Event to celebrate 50 years of Jersey Overseas Aid volunteering programme
Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA) is hosting an event and calling on volunteers who have completed projects with them to share their memories as part of a special anniversary year. The island's publicly-funded relief and development agency is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its overseas volunteering programme, Community Work Projects. As part of this, JOA is hosting an event led by a panel of experts who will be sharing their views about the future of volunteering.
Taking place at the Pomme D’Or Hotel on Thursday 28 April, the event is free of charge and open to all islanders. Memories and stories will be shared by volunteers who have undertaken projects over the last 50 years. Deputy Carolyn Labey, Jersey’s Minister for International Development and Chair of JOA, said:
“We are incredibly proud that the CWP volunteering scheme has reached its 50th year and even more thrilled that we continue to be oversubscribed with applicants for every project. It says an incredible amount about the people of Jersey that so many Islanders are willing to give their time and their skills. I am immensely proud of those who volunteer for the programme. “We also want to make sure that our programme continues to deliver lasting benefits for both the communities in which projects are undertaken and for our volunteers. Through this event we have the opportunity to share ideas about the future of volunteering and discuss how we can make sure Jersey continues to deliver maximum benefit from its CWP programme for the next 50 years.” The panel will also discuss the outcomes of several pieces of international research and how this will steer and shape JOA’s volunteering programme over the coming decades. In 2022, JOA hopes to send two cohorts of volunteers out to projects. The first group will be flying out to Kenya in June to work with JOA’s partner, Sand Dams International, building sand dams in the South of the country. The second group will be travelling to Nepal to work alongside local charity, the Gurkha Welfare Trust Jersey, later in the year.
Islanders can get in touch with their memories, photos and videos, which will be shared at events taking place throughout the year by emailing (enquiries@joa.je).