Since 2011, I love every opportunity to be involved with
Concordia; having participated in a project in Nepal (which was AMAZING!),
assisted Concordia staff in conducting North-South training, been a volunteering
coordinator on a UK project in Sussex,
and then assisted with the coordinator training. Ooh, and I also help with the
project inputting every year. I always meet fabulous people every time I
volunteer and cannot thank the Concordia staff enough for their welcoming and
inclusive attitude to volunteering… they always make me feel like I belong
there and even when we are busy, we have fun along the way!.JPG)
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| Regina volunteering in Wales |
Unlike most project experiences, I began mine feeling very tired. Prior to my arrival to the project, I had already spent 3 days in Moscow, travelled to Mongolia for 5 days on the Tran Siberian train and went on a 3 day trip to the countryside (which I thoroughly recommend). So I was slightly drained of energy but intrigued to see how the next two weeks would pan out.
My first day of the project was quite relaxed. With an early start, I left my hostel and was picked up by the manager of MCE (Mongolian Workcamps Exchange). We arrived at an apartment block with children’s climbing frames and play sets scattered around. I was then introduced to the supervisor of the project and he took me to our apartment, where I was pleasantly greeted by the rest of the volunteers. There were 2 girls from France, a girl from South Korea and a guy from Hong Kong. The apartment wasn’t fully furnished but was equipped with the essentials, such as a kitchen, bathroom and 2 living areas, which we slept in. We also had a sofa bed and a TV that occasionally played badly dubbed episodes of Lost.
After our quick introductions we went to visit the first part of the project, a children’s orphanage. As soon as we entered the building, we were surrounded by knee-high kids welcoming us and grabbing us by the hand. We were taken to a classroom where a group of hyper and energetic 8-12 year olds waited for us. I realised this was the class we’d be spending time with for the next two weeks. The kids spoke little English, some more than others, but we were able to communicate quite well and had a very entertaining meet and greet session where we were exposed to some of the talents of the children.
(Above: Asha, bottom right, with the other volunteers and their supervisor "K" at the orphanage)
After a play session and personal tour around the rooms of the orphanage, we made our way to the second part of the workcamp, a secondary school. As we entered the classroom, the students were already sat down at their desks and surprisingly in uniform (well, partially). There were mainly girls at the age of 14-16 years old. They were more laid back than the kids at the orphanage but still excited to meet us and full of enthusiasm. We divided ourselves around the class and got to know the students in more detail. I was quite amazed at the variation in the levels of English in the class. While many children spoke good English, some were at same level as the younger kids we met at the orphanage.
Before the project, I hadn’t planned anything in the way of lesson plans and activities for the children in either group, because I didn’t know what to expect. I was very open to see who we’d be teaching and at what level. Each day before class, we would discuss and brainstorm ideas for the next lesson. We decided that each session would have a different focus, for example grammar, punctuation, vocabulary etc. Then we would always end class with a game of charades or hangman. At the orphanage, our sessions were less structured and we mainly organised lots of arts and craft activities. We also helped with the cleaning on the weekends, which the entire orphanage (120ish) took part in.
(Above: volunteers with the children at the orphanage)
Through this experience, I have met some great friends and been exposed to a beautiful country that I hope I will return to in the near future.
Asha-Jennings-Grant, Volunteer in Mongolia, 2010
After a few days sleeping in airports and countless bus journeys down sandy, rock filled roads (the term road is used loosely here) we finally arrived at our village, only to be met by the most amazing singing and dancing from the village elders as they welcomed us from all corners of the globe. We were shown the mud houses where we would stay, the place from which we should draw water and the showers which consisted of a bowl of water (if the well was not dry), some banana leaves and an empty sack!
When night fell, the sky was breath taking. It was as though I could see every individual star as it twinkled in the pitch black sky. When night falls in a place with no electricity, the stars look like diamonds, and you should really not forget your torch. Unfortunately I had, and would spend the next two weeks stumbling around in blackness gaining lots of bruises.
After boiled yams and sugary tea for breakfast we began our first day at work. We were working with the locals to build a dam. The rains in Kenya have failed for the last two years and people are desperate. Everyone is crying for water, with no water there are no crops, no crops means no food, without food there is no life. When the rains eventually came (which they didn’t this year either) we were building a dam to collect the rain water for the villagers. We dug all morning, tools were scarce, the local kids dug with their bare hands, making leaf baskets to use as buckets, the strength of five year olds putting me to shame!
Jeannine, Kenya 2009
Read more about volunteering with our North South Programme >>
My concerns proved to be unfounded as I had a wonderful time with my fellow volunteers and the children at the centre were adorable. I had been told I was going to an orphanage, which was a reasonable description but I found out it was in fact a social centre. Most of the chilren weren't actually orphans, only about 40 of the 500 or so (the centre has previously had up to 1000) live there full time, most return to either their parents or family members who are now responsible for them during the weekend. This doesn't apply to babies, of which there are probably another 40 or so and who have mostly been abandoned.
The reason most of the children are there is due to learning difficulties; some of the kids are deaf/mute so the centre teaches them sign language and education comes through that. They were really bright and beautiful and the only frustration I felt was when my limited sign language meant that we could only communicate a little. Most common question was "what is you name?" and "how old are you?" which we all managed to master answering eventually!
We were split into 3 groups of 3 with a timetable that was set out from the beginning: 8-11am was the first task and then another in the afternoon 2-4.30pm. The job was either taking care of the babies, painting two rooms (a task that we completed during our two weeks) or teaching. This was in some ways the hardest job because of language barrier. We all had a Vietnamese speaker in our group which meant the class was kept busy but I did struggle to feel useful sometimes. We did plan our lessons to a degree which was done equally between the three of us but because I couldn't talk to the children directly I found it a little frustrating. We stuck to basic things, playing games, drawing our countries flags, basic origami and playing with a world map, all of which the children responded well to.
The other children had various mental disabilities and were really sweet and good natured. The obvious Vietnamese language barrier meant only Mai and Huong, the Vietnamese volunteers could really talk to them but they did their best to help the rest of us understand what the children wanted to say. All of the kids mostly just appreciated the attention and affection which we were happy to give them. In the evening when the day was finished we had the option to go into the yard and play with the children which was really fun (if exhausting!).
The babies were adorable and due to no communication problems, being with them was in some ways the easiest job. Usually we just sat cuddling them and sang to them if they cried or fed them from a bottle of watery rice mixture, as milk is too expensive. When I found this out I was a little concerned as I was unsure if it gave the babies sufficient nutrion. The budgest for caring for them is only approximately 400,000 dong a month per baby, which just doesn't go very far. This was a hard fact to swallow but the reality is the babies are being cared for better at the social centre than they would be elsewhere so you have to appreciate the context. This was also hard when I quickly realised that the babies are not provided with nappies, meaning that if you're holding a baby and it pees, that's right, you get wet! This happened to nearly everyone at least once in the two weeks and while having to go and change your trousers is annoying (particularly if you foolishly wore jeans) it's even nastier for the babies; as they are left with extremely red bottoms which looked very painful in most cases.
Once I realised our main job was just make sure the the children had fun I found the project much more satisfying. They really did enjoy the novelty of us being there and they were such a joy to spend time with that we all gained from the experience. I was the only Westerner in the group, everyone else being Vietnamese, Korean or Japanse. I was slightly concerned about this beforehand, wondering if I would be treated as something of an outsider, but all the other volunteers were wonderful and we all got along really well. There were two other volunteers from Germany, Martel and Heshar. They were on a longer term project, several months but they were still friendly and happy to talk to us even though they worked seperately to us and had seen short term volunteers come and go before.
The close friendship I found in such a short time both surprised and delighted me. The language barrier was an issue when some volunteers didn't have fantastic English but it really wasn't a problem, it just meant talking a bit more slowly.
Only Shiwon and I stayed for a few weeks following the completion of the project. Huong let us stay with her which provided a really intersting opportunity seeing how Vietnamese students live. She was a wonderful hostess who cooked for us and took us all over Hanoi on her motorbike to see all the sites. She genuinely couldn't have done more for us and I am forever in her debt. We also went to Sapa with Mai where we spent a night doing homestay with some of the local tribal people and it was lovely to spend some time with her too. I'm still in touch with a lot of the people I volunteered with via facebook and email and I really hope one day we will see each other again.
Katherine Blacklaws, Vietnam March 2009
Read more about volunteering with our North South Programme >>
(In the picture: the volunteers and the members of the local community dancing together)
Ebusiralo, September 2009
Jambo. Welcome to my little review of the Ebusiralo workcamp, which I was fortunate enough to attend last year. The continent was Africa, the country was Kenya and this volunteer was more than a little nervous. However, remembering the maxim ‘be flexible’ I set off on what has been one of the most memorable experiences I have had to date.
Orientation in Nairobi from the Kenya Volunteer Development Association Director advised the gathered volunteers from many European countries and Japan that we would encounter cultural differences but essentially to go with the flow and if an doubt ask. We were also taken to Kibera to meet with the Kibera Youth Reform group. This is a self-started group, formed when the locally feared and armed young gangsters had lost many of their number due to violence. Their decision was to become a force for community support not severance. It is a remarkable story and the experience of Kibera showed those of us who have never experienced dire living conditions the worst we could expect.
Happily for us our project took place against the backdrop of beautiful hills and lush vegetation (despite much of Kenya being in the grip of an extended drought, you may remember the news footage?). However, the reason Western Kenya is relatively lush is that the seasons consist of short rains (about a 30-minute downpour most days) and long rains (which is what it says on the tin!). Don’t be put off by this, generally the rain is a temporary inconvenience, which does not get too much in the way of what you are doing and you learn to live with it. Our accommodation was a concrete house with a tin roof, set in a compound of about 5 other houses and we had access to a large communal rainwater tank.
Our project was about a 50/50 split of international volunteers and Kenyan volunteers. Despite the task essentially being advertised as construction it quickly turned out to be so much more (and far better for it). Remember the maxim? So I found my self one day digging trenches for a new teaching block, the next wheeling hardcore in a wheelbarrow for a mile time after time, the next helping to mix concrete, learning to lay bricks and so on. However, I also spent some time teaching English (being the only native English speaker in the camp) at the local primary school, other volunteers taught maths and science. Language in Kenya is very interesting. With English I did not really have a problem. However, as well as Swahili there are numerous regional dialects, which have commonalties but are not the same. Apparently using Swahili is equivalent to speaking very proper English in the UK, think of the 1940’s films!
(In the picture: volunteers at work)
The project subdivided the group into a series of committees for kitchen, health (cleaning and water), work and entertainment duties. This meant that the members of each committee would have to organise the entire work camp to ensure that the necessary tasks were performed. Undoubtedly the work committee enabled us to achieve the overall goal of the project (don’t expect a plan if you are starting from the beginning of a construction project!). However, the other committees were just as important in ensuring that we could survive (food and water) and had other activities to look forward to.
Having now carried buckets of water for drinking, cooking, washing and construction over what are laughably short distances by Kenyan standards I have a real respect for the value of water. And yes it is possible to have a perfectly good wash in half a litre of water. Our kitchen had no roof, which was ideal for letting out the smoke from the open fires over which we prepared all the meals but not so great at keeping out the rain! Preparing food for almost 30 people with three pans, three knives, some of the biggest wooden spoons I have ever seen (I kid you not, these were 3 foot beasts) and wood which gives off an aroma which had us shedding tears for every meal, is a significant challenge! And yet we did it with so much success that when I got home I felt like a child for the first day, marvelling at running water, gas and an oven. Did I really need those things?
(In the picture: Simon and the wooden spoon)
I quickly realised that the construction was a highly visible but ultimately not necessarily the greatest contribution we could make. It is the people that matter. Our interaction with the primary school, our chats to members of the polytechnic (‘A’ level years in England) and encounters with members of the community, enabled us to share our experiences and learn from one another. Money is not the only currency in the world. The community elders managed to procure an astonishing amount of materials from their community. Personally, I was deeply touched at the enormous kindness shown to me when I was sick in the first week of arrival (not food or water related I should add). Also our relationships with the Kenyan volunteers was (and still is) very important. We did everything together for three weeks and it was fascinating to swap tales of life experiences with them.
As for our leisure time, the entertainment committee did us proud! We visited numerous homes in the community and shared beautiful traditional Kenyan food with them, accompanied by storeys and sometimes music. We visited Lake Victoria, hiked to the equator (as you do) and visited a rain forest. Not bad for a construction project!
I needn’t have been nervous about going to Kenya as a volunteer (if heading out there keep mentioning you are a volunteer, there’s plenty of volunteer rates to be found!). The sheer kindness of people was amazing. Whilst there were challenges and some things could have gone differently I do not remember a day going by when were not laughing about something, it was a genuinely a happy experience. Many people have asked me if I would I do it again? My answer, when can I go?
If anyone wants to get in touch you can contact me by e-mail: simonbonsall@hotmail.com
Happy volunteering!
