General project information Project name: Beautiful Smiles Project type (practical/research/policy): practical Intended for interns from following study fields: Social work, Child care Total project duration: 5/6 months Preferred starting period: a.s.a.p. Number of students required: 1 Vacancy Social work for Hope South Africa Project description Background of the project: Beautiful Smiles is our most recent development at the Hope organisation. It is a weekly support group for HIV positive adolescents. We decided to begin this group after it was identified that an increasing amount of teenagers were defaulting on their HIV medication due to lack of education and peer pressure. Beautiful Smiles is designed to be a safe environment where these vulnerable teenagers can come together, share their problems and also have fun around a structured programme with trusted and trained adults they can turn to for advice. It is our hope that, as a result of this group, the number of adolescents defaulting on their medication will be reduced. Currently the group is attended by 20 individuals on a weekly basis, all of whom have been referred to us by the HIV clinic at the local day hospital and our sister project in town, Hope Care. They come from all around the Grabouw area, including farms in the Elgin Valley, and we collect them from their homes and return them at the end of the session. Currently we pick up ten children from Rooidakke, Beverly Hills, Site view and Hillside. A register is taken every week, and if a child is not present we try to establish why, i.e. they’re still at school. Another pick up is run at the same time to the farms (currently there are 4 children who attend from the surrounding farms). Problem statement: Hope is in desperate need of a qualified Social worker to support our Voluntary Auxiliary Social workers. They have taken Beautiful Smiles to new heights and have introduced some exciting new ventures to the program. Interns, of whom we need one only, can be male or female. Males however are in high demand. Goal: Contribute to the current project and add additional expertise on the different topics. Role of the intern: Conducting interviews with the children and their families to assess and review their situation; Offering information and support to the children and their families; organising and managing packages of support to enable the children to lead the fullest lives possible; recommending and sometimes making decisions about the best course of action for a particular child; liaising with and making referrals to other agencies, participating multidisciplinary teams and meetings regarding, for example, child protection or mental health; maintaining accurate records and preparing reports for legal action; participating and training, supervision and team meetings. Specific activities: - Lesson Planning sessions - Conducting sessions - Attending to interventions/challenges as they appear - Finding resources - Attending to the psycho-social needs of children - Transportation of children Measurable end product (report/advice/development/product): Developmental progress report Roel van Hout (MA) General/Programme Manager Let’s Go (Southern) Africa T +31 (0)6 45197822 W www.letsgoafrica.nl E roel@letsgoafrica.nl Office address: Korhoenderveld 44 5431 HH Cuijk Chamber of Commerce: 60323310 BIC: INGBNL2A • IBAN: NL23 INGB 0006 3799 75 Visit our website| Like us on Facebook Facilities for intern Supervision on appropriate project field: By professional Social Worker Workspace for intern: Office is available next to the work in the field Introduction and guidance during project: Introduction tour to all Hope projects and guidance Accommodation options: Available on the premises of the project Role Let’s Go Africa * Assists with all preparation and organisational support for the internship * Matches vacancy with intern’s personal and University criteria * Publishes vacancy on the online internship board of different Universities in the Netherlands * Sends intern’s CV to the partner and does personal screening of candidates * Ensures accommodation costs are transferred to accommodation owners beforehand Intern requirements Intern characteristics/qualities: Team player, motivated, independent, professional attitude Fully self funded or reimbursement for accommodation & transport: Self funded but transport included Other criteria/selection procedure: Person must fit in the organisation