITY 3.
April/May 2017: in Torino, organization of logistic welcome and lodging.

ACTIVITY 4.
June 2017 (end of the school): realization of a theoretical-practical workshop aimed to teach self-reliance and skills, in collaboration with two local training agencies. We plan to assign a ‘guide’ role to the host disabled youngsters in some initiatives. The project will be documented by a video production.

• Day 1 – Welcome to participants, first meeting to present the organization of the workshop. In the afternoon, teaching of basics of Italian language, paying particular attention to ‘key words’ of self-reliance. Evening is free.

• Day 2 – Theme: orientation in the area. Training and exchange of technologies and their use to find the way and gather information, location of interesting points in Torino, organization of a route. In the afternoon fulfilment of the route to test orienteering skills, use of public transport, competence in asking information. Welcome evening, with role-playing games and significant activities of knowledge and exchange.

• Day 3 – Theme: orientation in the area. Practice to test the skills and competence in space-time direction, training on reading and following route information, pedestrian independence and basic knowledge of rules of the road. Afternoon is free. In the evening, visit of the city.

• Day 4 – Theme: food and diet. Training and simulations to test skills and competence about diet, organization of a balanced food shopping and cooking. In the afternoon, practice on the field by shopping of food and cooking of a shared meal. In the evening, meeting and discussion on food and diet; sharing of recipes and traditional dishes.

• Day 5 – Theme: food and diet. Visit of a teaching farm in the surrounding of Torino, to discover farming and treatment of food. Outdoor workshop on food processing, hold by farmworkers. Evening is free.
• Day 6 – Theme: housekeeping. Training and discussion about housekeeping and use of domestic equipment. Practice and simulation on the field. In the evening, expressive activity on housekeeping.

• Day 7 – Theme: using money. Simulations and practice on the field about independent shopping strategies. Learning to know and count different banknote denominations, reading and evaluating prices and so on. Free afternoon. In the evening, games on the theme.

• Day 8 – Guided discussion on the experience, conclusions and showing of a video about the path. In the evening party with traditional food and final greetings.