Child Space Volunteer - Women and Girls' Safe Space

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives through life-changing assistance.

Since 2018 IRC in Italy provides essential safety, empowerment, education, economic wellbeing and health services to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Italy is one of the main countries of destination for people seeking to reach Europe. Since 2015, almost 700,000 asylum seekers arrived in Italy, mostly by sea, with arrivals peaking during the summer months in Southern Italy, and through the Balkan Route, through Italy’s northern borders with Slovenia.

In late 2023, partnering with Laboratorio di Gruppo Analisi (LdG), IRC opened a Clinical Center for Ethnopsychology and a Women and Girls Safe Space (WGSS) near the Termini Station in Rome. Within the WGSS, LdG offers individual mental health support, while IRC provides holistic case management, group psycho-social support and economic inclusion services through the WISE project, which supports the economic inclusion of Ukrainian refugee women.

As part of the Women and Girls’ Safe Space activities, IRC Italia is looking for motivated interns to support the Child Space. The Child Space is a safe space for children to play and engage with trusted adults, while their mothers attend the WGSS activities. Children from 3 to 12 are welcome to the Child Space, as well as girls from 12 to 18.

Intern responsibilities will include:

• Supporting relevant staff in organizing Child Space activities;
• Implementing Child Space activities during opening hours [4.30-7.30pm on Mondays and Wednesdays];
• Attending bi-weekly team meetings.

Requirements:

• Being 18 or older
• English proficiency - Italian would be highly beneficial – any other language welcome!
• Interest in humanitarian and social work, women empowerment, and intercultural exchange
• Empathetic disposition
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Experience with children welcome

What will you gain?

• Understanding of Trauma-Informed Care
• Knowledge of safeguarding principles and Women and Girls Safe Space Methodology
• First-hand experience in delivering activities in multicultural settings
• First-hand experience of humanitarian and NGO work
• Field-level knowledge of migration and refugee policies

For more information, contact elena.lanteri@rescue.org