Dona do Meu Fluxo | Guidelines for Voluntourism Applications
Raízes Sustainable Development together with Korui Life Cycles releases a call for the first edition of the Voluntourism Program for the DONA DO MEU FLUXO Project – Amazon Edition 2019.
The applications will be open from February 25th to March 31st, 2019 (until 23:59 GMT-3).
GOALS
To recruit and select 2 non-Brazilian volunteers for the 1st edition of the Voluntourism program on the project DONA DO MEU FLUXO – Amazon Edition. The project´s goal is to conduct workshops about female empowerment to the women from riverine communities and to donate menstrual cups. The trips will happen from June 29th to July 4th to the communities of Barcarena, Abaetetuba Island and Cametá, with arrival and departure from Belém, Pará, Brazil and from July 4th to 11th to the communities of Marajó Island, also with arrival and departure from Belém. Each trip will have a spot available for 1 non-Brazilian volunteer.
INTRODUCTION
Dona do Meu fluxo means “Owner of my flow”. The project began with a partnership between Raízes and Koruí, with the goal to donate menstrual cups to women, following Koruí’s company policy of donating 1 menstrual cup for each 10 sold. Beyond donating the cups, Koruí reached out to Raízes as a partner because it saw the necessity of also teaching about the menstrual cup’s use, as well as deepening the understanding of themes such as the period, the women’s relationships with their own bodies, beauty patterns, societal judgements, sisterhood and support networks. Only in this way would menstrual cup really make sense and could be adopted as a more practical, economic and ecological solution for these women’s lives. After the first visit to the Jequitinhonha Valley on Minas Gerais state, we had Natura´s support to take the project to the Amazon region and in 2018 expanded our operation to these riverine women. In order to expand this transformative experience even further, we decided to open the opportunity to volunteers who feel aligned with the mission and felt the call to enroll to participate and support the action.
CONTEXT
We will recruit women from different fields and walks of life to support the workshops about female empowerment. The agenda includes organizing lectures, monitoring the activities, distributing the menstrual cups donated, documenting the events (i.e. taking pictures and videos), support, organizing the spaces, materials and snacks, taking signatures from the participants, clarifying questions and any other activities needed to make the workshops happen.
This will be the third installment of the project. The ultimate goal is to disseminate knowledge about the use of menstrual cups, to empower women about their own bodies by ways of education, including questions about sexuality. The 2019 trips will concentrate on the Amazon region, focusing on riverine women from Pará state, expanding the project that began last year.
The workshops address:
Orientation about the menstrual cup use;
Breaking taboos about the menstrual cycle;
Shortening the distance between these women and their own bodies (some haven’t attended school and therefore never had anatomy classes);
Showing the advantages of the menstrual cup use in the long term – for the body, the economy and the environment;
Discussion about beauty patterns, social expectations and judgement, sexism, sorority and support networks;
All of it in a light, cooperative and practical way, showing videos, data, examples and a lot of interaction.
Articles about the Project can be found on this link: http://raizesds.com.br/?s=dona+do+meu+fluxo
REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION / TARGET AUDIENCE
Voluntourism requires commitment and actions to be done according to the project’s goals. Beyond what you like to do, it is important to “pack” your skills and lots of dedication. It´s essential to verify the compatibility between the volunteer’s profile and the work needed on the destination so the project and the trip can be a success!
To participate, the volunteer should assume full responsibility for their role, accept and obey the requirements for participation in the selection process and its rules, explained in the following topics:
Be a woman. Transgenders included. This rule aims to facilitate the creation of a welcoming and opening environment where the participants will feel comfortable to talk about the female universe.
Be over 18 years old or be in company of a legally responsible woman who is also a selected volunteer;
Be able to work as a volunteer in the 4 workshops at communities on the Amazon, contributing to the necessary tasks and their proper execution. The candidates should be available to dedicate their full time during the trip;
Fill in the Intention Letter for participation in our project and submit it together with the subscription file;
Take part in a virtual interview, should you be selected for this phase. The interviews will happen on April 16th to 18th and will entail an online chat with a pre-selection of candidates. This interview will help us to understand who are the volunteers with the most suitable profiles for the experience. We want volunteers who are able to add to the project and the trip, as well as to find fulfilment themselves. For that, a clear understanding of the expectations from both ends is fundamental!
Agree with all the items on this document, exempting the trip organization, its partners, hirers, suppliers and supporters from any extra charge referring to any expense or indemnity that the participant understands to have in her favor, including image rights from productions made by the project organization or by third parts authorized;
Only candidates who have followed the instructions in this guideline document and receive confirmation of their subscription by e-mail will be considered to be subscribed to this recruitment.
PERIOD
The trips will happen from June 29th to July 4th to the communities of Barcarena, Abaetetuba Island and Cametá, and between July 4th to 11th to the communities of Marajó Island. Both trips will arrive and depart from the city of Belém, in the Pará state.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Interested candidates should subscribe electronically here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfjBbBbi1Pva4SC1USey_6TNceoxG3-m0wG9Y4moMdWO7A3AQ/viewform
Letter of Intention requiring subscription, describing your motivation and connecting with the projects theme, besides describing skills that could be useful for the workshop. (maximum of 2 pages).
Application form filled in accordingly.
SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
The volunteer selection results will be announced on April 22nd at the Instagram @donadomeufluxo and through Raízes website.
The selected candidates will be required to send scanned copies of their personal documents (ID Card, Passport), signed and the entrance tax proof of payment (item 8) within 10 working days after the results are announced. Any candidate who does not present this documentation will be disqualified.
Participation will only be confirmed once the candidate sends via email a copy of the air ticket on her name. This email must be sent by May 7th. This measure aims to guarantee for the candidates on the wait list enough time to buy air tickets to Belém for a reasonable price in advance should they need to.
February 25th to March 31st Applications open
April 10th to 12th Online interviews
April 15th Results announcement
April 30th Final date to send the documentation required
May 15th Final date to send the air ticket
June 29th to July 4th TRIP 01
July 4th to 11th TRIP 02
COSTS
The amount to be paid by the selected participants will be 1.300 USD (one thousand three hundred dollars) to be part of Trip number 1 and 1.500 USD (one thousand five hundred dollars) to be part of Trip number 2.
This amount will cover for the following expenses during the trip:
Accommodation for the whole period;
Meals in the communities;
Transfers from Belém to and from the communities involved the workshops;
2 T-shirts of the project;
Travel insurance.
This cost does not include:
Transportation costs from your place of origin to Belém (round trip);
Personal expenses such as extra snacks, alcoholic beverages, handicrafts, etc.
Form of payment:
The fee can be paid by using an international credit card or through a bank transfer until April 30th. It is paramount that the trip is paid for in advance in order to confirm participation. Further information on payment will be sent to the successful participants.
IMPORTANT 1: In addition to the direct participant´s expenses for accommodation, food and internal transport, a contribution to the project’s logistical, communication and mobilization costs is included as part of the fee. This is a non-profit project that relies on the donation of menstrual cups by Koruí Life Cycles and many work hours from Raízes Sustainable Development’s specialists to mobilize the communities, create women empowerment’s content, and the articulation and organization of the workshops. Besides the hours and materials donated, we still need resources for the field trips and communication.
IMPORTANT 2: To opt to be part of a voluntourism experience means to simultaneously SIGN A VOLUNTEER WORK CONTRACT and to BUY A TRIP PACKAGE.
LIABILITIES
It shall be the role of the Project’s ORGANIZATION during the trip:
To organize the accommodation according to the conditions available in the territory. The Organization indicates that there may be some accommodations in which the offer of a hot shower, conventional toilets and electrical energy will not be possible. The volunteer needs to be aware of these challenges and prepare for them (the project communication team will provide all information needed);
To provide transportation from the city of Belém to the communities and back to Belém at the end of the trip;
To provide the basic infrastructure for the meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner and water for consumption during the project. Unfortunately, we are currently unable to provide food options for vegetarians, vegans or other specialized diets. Vegetarian and vegan participants should be aware of possible dietary debilities.
To provide all the information necessary to maximize the chances for the experience to be beneficial for all.
IMPORTANT: THE ORGANIZATION DOES NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for personal and/or valuable objects such as watches, accessories, electronic equipment, cellphones, tablets, computers, bank checks, credit cards, cameras, etc.
It will be the sole responsibility of the SELECTED VOLUNTEER:
To fill in the application in a personal and non-transferable way, following the norms and terms described on this guideline document;
To bear the costs of transportation to Belém, as well as the return from there to their place of origin after the end of the project;
Authorize the ORGANIZERS, SPONSORS, SUPPORTERS, and PARTNERS to use their information in e-mail marketing correspondence and/or promotional materials;
To grant all image usage rights, renouncing any income that might be earned for television or any other type of transmission and/or dissemination, as well as any promotion on the internet and any media, at any time.
To declare that the candidate’s participation in the EVENT is of her own free will, exempting the ORGANIZERS, DIRECTORS and SPONSORS from any responsibility in her name and of her successors by correctly filling Attachment I;
The selected volunteer commits to being at Belém-PA by 16h local time on June 19th (trip 1) or same time on July 4th (trip 2). At that time, the journey will begin.
GENERAL PROVISION
The event’s ORGANIZATION team reserves the right to present changes to these Guidelines for technical and organizational purposes, in order to guarantee the success of the Dona do Meu Fluxo – Amazon Edition 2019 project, or even to cancel the event in case of adverse conditions and/or relevant facts that prevent the realization of the event in the conditions herein planned. The organization reserves the right to not provide any kind of information regarding the selection process, if it so wishes.
The ORGANIZATION reinforces that only SELECTED volunteers will be able to take part in the project.
If you have any doubts, contact us through email at [email protected] and/or by phone on +55 11 2373 0036
