Work Camps at the ATD Fourth World International Centre
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A tool for training and forging strong bonds
Work camps have been part of the history of ATD Fourth World since it began in an emergency housing camp in Noisy-le-Grand. Under the impetus of Joseph Wresinski and the first people who joined him, families in the shanty town came together to construct a chapel, then a laundry, a kindergarten, a library, and a women’s centre.
The opening of the international centre, first in Pierrelaye then in Méry-sur-Oise in the 1970s, started a phase of major construction and renovation projects. At the time, bringing the buildings up to standard required a massive collective investment. Throughout the year the international centre welcomed young people who had come to train as members of the volunteer corps, and every summer around sixty young people offered their labour, all under the direction of Bernard Jährling1.
An iconic figure in these projects and a former resident of the Noisy-le-Grand camp, Bernard Jährling left his mark on several generations of young people by passing on his expertise. Beyond the technical aspect, the projects that he led also had a deeper purpose: they were conceived as tools for training and community where the participants learned to work together, helped one another, and forged strong bonds. This vision recalls that of Joseph Wresinski, who said,
“Manual work makes you humble, dependent on other people and supportive of them. It teaches you community.” 2 Ligne de pensée et d’actions — Rebâtir un enseignement, Mars 1985[/note]
Joseph Wresinski
An evolution towards a new dynamic of work camps
Work camps remain a key element of the projects and training methods at ATD Fourth World. Their format has evolved over the years, but they are still, in different forms, an essential component of life at the international centre. Volunteer corps members meet every month for a community work camp to take care of their living and working spaces.
The new dynamic of work camps evolved to let people learn about ATD Fourth World from the inside through participating in short-term work together or staying for an immersive work camp. Today, the international centre in Méry-Sur-Oise welcomes people throughout the year for a few days or several weeks so they can participate in various manual-work projects and learn from a team dedicated to the maintenance and renovation of the centre’s buildings. Teamwork promotes the transfer of skills and techniques, while the many meetings and discussions about the history of the premises and our organisation enrich participants’ understanding of ATD Fourth World and its international centre.
Participating in a work camp at the international centre also means becoming part of a story and contributing to the preservation of a heritage founded on solidarity and dignity for all.
By working together, the participants continue a tradition of sharing and passing on experience. They can forge intergenerational bonds and bring alive, still today, the values and the places that inspired the first activists, allies, and members of the ATD Fourth World volunteer corps.
Learning to live and work together
The work camps allow people from very different backgrounds to meet one another. They provide a setting that encourages exchanges on an equal footing, with everyone getting their hands dirty in the soil and mud. By working side by side with people from different backgrounds, participants enjoy an experience that is both educational and deeply human. The manual projects become spaces of community, where people learn to support one another and explore their own life choices while building something together.
These collective projects also encourage people to step out of their comfort zone. By taking part in activities that are sometimes new or unusual, participants develop abilities that they didn’t necessarily know they had. The work camps may also reveal skills that had been hidden or unrecognised. The whole experience promotes initiative and self-confidence. By daring to do things differently, each person can discover that they are capable of much more than they thought and can bring their own contribution to the larger collective effort. “The most important thing is working together. It builds self-esteem, and that self-esteem is built on what you do with other people,” says Justin, a volunteer corps member with the maintenance and renovation team.
At ATD Fourth World’s work camps, we try “to have a different way of doing things, where people are trusted and recognised for who they are,” concludes Dominique, a volunteer corps member who is also a member of the maintenance and renovation team. The projects are above all an invitation to break through social barriers and to rediscover the strength of community. They offer an intense human experience where participants learn from others and learn about themselves. They remind each person that, whatever our background, we all have something to transmit, to learn, and to build alongside other people.
- Bernard arrived in the Noisy-le-Grand shanty town with his family at the age of fourteen. There he met Joseph Wresinski, the founder of ATD Fourth World, and became involved at his side as a Fourth World activist. Bernard, a stonemason, is also the author of an autobiography entitled Pierre d’homme – Stone of Humankind, published by Editions Quart Monde.