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General Information on Tours
WHY GO ON
A STUDY TOUR?
Study tours give you access to a number of skills which can be put to use in your working life, through visits to remote communities and seeing how development work is carried out you will have the opportunity to: • Learn new communication styles, problem solving skills and negotiation techniques – seeing this work take place, and having the opportunity to take part yourself, can be hugely beneficial when it comes to understanding the different perspectives of your employees. • Build self confidence by travelling to a Developing Country and coping with the personal and physical challenges which may result. • Learn to adapt to new surroundings, situations and cultures, which in turn can help people better manage change and new challenges in a work environment.
HOW DOES INTERNATIONAL SERVICE WORK WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IN BRAZIL?
"IS will focus on increasing children and adolescents’ participation and knowledge in relation to citizenship rights and responsibilities, and protecting children from abuse and discrimination. IS will focus on education and information dissemination related to prevention, services, treatment and care; the right to sexual choice and; protection from abuse." From IS Brazil country strategy 2005-2010
‘IS Brazil will support organizations of disabled people & their networks that are vindicating the rights to equal participation, equal access to services, equal pay and equal representation in the North and Northeast of Brazil.’ From IS
Brazil country strategy 2005-2010 Arrival in Recife. Go straight to hotel, dinner and rest. Saturday 18th AM Meeting in the Office. Introduction to IS’s programme in Brazil. PM Free / Dinner in Recife / Olinda Evening visit to Art em Toda Parte in Olinda PM Sunday 19th AM Free PM Travel to Maceio To arrive in Maceio early evening. Four hour journey by minibus. Monday 20th AM Day with AAPPE to get to know the work in the school and the clinic. Possible other visits in and around Maceio. Partner Information: Associação dos Amigos e Pais de Pessoas Especias (AAPPE), is a civil society organisation, working together with local government in the state of Alagoas. AAPPE provides services to and promote the rights of people with hearing impairment. IS supports AAPPE in the areas of special needs teaching and organisational development. PM Return to Recife Tuesday 21st AM Visit to FENEIS PM Refazendo. Summary of first two days in the office. Partner Information: National Federation for the Education and Integration of the Deaf (FENEIS), established in Recife in 2002 with the goal of guaranteeing access of deaf people to education, work, health and social services, and communication through articulating deaf people’s rights in partnership with governmental and non-governmental entities. FENEIS-PE develops courses in LIBRAS for deaf and non deaf people, participates and promotes social and cultural activities, trains instructors and interpreters, and carries out research on LIBRAS and the situation of the deaf population. IS works with FENEIS in two areas: Human Rights and Training and Special Education. Colletivo Refazendo is a possible new partner organisation that works to promote for the inclusion of disabled young people, through various government sponsored activities and campaigns. Wednesday 22nd Visit and get to know GRP and the street kids project followed by debriefing in the office. Partner Information: Grupo Ruas e Praças (GRP) Is a NGO established in the early 80's by a group of street educators in Recife. They offer support to street children and through activities, workshops and family visits help the children return to a more structured social environment. There work focuses on the reality of lie on the streets and all educators work on the streets with young people in their environments. IS has placed a DW to help the team develop as an organisation. Evening: Overnight bus to Salgueiro. (six hours) Very comfy bus! Thursday 23rd AM Salgueiro to Conceisao. Arriving in Salgueiro early morning. Leave things in hotel and then go to Conceição das Criolas to visit youth projects and get to know what it is like living in an isolated rural area. Associação Quilombola de Conceisao das Criolas is another new partner organization that is fighting for the rights of all people within Conceisção as well as representing the rights of quilombola communities nationally and nationally. The association has a very active youth component. PM Over night bus back to Recife Go back early evening to Salgueiro rest in the hotel to catch midnight bus to Recife. Friday 24th AM Free. Arrive in Recife 5.30am PM Summary of tour Summary of the study tour to involve reflections on what has been seen, answer queries, next steps etc. Saturday 25th AM Free for shopping and / or Beach. Lunch in Brasilia Formosa. PM To Airport
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? The cost of the tour will be £1500. This price includes flights, all accommodation, all meals, translators, local travel and guides. You will need to arrange your own insurance and vaccinations. There are only six places available to ensure that the meetings and discussions are highly interactive and participative.
WHAT TO EXPECT? Study tours are not easy, you will be travelling long distances, usually by minibus and sometimes on dirt roads for up to eight hours. You should be mentally and physically prepared for this. Having said this, we arrange comfortable accommodation where possible, and most tours will only involve one night in a more remote town or village, where accommodation is likely to be a hostel.
Endorsements from past participants
Philip Williamson, Chief Executive, Nationwide. “I went to Mali on an International Service study tour to see what they do and find out more about their hard work to alleviate some of the poverty that exists in that part of the world. I learned a great deal, it was a very humbling experience and an uplifting experience in lots of ways, seeing how people who have so little can achieve so much, with relatively modest levels of help. We spent a lot of time visiting women’s groups in small villages, we went out in the bush, and saw how small loans have helped communities find a new gear, microfinance is a new way to create some self help, and improves the quality of peoples’ lives accordingly. I would certainly recommend coming on a study tour to other people, give it a try, you will be surprised how much you can contribute by just being aware of what is going on and then talking to your friends and family about ways that they can also get involved.”
Kirstie Barbosa, Centre Manager, The Cabinet Office “I had never been to Africa before and was hit by the tremendous poverty there. I had also never come across microfinance, I hadn’t a clue what it meant or did, and I was surprised about how much information I picked up when I was there, to the extent that I could now sit down and explain to someone what it is and what it entails. We travelled to see various groups who had received loans and I was impressed to see the how they were put to use, particularly that loans were given to groups rather than just individuals. I found a very big difference between the application of microfinance in the two countries we visited. In Burkina they have safeguards such as insurance, in case for example somebody dies, this is not always the case in Mali. The whole study tour was a real learning curve and I was impressed with all the work that had obviously gone into the arrangement, and the dedication of the International Service’s managers and development workers. My highlights of the tour were visiting the villages, being able to provide a donkey and cart for one village and meeting the people. I can’t stop telling people where I’ve been – there are not many people in the Cabinet Office who don’t know what I’ve done now. The whole experience was a real eye opener and I would be very happy to go back and do more.”
Steve Savage, Retired Banker, NatWest “The reasons for me going on the study tour were threefold. Firstly, because I wanted to see first hand the problems that they have in Africa, not rely just on the pictures you see on TV. Secondly, because the International Service approach was intriguing, in that they seemed to want to increase debt through microfinance. And thirdly, it was the opportunity to see what could be referred to as a hostile environment; at a time when there were people there who knew the ground, knew the people and you could actually get to see some of the real Africa. My lasting impression from it was just lots of laughter, lots of colour, lots of people having fun and dancing at the drop of a hat – our attempts to dance were really very bad. It surprised me. You expect destitution, despair, hunger, starvation and disease, and whilst it is all there, the really exciting thing was that everyone we met was living life to the full, everything they had, they made use of, nothing was wasted out there. So if you can give them a little bit more, the fullness of their lives can be greater. That’s not to say that we’ve got it all and they’ve got nothing, it was quite clear at times that they felt fairly sorry for us. When we pulled up in our Jeep they could see that we were dressed in very drab clothes, we couldn’t eat their food, we had no way of drinking their water and we couldn’t speak their language, in fact, we were a pretty sorry bunch. It was really interesting that they were the ones that were helping us out. Microfinance is such a great initiative, it’s just a really small amount of money that can make a big difference. The phrase that I take away from this is “the dignity of debt”. When you’ve got no identification, no passport, no birth certificate, you have no access to any banking facility then suddenly and institution comes along and says “we’re going to trust you and allow you to have the dignity of a financial service” and you can actually stand up and say “I’m in debt”. It may sound strange to us because we are always trying to decrease our debt, but for the people we met there, in means someone trusts them, and they can prove themselves even though they may have no track record. That generation of an income scheme is so important. I had a great time. I really had a problem coming back, people would say “So what was it like?” and I would reply “It was really great, we saw loads of poor people”. But that isn’t really fair, because we saw loads of happy people that want to do more than they are doing now. I think the work of International Service is really outstanding, they are doing a great job and they should be supported.”
Study Tour to Mali
MICROFINANCE IN MALI One of International Service’s most successful interventions in West Africa is microfinance. Microfinance is a way to reduce poverty by providing small loans to people who have hitherto been denied access to financial services. There is substantial evidence that microfinance has been successful in helping to empower women. Microfinance facilitates empowerment through: · Access to a source of income, · A forum in which women can discuss their situation and · Education programmes that provide instruction in various skills relevant to their lives, for example literacy, health and business skills.
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