One World Foundation Africa

Work Placement Programme

Our work placement programme offers a chance to gain valuable skills and experience for those finding it difficult to find employment.

To be involved in our work placement programme please click here for more information on the project and to access a registration form.

INTRODUCTION TO VOLUNTEERING

One World Foundation Africa (OWFA) is a UK registered charity founded in 2002 to promote the independence and empowerment of vulnerable communities in East London and Uganda. Our UK programme focuses on employment preparation and support activities and arranges voluntary work placements for refugees, asylum seekers and people from black and ethnic minority communities. We work in the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Newham, Redbridge and Tower Hamlets.

OWFA is financed by various charitable trusts and funding bodies including Comic Relief, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the European Union and the Home Office.

Why we want to recruit volunteers

The use of volunteers enhances our ability to deliver high quality services to our beneficiaries by expending our work in a cost-effective manner and by bringing new skills, ideas and enthusiasm to our programme of activities.

What a volunteer can expect from us

Volunteers are an important and valued part of OWFA. We will support volunteers during their time with us by offering in-house training and opportunities for future career development, feedback and a friendly working environment. We will provide adequate and appropriate facilities, equipment and resources to enable volunteers to fulfill their roles. We hope that volunteers will see volunteering with OWFA as an opportunity to gain experience of a range of activities within the voluntary sector. OWFA will treat a volunteer as fairly and equally as it treats its paid staff. We will also provide a reference, subject to satisfactory completion of tasks and duties. We hope that volunteers will enjoy working with us and feel a full part of our team.

Volunteering: definition

Any activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone (individuals or groups) other than, or in addition to, close relatives. Central to this definition is the fact that volunteering must be a choice freely made by each individual.

Volunteering: benefits to your community

Every year, 17.9 million adults are involved in formal volunteering in the England. That results in approximately 1.9 billion hours of volunteer work which is worth about £22 billion to the economy (www.volunteering.org.uk). Volunteering results in charities and community groups offering services to the public which would not otherwise exist.

Volunteering: benefits to you

Volunteering can be of great personal and professional benefit to you.

• Challenge yourself
• Develop real skills based on real-life experiences
• Make a genuine contribution to the community
• Test out possible careers without long term commitment
• Feel good about yourself
• Meet new people
• Get free training
• Get valuable work experience for your CV
• Get a good reference to help you gain future employment

Volunteering Roles

Some of the roles that we have previously recruited volunteers for in the past have included:

• Project Assistant Volunteer
• Website and IT volunteer
• General Office Assistant
• Youth Club Asssitant

Please check our website regularly to find out about volunteering opportunities at OWFA.

We hope that you will have a successful volunteering experience!