Volunteer Work

Help others in your spare time:

Volunteer in NSHC!

By volunteering in NSHC, you have the following opportunities:

·    to do socialy useful work and fullfill your personal and professional goals,

·    to actively participate in improving the lives of vulnerable groups and in solving other problems in society,

·    to actively participate in changing and improving local community and society in general,

·    to get trainings and educations,

·    to gain valuable new skills and experiences...

... and many more!

If you want to become our volunteer,

please fill in the questionnaire >>>

Photo: Anhchi , Renee and Susie, NSHC volunteers from Denver University, USA (Novi Sad, June 2007)

Why volunteer?

Good cause – contribute your time to improving the lives of others! Here at NSHC we are devoted to pulling those on the fringes of society out of absolute poverty. Although we receive some funding from external donors, these sources of funding are short-term and we continually have to apply for new sources. This means that many of our projects are under-funded and despite our best efforts sometimes programs have to be closed completely until new monetary sources are found. However, due to the work of volunteers we have been able to keep open programs such as the education for Roma children program, or The Club for the Elderly, albeit on a smaller scale. If you volunteer for NSHC you will be directly and significantly helping those in society who are most disadvantaged.

Work experience – learn new skills that you can utilize in future! You may gain practical skills such as how to use different computer programs or how to impart knowledge through teaching. Or you may develop personally, such as becoming more confident, organized and/or open-minded. Meet new people – Novi Sad is a budding, vibrant city full of diverse, interesting people. Serbian people are well-known for their warm and friendly nature and it won’t be long before you have found new friends and gained new experiences that will stay with you forever.

 Who?

We welcome all who have enthusiasm, motivation and time to volunteer approximately 4 hours a week. However, a volunteer should be:

-          responsible

-          reliable

-          tolerant towards differences, with no prejudices towards the marginalized 

-          developed social consciousness and altruistic feelings

Certain skills and knowledge for work with children is desirable:

- workshop skills

- skills in working with children

- classroom management

- good organizational skills

 For how long?

That depends on the project but generally we ask volunteers to stay for a minimum of a month.

 Costs

Unfortunately we are unable to cover any accommodation / food costs, however, we will do all that we can to find you some accommodation and to help you to settle in.

CASE STUDIES

Mihaila (22)

from England

"I was at a loose end after finishing university and I was looking to take part in some voluntary work in Serbia. I contacted NSHC after finding their website through a search engine and we organized for me to start working at the end of November 2005. They found me some accommodation and helped me to find my feet.

The work that I carried out was varied and included helping out in the English classes, proof-reading project proposals, and writing some pages for their internet site. I enjoyed the work that I carried out and am sure that the skills that I have gained will come in useful in the future. I also feel that I have gained from meeting Roma people, unemployed people and IDPs: through speaking to them directly I feel that I better understand their plight and am glad that I was able to make some kind of positive impact on their lives.

During my time in Novi Sad I have also learnt some Serbian, met some amazing people and had some fantastic experiences. Overall, I am really glad that I made the choice to work for NSHC."