IBO Italia - Associazione Italiana Soci Costruttori - è un Organismo non governativo, che opera dal 1957 nel settore della cooperazione in Italia, in Europa e nei paesi in via di sviluppo nella direzione della condivisione e della solidarietà umana e cristiana. Inizio attività: in Europa nel 1953, in Italia nel 1957, costituita in associazione nel 1968. Riconosciuta idonea dal M.A.E. ad operare per la selezione, formazione e invio di volontari nei paesi in via di sviluppo. Federata alla F.O.C.S.I.V. dal 1972.

What is IBO Italia?

IBO Italia is a Non Governmental Organization that cooperates in Italy, Europe and in south-world countries since 1957 in the direction of condivision and human and Christian solidarity. IBO Italia has been constituted in association in 1968 and M.A.E. has recognised it appropriate to operate for selection, formation and to send volunteers abroad. IBO Italia is federated to F.O.C.S.I.V. since 1972.

La principale attività di IBO Italia. è la formazione dei giovani attraverso l’esperienza dei campi di lavoro presso associazioni o comunità che svolgono attività di accoglienza. I campi di lavoro si propongono come momenti di condivisione e di scambio. Attraverso l’aiuto concreto del lavoro, i giovani hanno la possibilità di vivere l’esperienza della vita comunitaria assieme a ragazzi di diverse nazionalità. I progetti internazionali rappresentano l’impegno di IBO Italia nei confronti delle popolazioni del sud del mondo. Se infatti da una parte si cerca di integrare gli extracomunitari presenti sul nostro territorio attraverso la creazione di comunità d’accoglienza, dall’altra si cerca di favorirne lo sviluppo e la crescita sociale ed economica nei loro paesi. Da alcuni anni IBO Italia si occupa con serietà e dedizione anche di Servizio Volontario Europeo: esperienze di volontariato a lungo termine (da sei mesi ad un anno) per ragazzi dai 18 ai 25 anni e di Adozioni a distanza di bambini con situazioni famigliari difficili in India.

Activities

IBO Italia main activity is the formation of youth people through the experience of workcamps in hosting associations or communities. Workcamps are moment of condivision and exchange. Through a concrete help, young people have the possibility to experience communitarian life with other people of different nationalities. The activity consists in: gardening, agricultural works, building or repairing and social animation. We don't require special capacities but simply willingness ! IBO Italia workcamps are in Italy, in Europe and in south-world countries. Everybody can take part to a workcamp, not only young people. For Italian workcamps you must be minimum 16 years old, for European workcamps minimum 18 and for south-world workcamps minimum 21 years old. The costs are: 100 Euro for Italian and European workcamps and 150 Euro for south-world workcamps + 30 Euro to become members of our association. The volunteers must pay the travel costs and they will receive board and lodging by the hosting community.
Cooperation projects represent the engagement of IBO Italia towards south-world populations. In fact, if on one side we try to integrate extracommunitarian people with the creation of hosting communities, on the other side we try to favour the development and the social, economic growth in their countries. At the moment we are working in the following cooperation projects:
Kenya - we have built a hospital, that is the only sanitarian resource in Tharaka. The hospital offers 100 beds in different divisions (obstetrics, gynaecology, pediatrics, medicine and surgery). Related to the hospital, there are other services, like kitchen, pantry, laundry, chemistry, funeral service. In a separate area there are lodging for operators and volunteers. This year we are going to start a new project about prevention of HIV infection and control of its transmission from mothers to children in Tharaka district;
Romania – IBO Italia has been working in Panciu through workcamps since 1998, then we started to collaborate with the local association “Rom pentru Rom”, constituted by some Roma people. We contributed to the building of houses for the poorest Roma people and to help Roma children. We have recently built a mill and organised a listening-point in Panciu Comune, where some volunteers try to help needy people. We have bought a house, that now is a hosting centre and another building that will be a formation centre for disadvantaged children (joynery and informatics);
Perù - life conditions in Perù are desperate and the future of “campesinos” 's children is hopeless. We think that education and formation are absolutely necessary for their future. For this reason, our project “A school in the Andes” tries to form teachers, who can be a model for children and to give them the proper didactic materials, that should be linked to the local context. We have been working to create a new school system, that can be recognised by the Peruvian government. We have created the Don Bosco ISPEC, a familiar boarding-school, where children can be formed for 5 years. IBO Italia has also organised meetings in Italian schools and parishes with the aim of sensitizing children and their families. During these meetings we collect materials (food, notebooks, pens and pencils) that will be sent to our friends “Mato Grosso Operation” in Perù.
India – with this project we help the local “Loyola School” in building new structures to host and form local children, who haven't any possibility to attend an Indian school. We contribute in the activity of Jesuits, who organise formative courses for teachers to supply the lack of qualified school operators. The project try to involve Dalit and ethnic minorities, who are excluded by the Indian social life.
IBO Italia is engaged also in distance-adoptions of Indian children with difficult familiar situations. This activity started in 1998 when the President of our association, Father Angelo Marcandella, went to India to visit the missions that IBO Italia was carrying on in the area. Meanwhile, he met some Jesuits, who had been hosting and helping poor Indian children for several years. This is how our project started. A distance-adoption is one of the possible activities to put into action our need of solidarity towards needy children. In a simple way, we can focus our help on a specific child contributing to the improvement of his / her condition of life: food, health and school. Our program consists in giving an education of “life orientation” (not only work) to poor children, who live in Mundgod and in the close villages. The annual quota is Euro 300 (40 Euro for our management costs and 260 Euro for the child). The economic engagement of the people, who decide to adopt a child, is annual but we wish it can be re-newed as long as possible. The adopter will receive a paper with the photograph of the child and the desciption of his / her situation. The contact between the child and the adopter will be kept through letters. At the moment we are supporting 300 distance-adoptions but we wish to go on as much as possible.
IBO Italia is engaged in European Voluntary Service: long-term voluntary experiences (6-12 months) for young people from 18 to 25 years old. EVS is part of the Youth Programme, a European Union programme that promotes the mobility of young people through international activities with a non-formal education dimension. EVS promotes local projects that are based on everybody's commitment and intercultural exchanges. Volunteer, sending organisation and host organisation are the key partners of an EVS project. The willingness of close cooperation between these three is crucial for a successful experience.
Since 2004 IBO Italia is engaged also in Voluntary Civil Service in Italy (at our office) and in south-world countries, Kenya, India and Romania (in our cooperation projects). Voluntary Civil Service is a formative opportunity for young people (18-28 years old) to work in international solidarity domain. It is 12 months long and it is payed by the Presidence of the Minister's Council: 433 Euro/month in Italy and 433 Euro/month + 15 Euro/day abroad). It includes an insurance and board (and lodging if you go abroad). It is necessary to have a good knowledge of the English language, predisposition to work in team, flexibility and capacity of adaptation.

IBO Italia è ispirata al messaggio evangelico che pone al centro delle sue attenzioni e scelte l'autopromozione e lo sviluppo dell'uomo in tutte le sue possibili dimensioni. Per conseguire queste finalità l'organismo si propone di: testimoniare la propria fede in Dio e nell'uomo esprimendo solidarietà e condivisione con gli "ultimi" per mezzo degli scambi giovanili, i progetti di sviluppo e le adozioni a distanza; credere nella possibilità di collaborare con tutti gli uomini anche se diversi per cultura, razza, religione, mentalità; dare un aiuto volontario, gratuito e concreto a chi si trova nel bisogno; porre, quale valore primario della propria vita, la disponibilità verso l'altro attraverso una crescita personale.

Finalities

IBO Italia is inspired by the evangelical message, that focuses on self-promotion and development of human being. To gain this finalities the organization wishes to: give evidence to its faith in God and in the human being expressing condivision and solidarity with poor people through youth-exchanges, projects of cooperation and distance-adoptions; believe in collaboration with everybody even if different in culture, race, religion, mentality; give a voluntary, concrete help to needy people; have, as primary value in our life, willingness towards other people through a personal growth.

Esistono sedi IBO in Austria, Belgio, Kenya, Germania, Svizzera, Olanda, Portogallo, Ungheria, Repubblica Ceca, Romania, Polonia e Italia. L'organo direttivo di coordinamento è il Bureau International che ha il compito di proporre gli obiettivi, le strategie, di coordinare e promuovere le attività comuni delle varie segreterie nazionali. E' costituito da un Presidente, un Vice-presidente e quattro Consiglieri. IBO Italia è strutturata come segue: l'Assemblea dei Soci elegge il Consiglio Direttivo che ha il compito di valutare e coordinare le varie attività che vengono svolte dalle Commissioni delle diverse aree di intervento. Le aree di intervento sono: Campi di lavoro, Progetti nei paesi in via di sviluppo, Gruppi locali.

Structure

There are IBO offices in Austria, Belgium, Kenya, Switzerland, Oland, Hungary, Romania, Tzech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Italy. The coordinating directive organism is the International Bureau. Its aim is to suggest aims and strategies, to coordinate and promote the activities of the different, national secretary-offices. This is IBO Italia internal organisation: the Members Assembly nominates the Directive Council with the aim of valuing and coordinating the different actvities that will be carried on by the work Commission.

Contact

To have further information about our activities, please contact our office:

Via Montebello 46/a – Ferrara
Tel. +39 0532 243279; +39 0532 247396
Fax +39 0532 245689
E-mail: info@iboitalia.org