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2023: hospitalero shortage

Thanks @Kirkie. Will have a look when I get back from Bee Group (and hopefully will find electricity bac on After Storm Ciaran)
 
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@Sue127 we served in an FICS albergue 2 years ago. Our other service has been with HosVol. Each albergue is different even within the same organization.

FICS was a bit more restrictive in Canfrac Pueblo about verifying that pilgrims were really pilgrims and not just "hikers" in the region who were not on pilgrimage. In other HosVol albergues we seldom had non-pilgrims. This is a nice new albergue and because it is donativo, that made it attractive. We prepared breakfast there so shopped for breakfast foods a few days per week.

At our HosVol albergues we had a variety of different directions. At some, we prepared both the evening meal and breakfast with pilgrims. At others, we prepared only breakfast and at one (during covid restrictions) we provided neither. Handling the donations was a different process at each albergue as well. At some we had another community person who was responsible to come in and count the donations and expenses. At others we were told to deposit money in the bank after collecting a certain amount. At some, accounting was very precise with a daily ledger and at others it was not.

Cleaning is pretty much the same everywhere with a thorough clean to bathrooms, kitchens, bunk rooms, common areas, plus laundry and maybe shopping daily. We also had other duties in some locations such as leading meditations or taking pilgrims on tours of the church or medieval tower (Arres).
 
The problem for some people is the cost of GETTING to those training sessions. Another reason Rebekah's online training course (with ZOOM) would be an excellent option.

I volunteered at San Anton some years back and it was a wonderful experience!
I had hoped to volunteer next season, but the fall I took last season tore both rotator cuffs and now I have learned I have a danged torn macula (wonky vision may have been the reason for the fall). I told my kids I want to live to be 100 but it is a BUGGER (not the word I used) getting there!

It's possible I can still volunteer in a smaller albergue - if so, I'll know once I finish with the retina specialist appointment Nov 13. My initial shock at the torn macula is settling down to "well, you may just have to live with it."
 
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HeidiL said:
I have done three shifts of voluntering for FICS, my fourth is coming up in July. But I don't think I'm nice enough to let HosVol send me anywhere they want...
Click to expand...
Kirkie said:
Would you explain what you mean? Or is it too complicated? About your comment that you are not nice enough...I doubt that!
Click to expand...
How was your fourth?
It is a long time since I filled in the form, but I remember that it included a chance to indicate preferences such as no cooking, no prayer. Always though, cleaning and being there for any pilgrims who wanted or needed a listening ear or a bit of sticking plaster... I have not had a chance really to repeat being a hospitalera for some years as my helping has been in the church side of things. A different way of serving pilgrims, but nevertheless, rewarding.
 
Kirkie said:
It is a long time since I filled in the form, but I remember that it included a chance to indicate preferences such as no cooking, no prayer.
Click to expand...
Pretty well the same now, and they ask about your level of Spanish and any other skills you might have. We encourage trainees to approach being a hospitalero in the spirit of contribution - i.e. be prepared to go where you are needed.
 
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Sue127 said:
Hi Rebekah
I am interested in training but can you give a rough guide about how the albergues are run differently between the two organisations, please?
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CSJ runs two albergues. They are pioneers in the albergue business with many years of experience and a corps of keenly dedicated volunteers. They are very organized, they "run a tight ship." Very little is left to chance... this makes them a great place to serve if you're an uncertain newby.

Other albergues vary greatly. Some have live-in supervisors who keep everything on an even keel, so volunteers can focus on the day-to-day without concerns about the gas delivery, the bread supply, the cranky washing machine. Still more are rather free-range, with hands-off supervisors who give volunteers a guidebook and some keys and pretty much let the hospitalero run the place as he likes. Different hospitaleros enjoy serving at different types of places, according to their degree of comfort with the daily demands of Spanish life.
 
Rebekah, I thank you for the commitment you have to supporting pilgrims on the various caminos.
Not the Camino!
For those who begin with whichever motivation and discover an awareness of the commitment on the part of volunteer hospitaleros: there are clear indications in this thread. There is the Hosvol in Spain. There is Rebekah's arrangement with a few albergues. There are two Uk managed albergues - Rabanal and Guemes. There are other independent albergues, using different degrees of commitment or whatever you like. I am now in unchartered waters.
I wish I still had freedom to set off and volunteer, but life has brought home volunteering commitments!
i will dare: camino is a concept. Your camino is yours. The phenomenon that appears as "The Camino" is a path to whatever you seek. If in so doing, you awaken to offering something back - do it, and you will be tired but satisfied!
 
Phil and I have mostly had the "Here are the keys--you're in charge" albergues. There is a number to call if there's a problem, but there seldom is one. Each hospitalero hands off to the next and yes, there is sometimes a handbook (usually in Spanish) which may or may not be up to date. Love it! Hope to have more time for it now that I am retiring in a May.
 
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I consider the "camino" term inclusive of the traditional pilgrimage ways to Santiago de Compostela. I do not believe it is "anything you want it to be." We have inherited a thousand-year-old geographical tradition that is a Thing, historically proveable enough to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage. It is old and fragile, and it deserves our respect and protection if it's to survive the onslaught of over-development and touristic exploitation. Every shiny new tourist-office invention is not a Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, even if every pilgrimage is not a Camino.
 
I surely hope people step up, I volunteered last year and it was a wonderful experience . And I hope to volunteer again this year. But I took a bad fall on the Camino and have to see how I heal up. This fall might work out- I will keep in touch Rebekah!
 
I volunteered in Nájera in Oct 2022, and will again in Grado, May 2024. It is such a wonderful experience and a privilege IMHO to serve after having walked numerous Caminos and spent time in albergues all across 5 camino routes. If I were able to do it more often, I would in a heartbeat. If you can make the time, it is well worth it!
 
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I'm sure you would have a lot to offer @Gerard Griffin .

Pat and I just completed the HosVol training here in Sydney, which was outstanding I have to say.

I've walked a few Caminos and stayed in plenty of Albergues, (like most who were there) but what surprised me with the training was this..........

  1. There was a lot that I did not know.
  2. There was some stuff that I might have done, thinking I was being helpful, but in fact would be very unhelpful.
  3. And there are quite a few Albergue 'rules' that I might have bent, not realising the negative implications........
A great training course!
 
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Very interesting post, Robin, thanks ... I'd be very interested if you'd expand on the three points you make, and especially the last.
 
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Gerard Griffin said:
Very interesting post, Robin, thanks ... I'd be very interested if you'd expand on the three points you make, and especially the last.
Click to expand...

I think overall the course was an eye opener, seeing the Camino from a different angle.
The course was a great mix of teaching, discussion and role plays / practice. Which was fun.

Without sharing the full agenda of topics covered or how they were covered, I'll share some examples that got me thinking.......

Apologies HosVol trainers if I get any of this wrong, or don't explain it well. Please correct me!
And a Caveat. This was HosVol training conducted recently in Australia. Other countries whilst covering the same material might conduct the training in a slightly different manner. I understand the training content is regularly updated by HosVol.

And of course this relates to 'Donativo' Albergues.

1. What I did not know. Elements around the Donativo Box, why we can't say how much is an 'appropriate' amount, some of the duties required, and the importantance of being a good listening ear without trying to give 'advice'. How various Albergues are owned and managed and how they are often regarded in the local community as 'their' Albergue.
2. Things I might have done thinking it was helpful, like providing a comunity meal when none is normally provided, thereby potentially upsetting local businesses, or opening early, only to have a Pilgrim arrive at opening time to find the place already full. Or recommending certain places to eat / shop that I like, rather than being fair and explaining all the options available locally......
3. Rules I might have 'bent' include allowing extra people in above the 'allowed' capacity thereby potentially breaking the Albergue licence requirements.

Many other things of course, but that is just a couple of examples of what I might previously have not understood or could easily have got wrong without some simple training.

Elements such as the role playing and discussion around things that can go wrong, was invaluable and a lot of fun.

All the training was conducted in a very professional, thorough but relaxed and caring manner.
 
Im heading back to Spain for my 3rd year of volunteering (5 different albergues and 3 this time) and i still speak virtually no spanish. Smiles, miming and google translate get me thru. Love my time as a hospitalero
 
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