• partner organisations

• introduction
• about the project
• reports from volunteers
• frequently asked questions
• slideshow
• how to apply

Introduction

Since 2004, RCNUWC has been sending volunteers to the Western Sahara refugee camps in Algeria as part of its Volunteer Program. In January 2008, with the assistance of Fredskorpset, RCNUWC entered into a partnership program with the Ministry of Sport and Youth/Polisario Western Sahara. The objective of the program is to offer young people from Norway, and their counterparts from the Western Sahara refugee camps in Algeria, an opportunity to act as cultural ambassadors for their respective countries. The project is open to current Norwegian staff, current and former Norwegian students from UWC's, and Norwegian young people from around the country.

Now, at the start of 2010, the Project is planning for its third year. We will be recruiting 6 young Norwegians, between the ages of 18 - 25 to work in the camps from September 2010. Please explore the site to find more information.

About Western Sahara

It is a mainly desert territory in north-west Africa. Since the Spanish pulled out of the territory in 1975, control of the area has been disputed by the Moroccan government and an indigenous resistance movement.

In 1991, the UN introduced a ceasefire in the area, intended to make time and space for agreement on who should vote in a self-determination referendum for the area. However, there is widespread criticism that the ceasefire has had little impact on the 34-year-old dispute, and no significant progress has been achieved.

Meanwhile, thousands of people continue to live in limbo, separated from their families, reliant on handouts, without access to proper education or communication.

The Camps

Here is a short film about the refugee camps - it gives an impression of the people, the geography and the living conditions. More than 150,000 refugees still live in Polisario's camps in Algeria. Exact numbers are hotly disputed as it is a politically sensitive issue.

The camps are completely reliant upon foreign and Algerian aid for everything: food, clothing, material for tents, and water are brought in by car and plane.

Despite the many difficulties, International refugee experts consider the camps to be very well organized.

This exchange program is being made possible with the encouragement and funding of Fredskorpset, the Norwegian Peace Corps. Fredskorpset is a governmental body financing two-way mutual personnel exchange between companies and organisations in Norway and similar companies and organisations in the South - that is countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
FK participants have the potential to be agents for change, both locally and nationally: they act as ambassadors for their home countries, and bring back home new understanding and perspectives from their host country.