Common Vision of Protestant Voluntary Services for Young People FSJ and DJiA gGmbH
Protestant Voluntary Services for Young People FSJ and DJiA gGmbH is the national office of the association of protestant organizations of FSJ (Social Voluntary Service) with currently 38 regional and national organizations. At the same time, it operates the international program DJiA (Diaconal Year Abroad) of the association.
In pilot projects, new forms of voluntary services for people of differing ages are being developed and tried out.
Christian View of Man
Our work is based on the Christian view of man. According to this view, human dignity is inherent in every person's uniqueness and his/her being part of God’s creation. We consider every human a social being because of her/his relatedness to others. We believe in God’s redemptive act resulting in freedom and responsibility. Faith in God brings about the mandate and the strength to honor and maintain human dignity.
Church and Society
With the programs we offer, we are a living and formative organization within the Church. Volunteer work enables and supports the activities of church, Diakonie (the social-service arm of the protestant church in Germany), youth work and society in various fields and helps to develop them further. Loving one’s neighbor makes God’s love for the poor, the disadvantaged and the weak concrete. The commandment to love one’s neighbor materializes when people stand up for each other and show solidarity in interpersonal relationships. That is why we consider our work a fundamental contribution to the development of a society fit for the future: people, acknowledge their historical responsibility to bring about reconciliation and shape the future basing their actions on justice, peace and the integrity of creation.
Target Groups
Our national and international offers are open to all, regardless of gender, cultural, ethnical or social background, education or religious orientation. The main focus of our work is on young people. We also actively insolve ourselves in developing and realizing voluntary services for other age groups.
Volunteerism
Voluntary commitment is an important basis for civil society. Wherever people of their own free will and following their own needs and interests choose to get socially involved, it has a positive impact on the development of a vibrant, stable and just society. Because of the voluntary service they provide and the ideas they receive from it for their owns future, our volunters are an important part of this development.
Education and Commitment
The voluntary services within the protestant realm of youth work, church and Diakonie were designed from the beginning to be learning opportunities and orientation times for the volunteers as well. Serving others helps build their character. The volunteers develop new skills, especially social and learning skills and expand and deepen their value orientations. Specific training acitvities support and promote this process. Our offers thus connect the elements of training and orientation with practical service for others.
Important elements of this training are comprehensive information, advice and orientation before the voluntary service, group training opportunities for volunteers as well as individual support and crisis intervention as needed during the service.
Information about and concrete opportunitis for engagement to be involved after the voluntary service support the sustainability of our program.
Intercultural Orientation and Ecumenism
In an increasingly globalised world, we facilitate encounters of people of different cultural origins and religious orientation in the placements and among the volunteers. Our membership of EDYN (Ecumenical Diaconal Year Network) is central to our work. We take an active part in shaping this network. In this way we make a contribution to ecumenism and strengthen partnerships between the churches by the exchange of volunteers. We give people from Germany the opportunity to get involved in another country. At the same time we invite people from other cultural backgrounds to take part in programs in Germany regardless of whether they do already live in Germany or come to Germany expressly to do this service.
Service Provider and Political Representative
We understand ourselves to be a service provider and political mouthpiece for individuals ready to get involved for Church and Diakonie and for our associated organizations. We offer a high degree of quality and security to volunteers, placements and member organizations alike. We review our goals and quality standards at regular intervals and continue to develop them.
