There's no denying it, these bloggers are bound to make you jealous. Whether it's their guts, their energy or their tan you admire, overseas volunteers have got plenty to share with you about their remarkable work in fascinating countries. Read on to find out what you could be missing.

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Friday Jul 28, 2006

Still in the land of the living

It has been a while since I have had both the time and the patience to venture into the world of the Nepali internet cafe with its snail paced connection and dodgy computers. Yet today I have found the good fortune of stu,bling in to a -wait for it- broadband internet cafe in Pokhara! That means it takes only ten minutes for an Email to send, not fifteen!

Pokhara is a tourist-esque city that is located somewhere up in the mountains with a scenic lake and round-faced Tibetans who follow you down the streets trying to sell you their bracelets and necklaces, many of which are made of yak bone or dark wood or old-looking metal objects which you can find in those New Age incense-scented shops in England. It is hard to believe that only a few days ago we were in Hetauda, again a city but one where we only witnessed around two other white people outside our group.
 
In Hetauda you share the streets with goats, chickens, stray dogs, rickshaws, several species of fly that insist on landing on you and bicycles. In Pokhara the streets are illuminated by shop signs and bars and resteraunts with names like "the Santana Cafe" or "the Moondance" making it feel far less adventurous and less genuine than the more primitive town we had previously been staying in.

So about the refuge, I am aware that I previously hadn't written much about the place where our group had been volunteering all those weeks and where we met some incredible people. The refuge is run both by the Esther benjamins Trust and the Nepal Child Welfare Foundation and focusses on rescuing girls from the circus and trying the best they can to educate and prepare the girls to go back in to society and live a normal life. What you are about to read is upsetting.  

When the new girls arrived we saw a collection of faces from different castes and backgrounds and some who I think may have been from India. They were children who had been rescued by some of the most noble and brave men we have ever met (who used to work in the circuses themselves), from conditions that would be considered appauling, even if it were animals kept in their place instead. Yet funnily enough, whilst it is unacceptable to keep a wild animal in an Indian circus families are tricked in to having their children trafficked in to bonded labour with false contracts, designed to deceive some of the most uneducated and vulnerable families in the country.

What follows is a life where the child is beaten in to performing circus tricks, many of which are dangerous and I was informed that some of the children are converted to Christianity so that the ringleaders can take advantage of them further, telling them how God will protect them during their stunts according to another lady who was working there. On top of the severe beatings many of the girls have experienced sexual violence and psychological abuse... Just to make a buck for a greedy ringmaster and his agents.
 
What would startle anybody on meeting these amazing young ladies however is how accomodating and loving they are, despite the cruelty inflicted on them which I always tried not to think about when working with them and on those nights where you lie awake with your mind working like a CD on repeat. Yet they are some of the friendliest and sweetest people I have ever encountered and they delighted in giving both myself and Danni Nepali hairstyles (I was told I look just like a Nepali bride!), painting our nails and our palms with henna so that we might find ourselves a good husband. Despite the language barrier we somehow managed to maintain a good relationship with them and leaving them sadenned us greatly.

Volunteering overseas is harder than I ever thought it would be and whilst you can read several Amnesty International publications on certain topics, or watch Bob Geldoff on television talking about poverty there is no real kick in the jaw than experiencing things with your very own eyes. To me at least I know where I stand now, I know that I want to dedicate my life to human rights and that this is probably the making of me... But at the same time when you see rickshaws driving past or men walking with children you know that there's a possibility that those children could be going to a place where they will be hurt badly. You ask yourself overr and over "what can I do to make things right?" after all how many of these traffickers are convicted and serve a full sentence? The world is a very cruel and unfair place, the papers tell us this every day. Travelling and volunteering in Nepal has made me realise this more than ever. At the same time nobody can inspire you like people who have seen hardship. And the fact that people like those we have met both in Hetauda and Kathmandu exist makes saving the human race worth a shot. 
 
On a lighter note Pokhara is a very welcoming place too, although it is becoming apparent now that a Nepali's penchant for friendliness here seems to flow strongest when he or she is trying to sell you something. It is strange not being the strange white celebrities we appeared to be in Hetauda, but then it is really nice to be able to kick back and relax for a couple of days before an eight hour journey on a rickety bus back to Kathmandu.    Sooooooo... See ya later!

Posted by Selina ( 2:22 PM )
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Wednesday Jul 26, 2006

What's the point of volunteering in your gap year?

So why bother, and what good will it do?

Ever since I found out that you're allowed to take a year off studying I knew it was the thing for me; I've got nothing against education - in fact I quite appreciate it - but around 17 years of it without a break would be a bit much for me.  The idea of volunteering during my gap year appealed to me, because it seems like a good bridge between school and eventually getting a full time grown-up job...

I know that gap years have gained a reputation for being the province of upper middle class kids who, after paying for a trip round the world with daddy's credit card, come back with dreadlocks, refusing to wear anything but tie-dye and going on about how it 'changed their life'. I'm not going to attempt to paint myself as a working class hero but I'd like to emphasise that Project Trust make a point that all money should come from fundraising.  The idea is that the year has to be something you work towards and prepare for yourself, and fundraising also helps spread the word about Project Trust.  All the projects abroad are carefully vetted to make sure that they're beneficial to the community and don't take work away from locals.

The Luderitz journalism project is the only one of its kind run by Project Trust; plus, I'll be one of only 4 PT volunteers in the country. Also, Namibia as a country gets little coverage in the news or press, apart from recently due to a certain celebrity couple (which is not, I would like to quickly add, the reason that I'm going).  It all sounded a bit different and really interesting, so I thought I'd try for the project.

Also, I've never been outside Europe before and there's going to be so many completely new experiences; I'm sure next year will be unforgettable. Getting this kind of experience in journalism before university is a really rare opportunity, and doubtless will be highly useful if I decide to go into it (I'm doing an English Literature degree to keep my options open!). I'm also really looking forward to seeing places like the Sossusvlei dunes, the biggest sand dunes in the world. Me and my partner will get quite a lot of time to travel, and we'll probably get to visit other Project Trust volunteers in Namibia and South Africa, and so see what other projects are like.

I'm not sure how much of a point I've made here but I've said quite a lot, so I'd say it was time to stop typing...

Posted by Lucy Hayes ( 3:29 PM )
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Monday Jul 24, 2006

yet more fundraising!

just getting more good news by the day. Ive got about £800 now, but added to that Ive just been given £700 in random currencies from a friend at college who's dad colleceted it all for me. Apart from that afraid its not any different, working hard in the most boring job in the world...well I'm sure its not, but at the moment it feels like it as I'm not used to full time work.

thats about all...short and sweet!

em

Posted by Emily ( 5:33 PM )
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Wednesday Jul 19, 2006

About me

This is my first entry so here's a bit of an introduction: I'm Lucy, I'm 18 years old, and I've just finished school.  Now the only thing to go back for is results day, which I'm trying my best to forget about! I hope to take an English literature degree after my year out, and so I'm currently engaged in panicking about my university choices.  At least I know that whatever grades I get I'll still have amazing experiences to look forward to next year.

At the end of August I'm leaving to volunteer for a year in Namibia.  I organised my gap year through Project Trust, and from my experiences so far I would highly recommend them to any school leavers finding out about gap year possibilities.  Some of my friends were put off by the prospect of starting uni a year later than most people, but the chance to take a gap year isn't one that's likely to come round twice.  It's something I'm really interested in doing and I'm almost definite that it'll be well worth it.

Project Trust runs a selection course on the small Hebridean Isle of Coll; staying there for a week allows Project to get to know you and decide which project you're suitable for.  It also allows you to meet other potential volunteers in a neutral environment, and decide whether volunteering is really the thing for you.  More importantly, you soon forget that you're being assessed and have a hell of a lot of fun.  You're asked to give your top three preferences of country and type of project, but they make the ultimate decision.  This is really a good idea, as Project have 40 years of experience at placing volunteers and are likely to be the best authority on what kind of people are suitable for which project.  I was lucky enough to be placed at my top choice, I was bouncing off the walls the day I got the letter!

I'm going to be working in the small coastal town of Luderitz in the southwest of Namibia, and the surrounding townships of Benguela and Nautilus. One other volunteer (who I haven't yet met) and myself will be producing the town's monthly English-medium newspaper, the Buchter news.  We'll also be teaching part-time in a local school, and working with Children in the Wilderness, an organisation that arranges camping trips for children from local orphanages.  Part of me can't wait to get there and part of me is more than a little nervous, but I'm sure that after my training course (back on Coll) at the end of July I'll feel a lot more prepared.

This short introduction has become a little longer than planned, so I'll leave it at this!

Posted by Lucy Hayes ( 2:42 PM )
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Sunday Jul 16, 2006

£600 down, £3000 to go!

hi all,

well afraid my entry isnt going to be very exciting....I'm so envious of Selina, reading her blogs, she is living the dream, and good on her! Im doing the boring preperation bit still, and will be for several months. The money countdown continues, now only £3000 to raise and 5 months to do it! Im trying to find a second job, get in some newspapers and on the radio, and think of some crazy things to do to raise money, but all the things I think of arn't possible for several reasons! As you can probably tell I'm getting a bit down-hearted by it all, especially having just returned from holiday, and I keep getting e-mails saying I need to raise more, an.....OH LORDIE...been chatting to 1 of my college mates on MSN while writing this (multi-tasking r us!) He runs a sky-diving company buisness ,but its non-profit and just told me....

"i have a small group doing one in either september or august and they are very persistant that they want to say thankyou in some way, but i don't want them to give me anything because it just feels like i'm taking money that could be going to the charities they support, so we agreed that they would make a donation to your trip because that would make me happy and make them feel like they've said thanks"

He doesnt know how much, and says it may not be much, but it has just really touched me that he even though of it...its suddenly encouaged me, and given me enthusiasm again...wow look at that, a complete mood change in one blog! Like I said, no matter how much it is, the fact that he thought of me without out knowing how much I was strugeling has made a huge difference to me.

Thank-you steve....my much loved friend!

em xx

Posted by Emily ( 5:19 PM )
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Tuesday Jul 11, 2006

In the refuge

I am currently sat on the floor of the refuge, feeling myself falling in love with Nepal. And for the very reasons that I thought would put me off. We share our walls with ants and lizards, the toilets are holes in the ground that you squat over and they don't use toilet paper... Cue your left hand and a bucket of water, charming (they do have western toilets but where's the fun in that?)! hence you eat with your right hand, sat on the floor and hunched over a plate of rice, potatos and curry.

But most of all I am in love with the simplicity of how people live, it is touching.

The young ladies in the refuge are absolutely brilliant, very sweet and appreciative of even the littlest things. Everybody is doing well, I am so happy to have such brilliant friends. This place is amazing and after hearing stories about Maoist uprisings, the persecution of Tibetan refugees and children on the streets it really restores one's faith in the goodness of humankind.

My talented friend and I are currently about to plan what sort of class we can do for the girls who were rescued from Indian circuses. because some of them have been there since they were as young as six they have never had the chance to learn to read and write and certainly not to speak English. They like to draw and the older girls are learning to sew to give them a chance for a career when they are ready to leave. We are working with a Nepali student who is studying in America. She is inspiring.

Ohh yeah and I got attacked by a monkey, but that story is for another day.

Posted by Selina ( 4:05 PM )
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Sunday Jul 09, 2006

Kathmandu's internet cafe sucks!

The last post I wrote seemed to be swallowed up by the prehistoric internet cafe of Nepal. Windows '63... Or whatever version these computers use seems awkward and the internet slow, something which irritates a spoilt Westerner such as myself. And I am sure I just heard a rat squeek!

And so enouh of the complaining. It is hard not to feel guilty doing so in a city where children rummage through rubbish to quench their aching hunger, where women sleep among rats and a clean drink of water is hard to find if you do not have the financial means to do so. In fact the poverty here makes me very sad and I don't mind admitting this to all the people who will come across this blog. It is something I have not yet adjusted to and I have to keep on reminding myself that I have to keep positive. If anything this experience is teaching me more than a thousand books I can read on the subject and makes me more determined to help.

Anyway, I need to go again.

Posted by Selina ( 7:08 AM )
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Friday Jul 07, 2006

another example of America's 'superiority'

Everyone's heard horror stories about the bad things that can happen when you're abroad. Remember Bridget Jones' unfortunate experience in Thailand? I'm almost positive that if you break the law overseas and end up in some scary jail cell Colin Firth will NOT be showing up to save your butt. (But a girl can dream, right?)

If you're unfortunate enough to end up a guest of your host country's police force, remember that you're entitled to contact your consulate for assistance (providing the country has signed the Vienna Convention). Why am I talking about this you might ask? Because I'm in need of a place to rant!

Today I received an email that had an interesting link to an article (received little news here in the States) A few weeks ago the US Supreme Court ruled: (In a 6-3 ruling) that foreigners who have been arrested and are not told they have a right to contact their consulate for assistance may still have evidence gathered by police used against them. Under the Vienna Convention, all signatory states must allow foreigners arrested on their soil to contact their consulate. The United States is a signatory. Under the ruling, if a foreign national is arrested in the U.S. and they are not informed of their right to contact their consulate for assistance, all statements and evidence gathered may still be used against them. The three liberal justices on the Supreme Court opposed the ruling.

As this article goes on to state, other countries will consider this precedent when interpreting treaties they are signatories to. Meaning everybody loses because of a few conservative WASPs in Washington.

I need to rant because a) yet again it shows the hypocrisy currently running rampant in my government; b) as a regular traveler overseas, I worry how this could affect me; c) as a regular overseas traveler, I worry about how this ruling further lowers America's standing in the world; d) I worry about how foreigners are slowly losing their rights in this land of the free; and, finally e) I still can't believe so many people voted for that tw*t from texas!

Sorry. Will now crawl back under my rock and continue waiting patiently to hear from NYC about UK.

Posted by Dana ( 4:30 PM )
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Thursday Jul 06, 2006

We're here!!

As a first time traveller I never really grasped the concept of 'jet-lag', yet right now I am sat in an internet cafe sharing a desk and a slow connection with several small insects and a sticky climate. Kathmandu is beautiful.

I really would like to write more, but my brain is currently re-charing after hours being stuck on aeroplanes, so painfully bored I forced myself  to watch Friends on the flight with some hope of entertainment and to quench that horrible nagging feeling you get when you know you have to wait to be somewhere and all your mates are either too whacked out to irritate or listening to their music quite happily.

Anyway, I shall writer some more as soon as I can because I have never been anywhere, or had an opportunity so worth telling people about!

So yeah... Namaste and I shall update this as soon as I am awake.

And dom says hi".

Posted by Selina ( 2:14 PM )
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Wednesday Jul 05, 2006

Off to Nepal

I'd like to continue by writing about some of my recent experiences which have shaped where I am today.

I had the good fortune to bump in to an amazing young gentleman called Dominic Stevenson around two months ago who has been setting up a charity and who has played a big influence on where I am today. The charity is called 6S and is going to be set up to send students and people who cannot afford to travel around the world to volunteer, I ended up a very happy fundraiser for a brilliant project. Through Dominic I have met some incredible and compassionate individuals who I am delighted to be working with in Nepal (big hugs and kisses to you all!!!), where I was informed I am to be going a week ago having drunk a bottle of wine and eaten my way through a few badly cooked veggie burgers. Something like that is like a punch in the gut, not so much in a negative way but a big shock. Instead of stepping out of your comfort zone you are jumping on top of your comfort zone head first with eight skin heads, kicking the living daylights out of it, dowsing it with petrol, setting it alight and then spit roasting a boar over it. Frightening yes, but wow... Nepal! I cannot wait!!!  

I've never travelled, it was something I always put off doing because of silly little fears which are irrelevent to this piece, but which kept my feet firmly in the United Kingdom, not to mention money issues. Still, I couldn't ask for more brilliant people to be travelling with and I am looking forward to the culture shock, mosquito nets and markets with dyes so pure in colour they could have been plucked straight from a rainbow.   I hope that this introduction gives you all some idea about who I am and what I do. I best appologise in advance for any bad spelling, typo's or inconsistancies in my writing, I am slightly dyspraxic... But working on it! Hope you enjoy what you read.  

Love Selina xx

Posted by Selina ( 12:16 PM )
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Monday Jul 03, 2006

tick tock

Tick tock. I'm watching the clock. Or, more accurately, the calendar as the days slip by. I'm still waiting to hear about my dream position in Essex. I've almost developed an obsession with checking my email and voicemail - I'm trying to be a patient girl but it's getting harder and harder.

Good stuff? Let's see... as I've joined several different volunteer lists and volunteer manager lists, I'm networking well and am beginning to get tips on other possibilities for residential placements in the UK, so at least I don't feel like I'm sitting still. (Keeping the brain otherwise occupied - always a good tactic!)

Anyway. As this week is a short week here in the States due to the holiday (um...Independence Day - sorry for bringing that thorny issue up <grin> news probably won't come this week. I'm off to watch the clock (thank god my library still has proper clocks with hands - I can actually hear a little tick tock when the teenagers are running riot!)

Posted by Dana ( 6:38 PM )
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