| AYISE |


VOLUNTEERING WITH AYISE
	International and local volunteers during sight seeing	International volunteers attending orientation training at the youth resource centre.
Who? Click here to find out more about who can take part in AYISE's volunteering placements AYISE’s Youth Exchange and workcamp department deals with volunteer placements for both local and international volunteers wishing to get involved in community development projects here in Malawi. Local volunteers come from the University of Malawi, local private colleges, churches, and general school leavers who want to volunteer to get experience and increase their chances of employability. International Volunteers on the other hand come through partner volunteer sending organisations, educational institutes and Universities and sometimes as individuals with no specific affiliation. Volunteers may be professionals or non professionals, students or school leavers, young or old. AYISE realises that volunteering has multiple benefits. This means the person volunteering benefits, the receiving organisation and the community in which the volunteers work benefits too. However, hosting volunteers has a cost because there are a number of logistical and administrative issues that AYISE looks into in order to successfully host a volunteer. This is discussed further on our Malawi Workcamps Association International (MWAI) web page. What? Click here to find out about the activities involved in AYISE's volunteering placements Activities: The range of activities volunteers participate in is broad. Many volunteers come to AYISE and are hosted here, but may conduct work with various other local NGOs and community based organisations. However, at the same time many of AYISE's projects and programmes are suitable for volunteers to join. Some possible areas of work are: teaching childcare Gender awareness raising and equality work healthcare sports coaching I.T training at AYISE’s Youth centre administration communications (included newsletter development and youth exchange correspondence) Environmental and sanitation projects. Programme areas of AYISE such as HIV and AIDS, child protection, orphan care and Human Rights Membership and placement coordination. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you have an idea for what you would like to do as a volunteer, do not hesitate to get in touch (see below for contact details) Why? Click here to find out how you and the community will benefit from AYISE's volunteering placements AYISE’s youth exchange programme offers young people the opportunity to learn from their international friends and have a clearer understanding of the world and the people within it. Knowledge and understanding of people from different backgrounds helps to ensure peace prevails around the world. Specifically, the youth exchange aims to: Actively assist in community grassroots development Encourage the concept of voluntary services as a force in the search for peace, democracy, equality, and personal development Enable youth and communities to encounter different cultures hence developing national and international understanding which contributes to the reduction of negative stereotypes, segregation and discrimination which arises from lack of knowledge on the peoples of the world and their different cultures and ways of doing things. AYISE believes that young people are agents of change, such that when we have a wider understanding of the world and the different people in it, we will be in a better position to contribute to the greater development process of our countries. We believe this experience will help leaders of different societies to have faith in young people and place them in key decision-making positions. When young people travel and acquire experience volunteering abroad as part of a different community, they ultimately acquire cross-cultural understanding that helps them make decisions from a well informed point of view. Further, such youth are less likely to judge people because of what tribe they are from, the colour of their skin, the language they speak or their nationality. It is AYISE’s belief that if everyone in the world had the opportunity to travel and experience another culture, there would be no more war, no more xenophobia, no more discrimination and no more stereotyping. The Youth Exchange Programme offers young people experience working in a different environment, which allows them to acquire leadership skills, develop a sense of responsibility, build their character and boost their confidence and self esteem. Youth exchange also allows individuals to share their knowledge and skills and receive from others in return. Some people would vow that one month of youth exchange teaches you more than a year of classroom study. AYISE receives youth on exchange programmes every year. In the past three years twenty to forty young people per year have passed through the corridors of AYISE. AYISE also regularly sends Malawian volunteers to the UK, United States of America, other African countries (known as "South-South Cooperation"), and other developed countries in general on short and medium term volunteering and exchange opportunities. The success is that they do not stay there - but rather they come back to Malawi and use their newfound knowledge to change their lives and that of the communities in which they live. Youth exchange is an exciting way of dropping the tourist guidebooks, splitting from the sightseers and experiencing a place by living and working with local people. A truly life-changing experience for all involved! How Long For? Click here to find out about the durations of AYISE's various volunteering placements AYISE has the capacity to receive volunteers staying from one week to two years. There are three categories that we use to define volunteers on different programmes; Short term – one week up to two months Medium term – three months to six months Long term – any period above six months That sounds great! How do I apply?! click here to find an application form and contact emails How to Apply: If you are an individual wishing to volunteer with AYISE, please contact us by sending an email to the Youth Exchange Coordinator: cmisuku@ayisemw.org and/or the Volunteer Coordinator, Rachel Adamson, racheladamson@ayisemw.org, and/or the office ayisemain@ayisemw.org . We encourage volunteers to go through volunteer sending and receiving organisations as this eases the process. If you are a volunteer wishing to got through a volunteer sending organisation you must first get in touch with a the respective Volunteer agency/organisation in your country. (A list of some of our partner sending agencies is listed below.) The sending organisation will be able to provide an application form for AYISE. Alternatively you can download the volunteer application form here! Who can help me in my home country? a list of sending organisations from around the world Partner Volunteer Sending and Receiving Organisations United Kingdom Youth Action for Peace- YAP-UK Service Civil International (SCI) Concordia UK in Brighton UN-Exchange (Wales) British Council -Connect Youth. Student Volunteers Abroad- Glasgow University-Scotland United Stated of America Volunteers for Peace (VFP)- Vermont Europe European Voluntary Service Japan NICE France Concordia France Denmark Mellemfolklight Samvirke (MS) Danish Association for International Cooperation. Sweden Peaceworks Sweden Canada World University Service of Canada. Southern Africa Zambia Voluntary Development Association Youth Action Zambia (YAZ) AJUDE- Mozambique Swaziland Workcamps Association Zimbabwe Workcamps Association Lesotho Workcamps Association Botswana Workcamps Association Quaker Peace centre -South Africa East Africa Kenya Voluntary Development Association (KVDA)