Aktiivsete Kodanike Fond, mida rahastavad Island, Lichtenstein ja Norra toetab projekti, mille käigus Valgamaa Puuetega Inimeste Kotta kuuluvate ühingute juhid ja huviringide juhendajad saavad koolituse, mille abil oskavad paremini juhtida gruppe ja organiseerida tegevusi ning seista huvide eest. Juhid saavad uusi teaduspõhiseid teoreetilisi teadmisi ning praktilisi kogemusi ja elulisi näited kuidas on korraldatud huvikaitse ja eneseabigruppide toimimine teistes organisatsioonides. Alaeesmärkideks on kasvatada tõrjutud rühmade kaasatust, aktiivsust ning mõjujõudu ja teadlikkust oma vajaduste eest seismisel. Projekti kogumaksumus on 34 300 eurot, millest Aktiivsete Kodanike Fondi toetus on 32 160 eurot.
Alljärgnevalt leiate infot prijekti tegevuste kohta nii eesti kui inglise keeles:
Õppereis Tallinnasse
Projektis osalejatele toimus 20-21.oktoober 2022 õppereis Tallinnasse. Esimesel päeval külastati Eesti Puuetega Inimeste Koda kus toimus seminar duo-juhtimise põhitõdedest. Puuetega Inimeste Koja nõukogu esimees Meelis Joost andis ülevaate erivajadustega inimeste teenuste arengutest ja tuleviku plaanidest. Teisel päeval külastati Haabersti klubimaja kus toimus esitlus klubimaja toimimise ja kaasava juhtimise põhimõtetest. Esitluse osana saadi osa kogemusloost mille kandis ette pikaaegne klubiliige. Haabersti klubimaja erineb organisatsiooni ülesehituselt suuresti sellest, millega varasemalt ollakse kokku puutunud. Külastus andis silmiavardava kogemuse ja tekitas osalejates mõtteid ning kõneainet. Õppereis oli väga heaks ettevalmistuseks ja motivatsiooniks osalemiseks kogu järgnevas programmis.
Seminari avas tervise- ja tööminister Peep Peterson, kes valgustas hoolekandereformi tagamaid ja peatselt asetleidvaid muudatusi. Hoolekandereform aitab tavaellu naasta omasehooldajatel ja tagab võimaluse saada koht hoolekandeasutuses kõigil, kes seda vajavad.
Kuna Valgamaa PIK-is teatakse, et mida kauem me suudame inimesi hoida ühiskondlikult aktiivsetena ja leida erinevas eas inimestele huvitegevusi, siis seda ärksamad kogukonna ja ühiskonnaliikmed nad on. Seeläbi anname oma panuse hoolekandesse, pakkudes teenuseid ja tuge, mis toetavad igapäevaelu ja seeläbi lükkavad hoolekandeasutustesse asumist võimalikult kaugele.
Valga vallavanem Monika Rogenbaum tõi välja kolmanda sektori olulisuse ja tõdes fakti, et maapiirkondades on kogukondlik koostöö kõrgemal tasemel kui linnas. See tähendab, et Valga linna mittetulundussektor vajab suuremat toetamist ja tugevamaid tõukeid.
Senisest koostööst ja toetusest võib tuua näite, kus Valgamaa PIK-is tegutsev MTÜ Päikeseringi Selts, mis pakub EL sotsiaalfondi abil erinevaid hooldusteenuseid, on saanud vallapoolse kaasfinantseeringu summas 1 euro. Tõepoolest arenguruumi on!
Seminaril andis ülevaate Valgamaa PIK tegevustest juhatuse liige Marika Ein ning käivituva projekti eesmärgist projektijuht Kalev Laul.
Esimesed koolituspäevad
Koolituspäevad toimusid Kungla 15, Valga linn, Valgamaa PIK ruumides 10.november ja 08 detsember 2022a. Osalejad said nii teoreetilised kui praktilised teadmised DUO gruppide juhtimisest. Osalejatel oli endil võimalik nii individuaalselt kui väiksemas gruppides erinevad esitlusi teha ja panna ennast proovile grupile esitluste tegemisel. Kogenud grupijuhid tunnistasid, et grupi ees esinemine tekitab ärevust ja pinget, sest tegemist siiski koolitusega ja ei tea kas ikka kõigest õigesti aru said. Koolitusel sai enim mõtteainet kuuldes kogemusloo kirja panemise protsessi ja selle vajalikkust ja muud seonduvat. Koolitusel osalejad innustusid üha enam koolitusest. Hea oli näha, kuidas inimesed olid aktiivsed osalejad vaatamata eale, puudespetsiifikale ja koolituspäeva pikkusele. Algselt hinnatud risk, et ehk väsivad osalejad koolituspäevast või programmist oli asjatu. Lõunaks pakuti Valgamaa PIK poolt sooja kehakinnitust ning kaetud oli ka kaks kohvi ja pirukalauda koolituspäeva kestel.
NGO Valga County Chamber of Disabled People brings together various associations and hobby groups operating as non-governmental organizations, where the work with different groups is on a voluntary basis. Group leaders need skills to retain, increase, empower, collaborate members and conduct activities. As active community leaders, group leaders motivate members of support groups to take part in social life and thereby draw attention to the interests of marginalized groups in the development of various policies and services by NGOs and the public sector. There is a need to increase the involvement, activity, empowerment and awareness of marginalized groups to meet their needs. For this reason the project will conduct training for group leaders based on the DUO support group methodology and will organize study trips to Tallinn and Oslo to get acquainted with the activities of support groups offered by various organizations. Project participants acquire knowledge of the principles of group operation, the processes taking place in groups and are able to adapt programs to the needs of their target group, and have new tools for keeping themselves as group leaders. In addition, participants will gain knowledge on how to ensure the sustainability of the organization, find and participate in the activities of various cooperation networks, and contribute to the development of social services.
Study trip to Tallinn
On October 20-21, 2022, a study trip to Tallinn took place for project participants. On the first day, the Estonian House of People with Disabilities was visited, where a seminar on the basics of duo management was held. Meelis Joost, chairman of the Council of the Chamber of People with Disabilities, gave an overview of the development of services for people with special needs and future plans. On the second day, the Haaberst clubhouse was visited, where a presentation was held on the principles of clubhouse operation and inclusive management. As part of the presentation, a part of the experience story was presented by a long-time club member. Haaberst’s clubhouse is very different from what we have encountered in the past in terms of organizational structure. The visit was an eye-opening experience and created thoughts and topics for the participants. The study tour was a very good preparation and motivation for participating in the entire subsequent program.
On October 28th, the opening seminar of the project “Enhancing the capacity of social support groups in Valgamaa’s Centre for People with Disabilities/Valgamaa Inimeste Koda”
Seminar led by Minister of Health and Labour, Peep Peterson, shed light on the background of the social welfare reform and upcoming changes. The social welfare reform helps family caregivers return to everyday life and ensures the opportunity for everyone in need to access care facilities.
Because in Valgamaa PIK (Centre of People with Disabilities) we understand that the longer we can keep people socially active and provide various activities for people of different ages, the more engaged they are as members of the community and society. Thus, we contribute to social welfare by offering services and support that enhance daily life and, in turn, postpone the need for care facility placement.
Valga Mayor Monika Rogenbaum highlighted the importance of the third sector and acknowledged the fact that community collaboration is stronger in rural areas than in the city. This implies that non-profit organizations in Valga city require greater support and stronger incentives.
An example of past cooperation and support can be seen with the NGO Päikeseringi Selts operating within Valga County Public Interest Collective. With the assistance of the European Social Fund, they provide various care services and have received a co-financing amount of 1 euro from the municipality. Indeed, there is room for development!
During the seminar, Marika Ein, a board member of Valga PIK, provided an overview of the organization’s activities, and project manager Kalev Laul outlined the goals of an ongoing project.
The Active Citizens Fund, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, supports a project in which leaders and activity group supervisors from associations within PIK receive training. This training equips them to better manage groups, organize activities, and advocate for interests. The leaders gain new evidence-based theoretical knowledge, practical experiences, and real-life examples of how interest protection and self-help groups operate in other organizations. The total cost of the project is 34,300 euros, of which the Active Citizens Fund’s support amounts to 32,160 euros.The first days of training The training days took place at Kungla 15, Valga city, Valgamaa PIK premises on November 10 and December 8, 2022a. The participants gained both theoretical and practical knowledge of managing DUO groups. The participants were able to make different presentations both individually and in smaller groups and test themselves when making presentations to the group. Experienced group leaders admitted that speaking in front of the group causes anxiety and tension, because it is still a training session and they don’t know if they understood everything correctly. During the training, hearing the process of writing down the experience story and its necessity and other related things gave me the most food for thought. The training participants were more and more inspired by the training. It was good to see how people were active participants regardless of age, specific disability and the length of the training day. The initially assessed risk that the participants might get tired from the training day or the program was in vain. For lunch, Valgamaa PIK offered warm meal, and two coffee and pie tables were also set during the training day.