Finland EVS European Solidarity Corps

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

LEHTIMÄKI SPECIAL FOLK HIGH SCHOOL (Lehitmäen opisto) is a boarding school for youth and adults with special needs. The school offers 70 places for students, and there are more than 100 different short term courses for youth, adults and elderly with disabilities and their families. The school offers rehabilitation courses, such as riding therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Volunteers will interact with students with special needs during their lessons and leisure time and support them in their daily activities. Helping the kitchen staff also belongs to the tasks of the volunteers. The volunteers may work at the stables, too.

ACCOMMODATION, FOOD AND TRANSPORT ARRANGEMENTS

The volunteers will live either in an apartment at the campus area or in a separate house about two kilometers away from the school. In case the volunteers live in the latter, they can use bicycles of Lehtimäki Special Folk High School for their daily way to work. Meals are provided from the school restaurant. When the restaurant is closed during weekends and holidays, the volunteer will receive a food package. The only public transportation nearby is one daily bus to the nearest city Seinäjoki. The volunteers will get reimbursement for one weekly return trip between Seinäjoki and Lehtimäki.

PARTICIPANT PROFILE

It’s important that the volunteer is motivated to work with people with special needs, has good social skills and an open attitude and is prepared to carry out various tasks and to live in a small village in the countryside. We are especially looking for volunteers with knowledge on horseback riding and stable work or music. NB! The positions are only for candidates who don’t need a residence permit to Finland (citizens of EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), due to the tight starting schedule in relation to recent processing times of residence permit applications.