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All-time record number of volunteers |
At the Fidesco weekend in Igny, near Paris, on May 16 and 17, we have enjoyed the coming of many candidates and volunteers. Around 140 were present, a new all-time record! |
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Volunteers leave to give, but return rich having lived other realities among people of other cultures. Fidesco needs volunteers who agree to work under local employers, often of different cultural backgrounds, within the framework of a development project. Fidesco is a school of life.
A volunteer agrees to be trained and leave for a duration of 1 to 2 years in order to better understand the country and its inhabitants, and to work on a mission that bears fruit. This means that volunteers give priority to the mission and consequently organize their lives in a way that allows them to be available for the service of the poor.
Fidesco’s volunteers work mostly in health care, education, training and management, agriculture, social work and construction. But many skills and talents are needed. It is not uncommon for us to receive application outside the 'common' development professional fields. Don’t be afraid to apply! For those candidates wishing to go on mission in Autumn 2009, we are looking for:
- A dispensary manager in Africa
- A university English teacher in Asia
- A college electronics teacher in Africa
- A wood school workshop manager in Africa
- A nurse in a hospital in the Middle East
- A project manager and administrator in Africa
- A data processing teacher in Africa
- A geriatric doctor in South America
- An agricultural engineer in Africa
- A doctor in Africa
- A construction manager for a diocese in Africa
- A teacher of young children in South America
- A midwife or gynecologist in Africa
- A stone carver in Africa
- A communication official in Africa
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Coming home is sometimes as hard as leaving home. Finding a new job, Finding a new job, reintegrating into your own culture and even finding a place to live can be tough. That’s why Fidesco offers assistance to returning volunteers including meetings to evaluate the mission and the experience lived there.
During the “return weekend” volunteers have the opportunity to meet with former volunteers and learn from their experiences. Volunteers can also attend a counseling session with a professional career coach who assess their skills. On average volunteers find a job within three months.
Experience and research show that volunteering is not a hindrance to a career, but rather a help. Valéry was a Fidesco volunteer in Haiti working as a mathematics professor. Today he is an engineer at Air France. And Clémence was a Fidesco volunteer in Indonesia working as an agronomist. Today she is a development coordinator for new products at Chanel.
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Fidesco’s formation is divided into two parts. In the first, the aim is to for us to discern together your aptitude and suitability to go on mission with Fidesco This period of reflection enables you to mature in your desire and determination to go on mission. For the Fidesco team, it is a time in which we want to get to know you better in order to assign you to the right mission. At the end of this period, both parties will make a decision on whether to offer or accept a mission assignment.
If both agree to continue, Fidesco will match the candidate with the needs expressed by local partners and will propose the candidate to the partner whose need is the strongest. Although you can express your desire for a certain type of mission, Fidesco decides and proposes the mission country. Speaking a foreign language will be taken into account, but it is not a guarantee that you will be sent to a specific country. Above all, the aim is to send volunteers where they are needed most.
The second half of formation prepares you for the reality of everyday life in another culture and provides you with the tools for successful inculturation in a foreign country. It also includes administrative issues that need to be reviewed and finalized prior to departure, such as insurance, medical examinations, etc.
Key Topics of Formation Include:
- the challenges of volunteer service
- self-knowledge
- causes of underdevelopment
- knowledge of the mission country and its culture
- project management
- hands-on training
- administrative issues and volunteer status
- medical requirements
- spiritual formation
- professional instruction according to need (tropical medicine, agriculture…)
For Europeans, Fidesco organizes mission departures twice a year: once in the autumn and once in the spring. These departures are at the end of a nine-month formation which includes meeting for two weekends and two sessions.
A condensed period of formation is being developed for candidates from the USA and Australia. Please contact us for more detailed information if you live in either of these countries and wish to explore becoming a Fidesco volunteer. |
To assist in humanitarian activities, Fidesco send singles, couples, priests and families on mission. We look at more than just the technical aspects of development. Volunteers’ attitudes and non-work activities are just as important.
In developing societies ties are generally strong. People know their neighbors. Foreigners are assessed according to local norms and values and are often in the spotlight. The behavior of a volunteer outside of ‘work’ can have a major impact... both positive and negative.
In the past 27 years, volunteers have put Fidesco on the map as an organization with dedicated people who work and live in accordance with Catholic social doctrine. For many dioceses and congregations, this is the main reason to turn to Fidesco for help. Candidates are therefore expected to agree with the social teachings of the Catholic Church and to have the desire to witness accordingly.
Candidates also need to have finished a professional or academic education or have professional experience. At the time of departure candidates also need to be at least 21 years-old and in good health.
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Fidesco volunteers never go on mission alone, but always live together with other volunteers as a part of a team. While these colleagues may have another nationality, they often have similar backgrounds and the motivation to live and work in a developing country. Daily sharing about the local culture, work and personal feelings—a real need in the sometimes desperate situations that may be encountered—is therefore easier.
On site, volunteers are housed in modest but safe accommodations. Because volunteers come to share the lives and concerns of the local population, they do not live apart. If safety allows, Fidesco volunteers live amongst the locals, and according to their daily rhythm of life. Only in dangerous situations, will volunteers be housed outside the area in which they work. For impressions of life on mission, click here to read the personal stories of Fidesco volunteers. Fidesco does not send volunteers to countries that are at war.
Fidesco guarantees social coverage. Fidesco volunteers are always insured. Most volunteers have “Volunteers of International Solidarity” (VSI) status, which according to French law applies to all who engage themselves “in a selfless way for a minimum duration of one year, to put personal skills at the service of a mission of international solidarity.” The VSI status is open to any person above 18, no matter what nationality, who wishes to engage in an “act of international solidarity.” VSI status ensures a certain number of guarantees to volunteers before, during and after the mission:
- Formation and reintegration support: Fidesco is committed to give volunteers not only training before their departure, but also to provide support with professional reintegration in France after returning from mission.
- Finance of mission expenses: travel costs from the country of origin of the volunteer, housing and food (not during formation).
- A monthly allowance: The volunteer is entitled to an allowance adapted to the local living conditions.
- Complete social benefits: health insurance, life insurance, medical repatriation assistance, liability insurance, and (in some cases) pension fund contribution.
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