IN VIA International
IN VIA International
IN VIA International
IN VIA International
IN VIA International

Voluntary service in Germany

for international volunteers

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With the south-north component of the weltwärts programme, IN VIA Cologne has been able to invite young people from Argentina, Uganda and Tanzania to Cologne for a volunteer service in development policy since 2015. The volunteers look after children in after-school clubs, work in the international projects of IN VIA Cologne, with young women in a girls' residential home, in a home for the elderly, the travellers aid mission, the cycle station and in workshops for people with disabilities. Currently, 12 young people from Argentina, Uganda and Tanzania are performing a 12-month voluntary service in the Cologne area.

The goals of the South-North component are intercultural exchange and networking between countries of the Global South and the Global North, the personal development of volunteers and the strengthening of civil society, which benefits from the commitment of returning volunteers.

Application Process

Our program is currently only open for participants from Argentinia, Uganda and Tanzania who are between 18 and 28 years old. For further information please contact our sending organisations in your home countries:

Applicants from Tanzania, please contact Fr. Jerome Silayo from the Kilacha Production & Training Centre: jsilayo19@jcu.edu

Applicants from other countries: currently IN VIA Cologne cannot receive volunteers from other countries. To find a sending organisation in your country, please check the further information on the weltwärts homepage or the European Youth Portal

Logo seit mehr als 125 Jahren

About IN VIA Cologne

1898, it was the time of industrialisation, young girls from the countryside came to Cologne searching for job opportunities. Many of them arrived at Cologne central station without any money or orientation. This is when IN VIA Köln was founded by well-situated catholic ladies who took over responsibility for the girls and young women. They not only gave individual support to the girls providing shelter and jobs but also established an organisation capable to take social and political influence for the benefit of girls and young women. Today, IN VIA Deutschland is a Catholic non-profit organization with branches in 26 German cities. IN VIA is a member of the Caritas association.


We focus on programs for disadvantaged young people – regardless of their sex, origin, religion and physical condition. The areas we are working in are of diverse nature: With our girls’ residential home we still provide shelter for young girls. We still run the Bahnhofsmission / Travellers Aid Mission at the Cologne central station. But we are also involved in youth service, school social work and after school clubs. We support young adults through different programs for vocational preparation and job integration. In the area of the international projects we have programs like international volunteer services in Germany and abroad as well as integrative internships abroad. These programs offer opportunities for personal development, a wide variety of orientation opportunities and an extensive learning experience for intercultural competences.

IN VIA Köln has more than 700 employees, dedicated to meet the challenges of today’s social work. For more information about IN VIA Köln you can visit our main German homepage.

Further information

Below you will find a few videos with impressions of our work and an overview of the volunteer positions in Germany.

Bahnhofsmission

Travellers Aid Mission Cologne

Duration:  12 month
Field: social work
Location:  Cologne
Languages: Good German & English
Accomodation:

Residential home with other volunteers including shared kitchen, living rooms and bathrooms

 

The Travellers Aid Mission Cologne exists since 1899. Nowadays the Travellers Aid Mission does not only help travellers in need, but also offers help and services to anybody in need, e.g. homeless people. Because it is situated at the main train station many guests are international travellers and refugees.

Regularly the staff members walk around the train station in teams of two, looking for people in need and offer their help to them, such as giving help to handicapped people changing the trains (blind people, people with mobility problems and elderly people).


The project “kids on tour” accompanies children who travel alone, e.g. to visit one of the parents, on special train routes, e.g. Cologne-Hamburg. In the children-lounge families can wait for their connecting trains. Here the Travellers Aid Mission, with support by the volunteers, offers child care.

In a resting area of the Travellers Aid Mission people can take a break. A lot of guests are homeless or suffer from psychological problems and addictions. In the Travelleres Aid Mission they can talk about their needs and problems and help is offered to them. If necessary the person will be referred to other social services, local authorities, embassies, shelters, etc.

Since 2000 the Travellers Aid Mission hosts national and international fulltime volunteers as well as many older local volunteers. The team of two professional staff members and many volunteers run the Travellers Aid Mission in shifts.

The work at the Travellers Aid Mission varies a lot every day.  The volunteer will meet people of any age and from all social backgrounds with different problems and questions. Like all staff members, the volunteer will have different work schedules, early shifts, late shifts and twice a month he/she must work one day on the weekend. The activities are based on daily demand.

Tasks of the volunteerts are for example:

  • Assistence of people in need, e.g. homeless people, families in the children-lounge, handicapped people changing the trains or victims of robbery.
  • Chatting with visitors of the Travellers Aid Mission.
  • Doing campaign work and public relations.

disabilities

Workshops for people with disabilities

Duration: 12 months
Field: Social work for people with disabilities
Location: Cologne
Language: German
Accomodation: Residential home with other volunteers including shared kitchen, living rooms and bathrooms

The “Caritas Wertarbeit” is part of the Caritas, an international catholic aid organization founded in 1897 in Germany that has a large variety of projects in different fields of social work, health care and fostering. It is one of the biggest unions of social institutions in Germany.

“Caritas Wertarbeit” offers different Workshops, providing a work environment for people with disabilities. The employees work in different fields like handicrafts, needlework, car industry logistics, product packaging and many more. The work processes are usually done in small groups led by social workers and volunteers to give emotional, social and technical support.

Clara-Fey- Haus

The Clara-Fey-Haus is a place providing a work environment for people with disabilities. The employees work in different fields like handicrafts, technical and mechanical manufactures and many more. Some workshops focus on the production of technical supplies, others rather on games, housekeeping- abilities, art, occupation and therapy, due to the abilities of the employees. The work processes are usually done in small groups led by social workers to give emotional, social and technical support. 

CariLog

CariLog is a place providing a work environment for people with disabilities. CariLog provides work and training in the logistics area. It is currently their task to re-pack spare parts for the near-by car manufacturer Ford. This includes different kinds of work for the employees with disabilities, which reach from actually packing material into bags and boxes to supporting processes like handling the forklift, bookings in different IT systems and invoicing. The work processes are usually done in small groups led by social workers to give emotional, social and technical support.

Gut Frohnhof

Gut Frohnhof is a place providing a work environment for people with disabilities. The employees work in different fields like product packaging, handicrafts, sewing workshops, gift store and many more. The work processes are usually done in small groups led by social workers to give emotional, social and technical support.

Tasks of the volunteers

Attendance, instruction, physical and emotional support of the employed disabled people during their daily work. Supervision and support in the production process and assisting the employed disabled people in daily care.

after-school-clubs

AFTER-SCHOOL CLUBS IN DIFFERENT SCHOOLS

Duration: 12 month
Field: Child Care
Location: Cologne
Language: German
Accommodation: Residential home with other volunteers including shared kitchen, living rooms and bathrooms
   

The IN VIA after-school clubs offer a free afternoon program in primary schools after the regular school activities. After a common lunch and homework assistance, the children between 6 and 12 have the chance to do various activities such as playing games, sports, music and creative projects. Some of the children have a migrant background.

 

OGS ADLERSTRASSE AT ANNE-FRANK-SCHOOL
The OGS Adlerstrasse is offering an after school program for about 100 children with ca. 20 staff members. After school they meet within each age- group for free playtime, lunch and homework assistance. Volunteers will help in the kitchen during that time. In a second phase the children can choose for one kind of activity e.g. creative room, outdoor sports, theatre play and many more. These groups are in mixed ages. Volunteers can offer different workshops during that time e.g. dancing lessons, sport activities etc.

 

OGS ALZEYERSTRASSE

The OGS Alzeyer Strasse takes care of about 150 kids within six groups, which are mixed beneath different age groups. Between other activities the staff offers many art projects.

 

OGS BUSCHFELDSSTRASSE/ FRIEDLANDSTRASSE

The OGS Buschfeldstr./ Friedlandstr. is operated by two primary schools. There are about 300 children within twelve groups, six from the Berthold-Otto-School and six from the KGS (Catholic Primary School) Friedlandstrasse. Each group consist of about 25 children and the kids are mixed beneath the different age groups.

 

OGS LUSTHEIDER STRASSE

In the Lustheider Strasse primary school approximately 360 pupils learn with and from each other. The OGS Lustheider Strasse  offers reliable childcare until 4.00 p.m., providing a qualified educational programme with a wide range of activities.

 

Tasks of the volunteers:

  • Offering free-time activities for the children like sports, music and creative projects.
  • Taking care of the children and, depending on the language knowledge, helping the children with their homework.
  • Helping in the kitchen.

homes for the elderlies

HOMES FOR THE ELDERLY

 

Duration:  12 month
Field: Care of the elderly, house technique and house keeping
Location: Cologne or Bergisch-Gladbach, small town nearby Cologne
Language: German
Accommodation: Residential home “Don Bosco” with other volunteers including shared kitchen, living rooms and bathrooms or a shared fled within the hosting organization “St. Josefshaus” including an own room, shared bathroom and living room with other volunteers.

These houses, run by different NGOs are residential homes for the elderly, who are not able to live their life independently anymore and do not have relatives who are able to take care of them the whole time. In these homes the elderly can socialize with others of their age group, they get prepared meals and are able to do various free time activities. They also receive care and medical support.

The Volunteers will get to know in the beginning the different departments of the houses in oder to figure out which tasks fit best.

 

St. Josefshaus Refrath, Bergisch Gladbach

St. Josefshaus Refrath was founded in 1950 by the catholic order of the Pallottines. The home for the elderly is located in Refrath, a quarter of the town Bergisch-Gladbach that is near Cologne. The two volunteers of IN VIA stay within the house in an apartment for volunteers within the house. 

 

Seniorenhaus An St. Theodor e.V.

The home for the elderly An St. Theodor e.V. has been founded by a catholic parish for to offer assisted housing for the elderly. It is located in a district of Cologne. The volunteer lives with other IN VIA volunteers at a different place of Cologne.

 

Caritas Altenzentrum Elisabeth-von-Thüringen Haus

Elisabeth-von-Thüringen Haus is part of the Caritas, an international catholic aid organization founded in 1897 in Germany that has a large variety of projects in different fields of social work, health care and fostering. It is one of the biggest unions of social institutions in Germany. The Elisabeth-von-Thüringen-Haus is located in a district of Cologne offering assisted housing for the elderly. The volunteer lives with other IN VIA volunteers at a different place of Cologne.

 

Possible tasks of the volunteers:

  • Care of the elderly: health care, assisting with washing, offering leisure activities, Taking etc.,
  • Assisting in the house technique and maintenance or
  • Helping in the kitchen and housekeeping.
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