Although the benefits of supervision are known nowadays, it is still not applied in a number of fields. This concerns even such occupations where direct work with clients is the basis of work or voluntary activity (e.g. health care, school education and even some organisations providing services of social care etc.). This thesis first informs about supervision in general, i.e. about its history, objectives, functions and division. Further, it deals with the person of the supervisor, the supervised person, and their relationship. The theoretical part is finished with information on social services, volunteering and supervision of volunteer programmes in the field of medical and social care. In comparison with the supervision of providers of social services, this volunteer supervision should be different, and this difference should consist in its voluntary, not obligatory, character. This diploma thesis aims at describing specific features of supervision of volunteer programmes in the field of medical and social care. A partial objective is to find differences between providing and receiving supervisions in volunteer programmes and supervisions of organisations providing social services. The research was both quantitative and qualitative, included method of questioning, semi-standardised questionnaire and a guided interview. There were three hypotheses set in the thesis, two of which were confirmed and one disproved. Further, on the basis of her results, the author defines the specific character of the supervision of volunteer programmes. The author regards as the most important finding the fact that volunteers take part in supervision voluntarily and with pleasure, view it as beneficial a natural part of their volunteer activity. This is also the most essential difference between the volunteer supervision and the supervision provided by social services, where over 50 per cent of staffs view supervision as an obligatory part of their occupation, and a much higher percentage of the staffs in comparison with volunteers say that they do not regard supervision as a benefit for themselves. The author sees the applicability of this thesis in publishing her results in professional journals or in publishing on the web pages of the National Volunteer Centre, because so far almost nothing has been published on this subject.

Lorsqu’elle s’inscrit dans un contexte tel que celui des pays en développement, la notion de handicap se caractérise par des tendances bien singulières. C’est notamment en République de Guinée que nous avons décidé de centrer notre travail, traitant des problématiques liées aux handicaps physiques et plus particulièrement aux déficiences des membres inférieurs. Les objectifs fixés dans cette recherche consistent à expliquer les causes et les conséquences de la prédominance de ce type de déficiences à Conakry. De plus, parmi d’autres problématiques que soulève notre travail, nous nous intéressons aux représentations que reflètent les handicaps et aux influences qu’elles subissent de la part des croyances traditionnelles et religieuses. Notre travail s’inscrit donc à la fois dans la volonté d’établir un état des lieux de la situation actuelle et dans la réalisation d’un important travail de terrain qui a été mené à Conakry entre 2008 à 2011 auprès d’un millier de personnes. D’après nos résultats, la principale cause des déficiences des membres inférieurs est liée aux séquelles de la poliomyélite et à la présence d’autres facteurs de risques tels que l’insécurité routière. De plus, selon nos analyses, près de 80% des personnes atteintes de ce type de déficience résidant à Conakry sont issues de l’exode rural. Une fois installées à Conakry, elles optent pour les trois modes de subsistance à savoir : la pratique de la mendicité (48%), l’occupation d’un emploi (16%) et la prise en charge familiale (18%). Par ailleurs, chaque mode semble déterminer leur participation et leur intégration au sein de la société. Enfin, nos résultats montrent que près de la moitié des Guinéens croit en la sorcellerie et en la nature maléfique des handicaps. Comme nous l’expliquons, ces croyances influencent négativement les représentations des handicaps. Pour conclure, selon nos analyses la majorité des Guinéens s’accorde à définir le handicap comme un phénomène biomédical et le considère comme un problème individuel et non social. / While dealing with the context of the developing countries, the notion of handicap is characterized in a specific way. We carried out our study in the Republic of Guinea, particularly related to the problems of the handicap, more specifically with the disability of inferior members. The main objectives of this research consist in explaining the causes and the consequences of the ascendancy of this type of deficiencies in Conakry. Furthermore, among the other problems analyzed in this work, we are interested in the representations which reflect the handicaps and the influence of traditional and religious beliefs on handicap. Our work is aimed to present the current conditions of the situation and to carry out a significant work on the site. In this framework, we organized two surveys during 2008 and 2009, dealing with approximately 1000 persons. According to our results, the main cause of the deficiencies of lower limbs is associated to the aftereffects of the poliomyelitis and to the presence of the other risk factors, such as the lack of safety on the roads. Furthermore, according to our analyses, about 80 % of the people questioned, belonged to the rural depopulation. Once installed in Conakry, they opt for three modes of subsistence: the practice of begging (48 %), working (16 %) and the family care (18 %). Moreover, each mode seems to determine the participation and the integration of these individuals in the society. Finally, our results show that nearly half of the Guineans believe in the witchcraft and in the malefic nature of the handicaps. Consequently, the faith influences negatively on the interpretation of the handicaps. To conclude, according to our analyses, the majority of the Guineans agrees to define the handicap as a biomedical phenomenon and considers it as an individual and not a social problem.