WCIA

Germany: PEACE work Hötensleben (IBG 10)

Dates

12/07/2024 - 28/07/2024

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Fee

GBP 350

Details

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Details on the project

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Age: 18 - 99

Max number of volunteers: 12

Still room for: 4 Male + 4 Female

Languages: English

Vegetarian food: Yes

Nearest airport: Berlin (BER)

Nearest bus/train station: Oschersleben (train station)

Map

Work

PEACE is the main theme of this project. The workcamp combines volunteering, learning from history, thinking about peace and the exchange with the local villagers in a special way.

Volunteering: There will be various smaller tasks in Hötensleben. You will be doing some maintenance work at the border memorial, mowing and building new wooden seating areas. Other small jobs for the local infrastructure will be added.
Learning from history: You will not only work on the border memorial, but will of course also be given a lot of background information on the history of the Iron Curtain and the division of Germany, as well as going on excursions to other thematically relevant places of interest.

Thinking about peace: What is Peace for you? When and how is peace in danger? Share your personal point of view and the reality in your home country with other volunteers and with local villagers.

Exchange with local villagers: Peace will be one topic to share and to discuss, but you will also get to know local associations and be able to exchange ideas about everyday life today. They are very excited to meet you and will be glad to share stories with you about their experience in this border area. It would be great if you can speak a bit of German and/or are able to communicate with a phone translator:

Accomodation and food

You will stay in the former village hall that is renovated now and includes several holiday apartments’. They offer a quite comfortable stay and ensure enough room for everyone. There are different sleeping rooms with beds provided and a good equipped kitchen as well. Wifi-acess is limited. Bear in mind that the ground floor of the building is used for different activites during the week, and don’t be scared if you see some unfamiliar faces roaming around!

Your group of volunteers will be responsible for grocery shopping and cooking together. The food will be bought with the camp budget and everybody will take turns for cooking, washing the dishes and cleaning. In order to reduce our carbon footprint on the planet, we encourage volunteers to reduce meat and try more sustainable dishes.

Location and leisure

Hötensleben is a little village with about 2,500 inhabitants. International workcamps have been taking place there for some 25 years, so local inhabitants are looking forward to welcome the volunteers. Many activities will be done together with locals, e.g. the voluntary fire brigade of Hötensleben. Volunteers should be interested in German contemporary history. We will work at and visit historical places and commemoration sites related to Germany’s history.

You will be given bicycles so that you can be mobile in your free time and, for example, go to the swimming pool.

Project hosted by

You will be hosted in a very special village. From 1961 to 1989, the Wall with its martial border fortifications ran right next to the village. It divided Germany into two parts and was part of the so-called Iron Curtain. The people of Hötensleben lived in a restricted zone for almost 30 years and always had the Wall in view. To this day, 400 metres of the border fortifications have been preserved as a memorial and are visited by many visitors. Here you can find an impression of the border memorial: http://www.grenzdenkmal.com

Directions to meeting point

Please arrange your travel in a way that you can take the last bus of the day from Oschersleben to Hötensleben: It is departing at 6.30 pm from Oschersleben. For train connections from anywhere to Oschersleben, please check www.bahn.com . For those missing this connection we will organise one later pick up in Schöningen ZOB in the evening (take a train to Helmstadt first, then a bus to Schöningen).

Additional comments

Questions about war and peace, migration and its causes, isolation and violence are unfortunately still very topical issues today. This project in Hötensleben gives you the opportunity to learn more about the time of the Iron Curtain and the division of Germany and to reflect on what peace means to you and how you can contribute to it. At the end, you will present your personal perspective on the topic of "peace" to the local villagers and discuss it with them. German speakers are therefore particularly welcome.

Requirements

Please add a short motivation letter to your application, describing your interest in this special project. You should be able to ride a bicycle!

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