Countries: Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

Your contact person

Projects

• Food and lodging on site
• Assistance by SCI Switzerland before departure, during the assignment and after returning
• Invitation letter for visas if needed
• Preparation and evaluation of the assignment
• One-year membership with SCI Switzerland (incl. SCI newsletter, reduction of seminar fees, etc.)
• Visa service if desired

• Participation fee long-term placement, language course and staying with a family:  CHF 690.-
• Participation fee for the regular workcamp (2 weeks) in Eastern Europe: CHF 290.-
• There is a reduction of CHF 30.- for those with no or little income
• Costs in the host country: administration fee (called “extra fee” in the project description), plus any program costs for a host family stay, language course, etc.
• Travel expenses (you will have to organize the trip yourself)
• Costs for visas, vaccinations, travel insurance, etc. (visa service via SCI)
• Scholarships for apprentices and young people with vocational training: Are you currently in an apprenticeship or have already completed an apprenticeship and are under 25 years old? Then you can apply for a scholarship. SCI Switzerland has a scholarship program and we can award scholarships for apprentices and apprenticeship graduates. Thanks to this, young apprentices and apprenticeship graduates are covered 100% of all program costs as well as travel costs (100% of travel costs by train or bus; 50% of travel costs for flights). Find out more!

CANCELLATION POLICY:

If you cancel a program you must in any case pay 60% of the participation fee. If we receive the cancellation later than three weeks before the start of the program, or in the event of a no-show or early termination of the program, you will pay the entire registration fee.

What is your participation fee used for?

SCI Switzerland is a certified non-profit organisation. We rely on participation fees, membership fees and donations to organise volunteer engagements, place volunteers and for the preparation and follow-up of volunteers and camp coordinators. The participation fee only covers a small part of the actual costs. SCI Switzerland is mainly supported by its long-standing members and donors as well as government subsidies. The local project partners also contribute a great deal themselves to the realisation of the projects (work camps, long-term engagements, etc.).

If you are interested in participating in the ‘Ostwärts’ exchange, you have to take steps well in advance: depending on the country and type of assignment, two to six months before the desired assignment starts.

STEPS TO THE ‘OSTWÄRTS’ EXCHANGE:

1. Read the terms and conditions carefully (above).
2. Decide on your program with the help of our descriptions for the projects, or, for workcamps, of the search engine.
3. Inquire about travel expenses, visa requirements and health matters.
4. If you have any questions, please contact Nathalia: nathalia.zimmermann@scich.org Make an appointment for a consultation.
5. Request the registration form, fill it out carefully and send it to Nathalia. Your registration is final, cancellation fees will apply. You can register for workcamps directly on the workcamp search engine.

WHAT HAPPENS THEN?

We will check your registration carefully. If you meet the conditions for participation, we will forward your registration to our local partner organization. This will decide on the inclusion in the project. As soon as we have received an answer, we will inform you and discuss the next steps with you.