A former employee on her work at Enchada
NGO: enchada, Network Development Policy of Catholic Youth Austria
Office location: Vienna
Action area: mainly Austria, India, El Salvador
Description enchada:
enchada works with young adults on global political issues. Young people are empowered to perceive and understand global developments. They are helped to form an opinion on global issues and to take action for a fairer world.
enchada is a very small part of the KJÖ - only 2 people are permanently employed at enchada.
As head of enchada, I was able to gain a great deal of experience.
My work at enchada included:
Project development, obtaining funding, guiding volunteer teams, conducting seminars and educational events, developing creative educational materials, further developing the organization, guiding a second employee, networking with other organizations, some public relations work, project accounting, preparing annual budgets, organizational matters (from copying to buying food), ...
I was largely responsible for all this and much more.
My experience:
I had a positive experience
... that I had a lot of creative freedom and could implement the projects the way I wanted - as long as I was able to secure funding.
... the support of volunteers, who have impressed me time and again and who make enchada so special.
... that I could contribute as a whole person, that I didn't have to hide behind the obligation to wear a tie or other formalities
... working with exciting and relevant topics - I learned a lot myself.
... flexible working hours.
I found it difficult
... sometimes a lot of weekend work and a lot of overtime - on the other hand, I was able to take longer off in the summer.
... that there was hardly any support from bosses or employees, as only 2 people were employed for development policy.
... a lot of responsibility for many projects at the same time and for enchada as a whole. As exciting as that was, it also meant that I constantly had my head in enchada projects and at times had little energy left for my private life.
... and above all: constant financial shortages, cutbacks, the constant urge to develop new things and raise new funds.
Enchada works a lot with volunteers - they are very important, they get a lot of say in most areas and are supported wherever possible (certificates, invitations to meals, personal support, etc.). If you would like to get a taste of development education work, enchada is highly recommended! A little experience in educational work and/or prior knowledge of development policy is an advantage.
(This report was written by a former employee of Enchada who wishes to remain anonymous).
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More information:
Enchada is always looking for volunteers for a wide variety of activities and is also very flexible in terms of time.
