In what other context could you participate in a sheep festival, learn to play the pan pipes or spend three weeks attending Armagnac tasting?!
I started off in the Alps on a project renovating a small chapel high in the mountains. Highlights were various hikes in the Alps and taking part in the annual transhumance. We got up at 5am and were driven down to a farm at the bottom of the mountain. We then helped to guide the 1500 sheep up to their summer pastures and then spent the rest of the day partying! The partying theme was continued in style on my second project in the Gascony, where the fête hardly let up during the three weeks. A tiny village with 15 inhabitants was invaded by two groups, one which helped in the organisation of a festival and the other renovated the primary school. I was in the latter and we spent the mornings working on the
walls, followed by siesta then fiesta! The region is very rural, yet almost every village had its
own festival so street parties became the norm! The villagers were really welcoming and we
were invited to many of their houses to taste their pride and joy: the region's famous Armagnac!
I then moved on to the Auvergne where I worked at an international music and dance festival. The work was very varied and good fun as we were staying with groups from Mexico, Columbia, Belarus, Dagestan, South Africa and the Republic of Touva (a part of Russia near Mongolia), as well as our own international group. We spent much of our free time with a musician from France who played hundreds of instruments from all over the world. He taught us to play the pan pipes, and we also learnt several songs, and then performed our programme to an unsuspecting public!
I had an unforgettable summer and would do it over and over again.Most people looked at me in amazement when I told them I was doing three projects in a row, but it was a fantastic experience, and one of the best ways to improve my language skills and see a large area of such a beautiful and fascinating country. I made many lasting friendships and flights are already booked to meet up soon!
In June Hannah Bambridge was one of Concordia's first volunteers to take part in a project with our partner organization BWA in Botswana. She joined a team of 15 international volunteers to assist at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, a community based wildlife project formed to project the diminishing numbers of white rhinos and to bring economic benefits to the local community through tourism and a sustainable use of natural resources.
The idea of throwing 15 strangers from 8 different countries and expecting us to get on is a strange one...in fact it felt rather like big Brother at time…but it worked and it was an awesome experience!
The days started early (if you wanted to or later if you wanted to sleep) and we got up before dawn and went with the rangers on duty to check on the rhinos and other animals in the park (zebra, wildebeest, impala, giraffe, and ostrich). The rest of the day was theoretically filled with work which varied a lot from painting fences and cutting down undergrowth to teaching the rangers about how to make a website. I spent most of my time making a booklet for local school children about trees in the park and their traditional and medicinal uses and the importance of not cutting them down. I say that the days were ‘theoretically’ filled with work because actually lots of our time was spent doing other things such as going on game drives (at night and during the day), going shopping in the local town, collecting firewood and also there were LOADS of football matches.
The rangers loved having us in the park and had arranged their whole season of football to coincide with our stay, so there were a number of matches against the local teachers, the army and the carpenters! The evenings were very relaxed, cooking was quite a long process because we cooked in massive pots over a fire, and every evening we would sit around the fire and chat and drink ‘Shake Shake Chibuki’ which is a local beer made from fermented maize and costs less than 2p/litre. The rangers often came and sat with us or we would go to their camps and we spent a couple of evenings having a crazy African-style party with loads of dancing to amazing beats around the fire.
There were two weekends whilst on the camp. In the first weekend we all just went for a local walk with one of the rangers and met some more of the locals which was great fun. It was wonderful because we were walking through these villages where everybody is living in mud and straw huts but yet the young could speak English (obviously they spoke Setswana to each other) so we could talk to the locals without the need for an interpreter…and they were keen to talk to us.
On the second weekend 5 of us from the camp borrowed a car from a man (who was quite appropriately called Choice!) who owned the local furniture shop. We went to the Tuli block which is world famous for its elephants (in fact there are more elephants in Botswana than any other country in the world and they are such a problem that the locals want to start culling them). We spent Saturday night camping on the banks of the Limpopo river listening to the sounds of lions, baboons and other unidentifiable animals all around and it was the most amazing (and scary!) night of my life!
All in all it was a brilliant experience and no, 15 of us didn’t save any dying children or bring about world peace in two and a half weeks but we did help the rangers and they were really grateful for the work we did. Not only that but we have also increased their understanding of Western culture and I personally have learnt a lot about Africa and their traditions, hardships and way of life. I am currently planning my next trip there…
It was little less than a year before the project, when it occurred to me that I could do something like that. Lack of cultural activities motivated me to realize my coordinating experience as well as my interest in visual arts since I study history of art.I’ve been an active member of VCZ, an organization which host short term volunteer projects and I decided to do a project for VCZ. I started to look at that not only as filling the need for my hometown Split on Adriatic coast which was a great location for such an event, but as a opportunity for myself to realize my ambition towards arts and to prove myself that I’m capable of doing it.
Then was when it all started, thinking about the content, activities, workshops, location of accommodation and workshops, searching for trainers-artists and for partner organizations. So I found a student dormitory for accommodation, the basements of old Diocletian palace in the heart of old Split for workshops and final exhibition at the end, and a public kitchen which would bring us lunch daily.
After I finalised the eight page proposal for the project, where I formalised my ideas and other formalities including the budget, I started to do fundraising which was the worst part and it all depended on it. In searching for sponsors I lost enormous energy and I did my best finding different ways to make them interested in my project, and finally City of Split gave me support and covered major costs.
Art colony consisted of painting and sculpture workshop with 20 participants, 2 trainer-artists and 2 leaders. During the colony, some of local people joined participants who were from 13 countries.
The idea of gathering artists from different countries to work in the same environment, to interact with each other and with people from Split, was attractive to me from the beginning. It was quite a challenge to put all those young people together, each with a different background, and hope something creative will come out of their mutual work.
A certain energy was created among them, an energy which has caused some great expressions, which were shown in the final exhibition.There were some really talented artists taking part in this art colony, who carried the idea of creating under the influence of the city of Split, who give me the reason to say that I am satisfied with the course of this whole event.
Participants were not established artists in their respective countries, they were just talented enthusiasts. They were artists who came there with an open mind, ready to learn, to show and express their inner selves. Ideas were drawn to the surface by the atmosphere of the city, its past and its people. They chose to be one part of the circle which they created. They trusted us and let us help them to find a way to join this journey which will not stop.
I really enjoyed participating in the creative ideas of these great personalities with whom I exchanged my thoughts, and that is why I am very sorry that I did not have time to do it more because I was to occupied with organization.I own my deepest gratitude to these enthusiasts who have made this whole thing so interesting. They have given themselves and their spirits to these pieces of art.
What did I gain with this project? A lot. Firstly, I have some strong connections with people which are personal and could be professional. Secondly, I have a great satisfaction because it was a success and people (not only participants but locals also) were affected by it.I like to think that I made a step in developing cultural activities in Split. And last, I have a great experience and result which is appreciated in my profession.
Last summer I wanted to travel round Thailand and decided to do some voluntary work with Concordia. I didn’t want a run of the mill beach holiday,I wanted to see Thailand properly if that’s possible in a couple of months. To be honest the idea of teaching didn’t appeal to me particularly, I’ve not spent anytime with children since I was one myself. However after the initial shock of ‘oh my god there’s forty 14 year olds waiting for me to entertain them!’I found myself having the most fantastic time. I guess teaching brought out the secret performer in me, it was quite a buzz, thinking on your feet and thinking of ways to make mere words come alive to a child.
The town of my first camp with very very rural, the nearest internet café was two hours away, no-one spoke English, I felt like a visitor from Mars, we were stared at so much! I stayed with a family with two other volunteers and they treated us like royalty. In fact the whole town did, I’ve never felt so welcome in a place in my life. Staying in this town, in the heat and the smiles and the wonderful food made me fall in love with Thailand. It has the most appealing culture and assigning myself to a ‘work’ camp meant this culture was all the more vividly available to me. I don’t think I ever would have come home but unfortunately I had a worried mother and a degree waiting for me in England.
As soon as my finals were over I booked myself onto a EnglishLanguage Teaching course. A month (of horribly hard work) later I was the proud owner of a TESOL certificate, certifying me to teach anywhere in the entire world! Anywhere! I poured over the map like a kid in a candy shop who only has 20p, where to go? It was definitely going to be somewhere outside of Europe, there was no question about that. I tried to take the sensible route and go somewhere that spoke a widely used language to improve my job prospects when I finally returned to England. However I’m not very good at being sensible and soon I found myself applying for jobs in Thailand.
I’ve been living and working here for two months now and it’s still a dream come true.Obviously I don’t walk around with an insane grin on my face all the time, some times I have a bad day at work, miss my Mum and want to cry! But I’ve never been so satisfied or had such a general sense of wellbeing as I have here. I work in the kindergarten of a huge 4000 pupil school. At first I was treated like a novelty but I’m pleased to say they’ve now got used to the funny white girl who falls asleep every lunch time (a bit too much partying goes on in the evenings here!). I’m slowly learning the language, which is surprisingly enjoyable, far more fun than the dreaded French class at school. People are always astonished to hear a felang (white foreigner) speaking Thai. I regularly come up with ridiculous translations, I’ve told my friend I wanted to sleep with her and told a pet shop owner that I wanted to eat cats. Luckily everyone here is pretty patient!
I share a hour with another English teacher, and each time I shoo the chickens out the way so I can park my motorbike I get a little smilt on my face. I would recommend volunteering to anyone who wants a holiday of a lifetime. It certainly changed my life.
Ihave wanted go to sub-Saharan Africa for as long as I can remember, so it was with no small amount of excitement that I packed my bags, ready to say goodbye to grey winter days in Brighton to spend Christmas in the sunny climes of Kenya. Having done my best to forget all the most important things at home, as well as nearly leave my purse and tickets in the taxi on the way to the airport, I finally bordered the plane for Nairobi, stopping off at almost every conceivable destination along the way.
The aim of the visit was to increase North/South co-operation with KVDA, our Kenyan partner organisation, to gain a better understanding of the realities of volunteer projects in the country and to discuss ways of increasing the number of Kenyan volunteers coming to participate in projects in the UK. A number of meetings were organised to discuss these issues and the rest of the time was spent travelling around the country visiting short and long term projects that were taking place at the time.I was also invited to spend Christmas at the family of the president of the organisation, an incredible opportunity to experience a rural Kenyan Christmas, complete with a 6 hours African carol service, actually a lot more fun than it sounds.
For me, this was a perfect way to see and visit a country, being invited into communities, having the chance to meet and talk to local people and of course, to meet international and local volunteers all involved in community projects. Long chats on buses and at people’s homes, as well as the inevitable sharing of newspapers that happened on every journey, meant that I really managed to gain an insight into thecountry, the problems it is facing and the potential solutions.
At a time in which the global situation is making it more difficult to carry out international volunteer activities in the country, I was really impressed by the scope and range of the activities taking place, and the commitment of all KVDA members to continuing intercultural exchange and community development.The perceived terrorist threats within the country and the subsequent travel warnings issued by a number of countries in the West, meant that the number of international volunteers participating in KVDA projects dropped dramatically. This not only affected the projects themselves but the functioning of the organisation who, without any state or additional funding, rely on the fees paid by the internationalvolunteers to support their activities.
One of the highlights of my stay was the three days spent at a short-term project which saw 35 local and international volunteers working together to make 3000 bricks and construct a classroom for a secondary school in a rural region in western Kenya. However it was also much more than this - the opportunity to learn about each other’s countries and cultures and the location for much laughter and many friendships to be formed. Particularly during the mud flights that were an essential part of the brick-making process and the evenings spent huddled around the campfire, talking and counting shooting stars.
It is obviously impossible to sum up an experience like this in a few words, in the three short weeks that I was there, I gained and learnt so much. I got to meet amazing people who I will continue to keep in touch with, experience the fantastic hospitality of Kenyans, learn to make bricks, experience a Kenyan Christmas, travel on matatus, see zebras, ostriches and warthogs, develop a taste for ugali and sukuma wiki, and generally just soak up the beauty and diversity of the country and its people. I am now just planning when I will be able to return!
