Internships and Volunteering

1. Volunteers

The goal of ARESTA Volunteers is to place energetic and motivated volunteers throughout the Cape Town network of Refugee service providers. This gives volunteer's desired experience of working in small NGOs and with Refugees, while at the same time providing the network with human resources, expertise and time, to fill tasks otherwise not accomplished. Volunteers are a valuable resource for innovation and research to enhance our programmes.
How we Work? We provide volunteers with concise task descriptions. The volunteer will get defined roles, responsibilities, and expectations for the task they are going to perform. Furthermore, you will be properly inducted like any staff member and receive monthly supervision from the volunteer manager.

What is required of the volunteer? We understand that people have other commitments and a life to lead. All we require is about 2 hours a week for a minimum of 3 months, depending on the task or project.

Your own ideas and projects - At ARESTA Volunteers we encourage all our volunteers to be pro-active. Several volunteers, after their initial contracts were finished, developed their own ideas and projects.

An example of some of our current and previous task descriptions:

2. Interns

As the interns' time spent with the organization is part of the field work required to complete their academic Degree, we involve them in systematic researches on Refugees' issues in South Africa, the African continent and the world. Their researches' outcomes are beneficial to ARESTA. We use their recommendations for our Strategic Planning and Programmes reviews. Interns' work is of great value in our diligence process and ongoing project evaluation.

Profile 1: Intern with Humanitarian / Refugee Law or Human Rights background

His/her tasks will be among other things:

Refugee Rights Awareness and Education:

- Raise awareness on Refugee Act 1998 and Human rights
- Promote Refugees' professional integration
- Produce a leaflet in different languages on basic Refugee and Human Rights

Activities specifically directed towards Refugees:

- Information, Education and Communication sessions with the Cape Town Refugee service providers' clients

Activities specifically directed towards South African Society:

- Lobby and advocate for Refugees and Asylum seekers towards educational institutions, employers and social services
- Liaise with institutions and companies to provide learnerships to Refugees and Asylum seekers
- Advocate with the Department of Labour/Employment Agencies, Tertiary education institutions/colleges and universities
- Exhibition on Refugees and Asylum seekers' reasons of exile.

Profile 2. Intern/Volunteer with Business Development & Employment Opportunity background

His/her tasks will be among other things:

Research:

- Conduct research on Employment opportunities in South Africa
- Conduct research on micro lending organizations that provide loans to Small Businesses in South Africa

Advocacy:

- Advocate and lobby for the inclusion of Refugees into South African loans schemes

Information to Refugees:

- Assist Refugees to obtain information about Job market and Employment opportunities in South Africa
- Run information sessions on Small Business and Income generation activities in South Africa

Supervise Business training programme:

- Recruit (Selection & Interviews) beneficiaries for Business training & Income generation activities
- Set up and coordinate the Income generation skills training and the Business training with local Business Training providers
- Attend business meetings as a representative of ARESTA.

Assistance to job hunting and business starting:

- Make use of newspapers to look for employment
- Tender Information workshops on how to compile Curriculum vitae
- Assist Refugees to draft Curricula vitae and to type them
- Assist beneficiaries to write business proposals
- Prepare beneficiaries for job and/or loan interviews
- Connect Refugees with companies and refer them to Human resources services
- Assist beneficiaries to start their own businesses

Follow up of ARESTA's clients:

- Conduct follow-up interviews with ARESTA small business clients
- Maintain contact with Refugees who have been through the Business training, to assess their progress and development
- Refer ARESTA's clients in a professional manner to other appropriate Business training service providers for specific services or advice

Database keeping:

- Record clients' details in ARESTA intake system and discuss their business area and interests
- Maintain records and a database of needs assessment and follow-up interview with clients
- Conduct own correspondence and maintain records of this
- Keep a database of all the Refugees attending the unit and refer to companies upon request.

Profile 3: Intern with Self-Reliance Activities / Local Integration Interventions background

The Intern's tasks will be among other:

- Information gathering on ARESTA's self-reliance & local integration interventions;
- Conduct a need assessment with the Refugee communities;
- Interviews with Refugee and asylums seekers and other organizations working with Refugees in Cape Town;
- Conduct SWOT/Gaps analysis of the network programmes;
- Conduct an ARESTA SWOT analysis.
- Design a new programme model for the next 3 years (2010/2012);
- Planning of service / activities;
- Exploration of an ongoing evaluation tool for ARESTA interventions;
- Information sharing with Refugees and stakeholders.
Profile 4: Intern with Refugee Policy & Advocacy Background

ARESTA is seeking a Refugee Policy & Advocacy intern to lead its Refugee rights awareness, education and advocacy campaigns. The successful intern will work with Government institutions, service providers and other advocacy partners across South Africa. The position will also involve lobbying, media outreach, and refugee rights awareness, education and advocacy campaign management. The Refugee Policy & Advocacy intern will be supported by refugee rights peer educators.

Position Description / Roles and Responsibilities

- To contribute to the implementation of Refugee rights and the drafting of the reintegration strategy with a focus on refugees and asylum-seeking affected by xenophobic attacks;
- To contribute to the development of a comprehensive national strategy to combat and address xenophobic violence which involves government departments, civil society and South African Police Services (SAPS) and includes a reintegration strategy;
- To analyze relevant South African developments in the area of refugees and asylum seekers and migration, including proposals and implementation of policy, programmes and legislation, action plans etc. and to assist ARESTA in defining the focus and strategy of its work in this area;
- To assist in developing ARESTA's policy and advocacy in the area of South Africa's Refugee and asylum seekers and migration issues;
- To monitor and influence relevant South African developments in the area of asylum and migration and to promote ARESTA's policy with the South African government, in particular the Department of Home Affairs and the Parliament portfolio of Refugee Affairs; Human Rights Commission,ect...;
- To promote ARESTA's policy with relevant service providers and stakeholders in particular the Department of Home Affairs. This work will be carried out in close collaboration with the Cape Town Network of Refugee Service Providers “Tutumike” members and The Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA), providing support to linked advocacy efforts at national and provincial levels;
- To carry out the responsibilities of the role in a way which reflects ARESTA's commitment to safeguarding refugee and asylum seekers in accordance with the Refugee Protection Policy; and
- To carry out other tasks as appropriate under the direction of the Project coordinator.

Profile 5: Intern with Fundraising and Marketing Background

In the past few years, non-governmental and non-profit organizations, community & faith based organizations have been experiencing financial constraints linked to a resource decrease from donors. ARESTA is no exception to this experience. ARESTA has been particularly affected because of the poor marginal constituency that it serves, namely, the refugees and asylums seekers.

The purpose of the position is to fundraise and locate sufficient funds in order to cover the costs involved in developing new programmes at ARESTA.

We are expecting the intern to develop and finalize an organisational sustainability strategy.

He/she will work toward:

- Developing a fundraising strategy;
- Diversifying and localize income sources;
- Using existing donor/partner support to leverage new support;
- Getting support of donors/investment partners to support the sustain-ability strategy and its activities;
- Developing partnership with Government departments;
- Exploring possibilities of access to Government funds;
- Working toward independent sources of income for the organization; (workshop, conferences…). As donor funding diminishes, the need for financial independence, sound management is more important than ever;
- Starting a capital reserve fund (contingency/sustainability account).
Any person interested in becoming a part of ARESTA’s Interns/volunteers program should contact ARESTA for an application form by phone, fax, or e-mail:
Tel.: +27 (0)21 696 5764
Fax: +27 (0)86 514 8956
Email: coordinator@aresta.org.za
Alternatively, you can download an application form and either fax or e-mail it to us. The volunteer manager will then assess it and contact you.

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