Service Work Camp
Service Work Camp
The Wesley Zaidan has been conducting the Service Work Camp in Asia since 2016, targeting young people (from university-age up to the age of 40) around February and March every year, with the aim of developing the next generation with an international perspective and human resources who serve to solve social issues. In the past, we have conducted the Service Work Camp in Thailand and the Philippines.
At the Service Work Camp, participants from Japan spend about a week working together, eating together, and learning together in days that begin and end with prayer. In the evening, participants always have time to reflect on their experiences. This reflection time is a good opportunity for participants to build a relationship of trust with each other.
As the name suggests, the basis of the Service Work Camp is “work.” Participants experience serving through service activities in the places they visit. Each year, participants visit local non-profit organizations to learn about their activities and work, and the local social issues, as well as to perform service to support their activities. In the Service Work Camps we have conducted in the past, participants have built walls and outdoor concrete floors. The schedule also includes learning about the culture and history of the areas participants visit.
A unique feature of the Service Work Camp is that each year participants return to their home countries after building a relationship of trust with each other.
Participants are required to take a pre-training in preparation for the Service Work Camp. Participants are required to submit a report after the Service Work Camp, and report their participation at the program debriefing session held at the end of the fiscal year.
