Alba’s project in Belgium – Starting Kit for Hosting Organizations

While being a volunteer of the European Solidarity Corps in Belgium, Alba put in place her own initiative of solidarity by creating a “Starting Kit for Hosting Organizations”

“When I started to understand how my organization worked with different partners organizations, I realized something important. The organization where I volunteered, Compagnons Bâtisseurs (CBB), acts both as a hosting organization and as a leading (or coordinating) organization. CBB collaborates with a wide range of organizations, and as I began to understand how these partnerships function, especially with partner organizations in Belgium, I also listened to the experiences of other ESC volunteers like me, who had a different experience than I had from their hosting organizations. I came to realize that many organizations don’t fully understand what it means to host an ESC: the specific characteristics of the program, and the rights and responsibilities both the volunteer and the organization have toward one another.

One of the recurring challenges is the frequent turnover of staff within these organizations. No matter how much effort my organization put into explaining the ESC program and its framework, this knowledge often fades over time, either because the trained staff leave or because the information simply gets forgotten with time. That’s why I thought creating a clear and accessible document for all CBB partners organizations in Belgium: a kind of guide or “starting kit”. This kit would outline the essential principles of hosting an ESC volunteer, ensuring that important information is preserved and easily accessible. The goal was to support CBB in maintaining consistency and clarity in its communication with all Belgian partner organizations. And to support volunteers like me, to ensure that their hosting organization knew about the limits, the rights, the responsibilities, the ESC program.

My project, a “Starting Kit for Hosting Organizations,” addresses the most frequently asked questions staff members have when welcoming an ESC volunteer. It serves as a practical guide that outlines everything an organization needs to know in order to host a volunteer through the European Solidarity Corps program with Compagnons Bâtisseurs (CBB) and, at the end, it helps to bring a smooth experience for both volunteers and hosting organizations towards the ESC program.“

This initiative was supported along the CLIC project. C.L.I.C. for “Coordinating Locally in order to Increase More Changes with  the European solidarity Corps” is a cooperation partnership we participate  in with 9 other like-minded organisations from 9 European countries. Together, we want to increase the impact and the visibility of the European  Solidarity Corps in our communities, while providing young people with a  strong educational value along their volunteering projects.