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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Sunday Sep 19, 2010

Time flies when you're having fun...

Wow..We've been in Ghana for over two weeks and already completed our volunteering project. The blog updates have clearly been few and far between (rather, non-existant..) despite many reminders from Dave, our Dave Squared Volunteering project leader (sorry! and we miss you!) and this first update comes whilst sitting in a place called Hans Cottage Botel on our third day of travelling. We've decided to do a full update when we get back to England, which shouldn't be difficult considering the many avid journal keepers in our group, but for now... Ghana's just a bit too fun to be sitting online :P

The project in Ho was absolutely incredible. In those two weeks we managed to lead a Women's football team to glory, paint an entire school block and build fantastic relationships with all the staff and children at Mama Viak's preparatory school/orphanage. Painting was a sweaty job and came with many panics of time-is-running-out! However we managed to complete all the painting on time and the sense of achievement for that was fantastic. Mama Viaks was, for me, the best part of the project and will always have a place in my heart, the children were absolutely adorable and Mama Viak was a great inspiration. I am sad to have left and definately hope that I will be able to return again soon. Whilst this is only a very brief overview I have way too much to say and so will definately update when I return to England with the many things Ghana has brought me and taught me.

For now..

Katie (Project Co-Leader)

Posted by Community Action International ( 6:01 PM )
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Thursday Sep 16, 2010

Sew, a needle pulling thread

One of the many concerns with regards to discharging our wheelchair-using patients is whether they will be able to return to employment.  Accessing ‘public transport’ is almost out of the question, and wheeling around the community to the local markets will be extremely difficult given the state of the streets in Port-au-Prince.  

Amazingly, in the last container that was sent from the UK, we received a load of hand-powered sewing machines and fabric, which will be perfect for the patients to take home, to tailor clothes to sell.  Not only that, but whilst interviewing for the Community Based Rehab jobs, we came across a seamstress!

So, as of Thursday, Madame Josline has been employed to teach the patients to tailor, and so far, the classes have been extremely successful.  All the patients are keen to learn a new skill and have attended the 2 hour-long daily sessions.

I was also really pleased that the physio assistants have now started running the exercise classes by themselves.  Another challenge has been that the assistants have tended to use little initiative.  Therefore I was delighted that after the assistants observed how the class can be run, how the patients responded, and being given really clear instructions; they have been successfully leading the classes for the last couple of days.

I will be spending the next ten days in Port-au-Prince, mainly to work at the spinal unit there.  I also hope to visit some of my patients’ homes to assess whether anything can be done to make using a wheelchair easier.  It’s difficult to imagine what the set-up will be when the patients return home, and I don’t think many of the patients know what to expect either having not been in Port-au-Prince since the earthquake, so this should help prepare for as smooth a discharge as possible.

Posted by Hannah ( 3:51 PM )
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Monday Sep 13, 2010

Dancing from the Knee Down

The 26^th March was the beginning of my last weekend in South Africa and me and another volunteer were the remaining duo, because we had been in the house for such a long time we were 'the two originals' and we were determined to make our last weekend the same fun as the first, ten weeks ago when a completely different group of people were bonding over rugby games and mental climbs up mountains.

Going to a reggae night at a small place called The Meeting Room, the only way I can describe the dancing is from the knee down, the place was literally like a house, the lounge had a few couches scattered around and a little area for a stage, the kitchen was just that, with a couple of people giving out drinks and making some food from whatever they had in the cupboards. I'm guessing it wouldn't be found in your typical guide books and was tucked away in Muzenburg which was pretty dead for night life. The band were true rastorvarians c singing reggae music. By the end of the night everyone was dancing – a lot, like me pretty poorly but everyone was having fun with each other even though we had only just met. It was something that I will think of as a one off experience.

On our last night we went to Mama Africa's, it's this quirky restaurant filled with homemade or painted decorations in true African style, it has a huge chandelier made out of cola bottles and everything is totally unique. The bar staff are the happiest and most welcome I have met and the cooking is as the name suggests – Mama Africa's; it is true African cooking. I ate Bobotie, a traditional dish of the country made of sweet curried mince and fruit...verrry nice! The band was made up of acoustic instrumental pieces and a mix of opera singers and funky dancers and it sets the whole theme for the night. After that we managed to get on the list to a club round the corner which was decked out with amazing dancers and our group ended up doing mini dance battles which were a lot of fun (if not slightly embarrassing!) with lots of weird and wonderful people ( one who was imitating a cat)...it was very memorable.

This is going to be my last blog about my time in South Africa, the trip was the scariest thing I have ever done but I am so proud to have seen the country and even prouder to have been a part of those children's lives. Getting back to the reality of life in the UK, a full time job in a supermarket and the internet and tv reality shows wasn't easy to take, but it is much more bearable because I know that my time in South Africa was worthwhile and I learnt so much and had such strange but beautiful experiences with the other volunteers.

I am starting at University in two weeks to study biomedical science, I am not sure what I want to do although I want to work in healthcare and I know that I want travelling to be a big part of my life, and volunteering with it.

Since my trip I have completed a TEFL course to enable me to teach English overseas and hope to visit Vietnam next summer to make use of this and to revisit work with special needs children.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog and hopefully I might blog again on the website.

 

Posted by Natalie ( 1:22 PM )
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Monday Sep 06, 2010

Fun and games

I, along with the physio assistants ran the patients’ first ‘wheelchair skills/sports’ class today.  Although it wasn’t quite as structured as I would have liked it to been(!), it was great to see the patients getting really into it, and they loved competing with one another!  I am aiming for the class to happen once a day, led by the physio assistants.  We will then start incorporating other classes into the day to start giving the patients more of a routine and reason to be in their chairs.  Currently, when the patients have nothing to do they tend to return to bed.  Therefore, by providing them with activities and enjoyable ways to increase their rehab time, their abilities and fitness will improve, and they will be kept occupied!

Here are a few pictures of today’s events!

Posted by Hannah ( 3:04 PM )
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Saturday Sep 04, 2010

First impressions

It is certainly a huge cultural transformation completing the three day journey from England to Haiti.  Flying over the beautiful islands of Bermuda and the Bahamas; reaching the flat and very developed land of Miami; swimming in the crystal clear Caribbean Sea, and salsaing in the bar of an all inclusive hotel all was an enjoyable and fearless adventure.

After being told (once I booked my flight) that the route I had chosen to take: crossing the Dominican Republic/Haiti boarder by land was unsafe, I was not looking forward to the rest of the journey.  Clutching desperately to my bags I caught the two coaches with no problems.  Once on the second coach I even started to find the whole situation quite amusing; wondering how I ended up with the responsibility of yanking open the door to the onboard toilet whist passengers clambered over luggage splayed all over the passageway.  It was unfortunate that there were a lot of older Haitians onboard with the need for very frequent trips to the toilet!

I was met by the warm faces of Reninca and Fiona at the Cap Haitien bus station, shortly followed by the rest of the team who we met at a lovely Haitian restaurant in town: a relaxed lull into a false sense of security of what was to come!

It’s amazing to see such driven and versatile people working at Haiti Hospital Appeal.  There are about 5 or 6 different projects going on at one time, which are all led by Carwyn and Reninca – the couple who head up the charity.  One minute they’re unloading containers of aid and distributing it to Port-au-Prince, the next they’re interviewing for new posts to set up a brand new community-based rehab service.

I’m thriving in helping out with as many aspects as I can get my hands on!  I’ve been invited to lead the training for the new posts: which, as much as the Disability Options Team (for those of you who know) may have given me some skills, will be a real challenge.  These case manager-type roles will need to be taught everything from the basics of what a disability is, and the importance of social inclusion (in a country where those with disabilities are commonly thought of as an act of the devil), to hands-on assessment, advice and education which families of those with disabilities so desperately need.

I completed my first day at the spinal unit today and I am completely astounded by what has already been achieved.  Many patients have gone from having foot-long  grade 4 pressure sores to being completely healed which is nothing short of a miracle.  This means that they are now able to get into their wheelchairs, making them much more independent.  The Haitian physio assistants have been brilliantly trained by staff from ‘Healing Hands’ who are a group of spinal injury specialists who have visited several times throughout the last six months to give training and advice to the permanent staff.

That’s not to say my job doesn’t come without its challenges!  Culturally, the Haitians take illness and disability to mean that they will be dependent on others.  This can be frustrating to observe as a therapist, as you want to empower the patients to lead as normal and independent lives as possible.  Nonetheless, some of the patients are highly motivated: The work they have put into their rehab, and the encouragement and help from their family members really shows.

Working in a unit where you don’t speak the language of either the patients or the staff is a very daunting task, but as the patients have already started mocking my Creole knowledge (or lack thereof), it will only make me more determined to master it!

My third major challenge is coping with the heat.  Those of you that work at RLH – leaving the heating on full blast until May is nothing compared to this!!  The heat seems to affect some patients more than others, but they definitely all seem to cope better than me at the moment.

One final note with regards to the fundraising – amazingly we flew past the target, and have so far raised over £12,500, with money still coming in.  Thank you again to all those who contributed/donated/participated/fundraised.  I will keep you posted on how the money will be used, as there are some exciting plans in the pipeline.

Lots of love

Hannah

Posted by Hannah ( 1:12 PM )
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It's Ghana time...

 

 

Wayzo, encoyna Tom (Hello, my name is Tom - translated into the Ghanaian dialect Ewe)!

So here goes, after 9 months of preparation and fundraising, we are leaving for Ghana this afternoon! And what a 9 months it has been. I applied for this project as a last minute thought and my project was nearly over before it started when I realised I'd handed in my form two days late! Anyway out of nowhere I found myself sitting in front of my computer a few weeks later with a congratulatory email not quite sure what to make of it. Sitting here now with our imminent departure and I couldn't be more glad that to bea part of this International Project, it has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences of my life thanks to the friends I have made and the challenges that have been put in front of us.

 

I'll be honest that I'm feeling pretty nervous about getting out there, making a good impression and proving that I can offer something useful to the community that we are working in. I'm sure these little worries will dissolve as we get settled in but for now the nerves are still lingering! However I couldn't have asked for nine better friends to go with me to Ghana and I know we will have a fantastic three and a half weeks ahead of us and I'm sure that we'll be able to both teach, and learn from, the community in which we will be immersing ourselves for the duration. With any luck we will find a local internet cafe in Ho so watch this space for updates of how the project is going(and possibly of our 10 day travel adventure in Ghana once the project is done) : ]

Akpey (thank you),

GL! Tom

Posted by Community Action International ( 12:01 AM )
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Friday Sep 03, 2010

See you in Ghana!

It is 6am and I am awake. This is unusual... more than unusual... I rarely get up at this time even when I have to be up at this time. I'm pretty sure the reason is that I'M EXCITED! Have I packed everything? What do I still need to buy? Should I pack another tshirt? ... I can't switch off! We leave tomorrow morning, when I actually will have to be awake at this time, and I think the prospect of what we're going to be doing has only just sunk in.

I have been to Africa before - Zambia in 2008 - and it was (to date) the best experience of my life. The cultural 'shock' lasted just over a week for me but I quickly became immersed into the Zambian way of life - even once being asked "Are you Zambian?" after skillfully bartering with a taxi driver :P.. It sounds like such a cliche but there was something about Africa that captured my heart... can't describe it any other way. I absolutely loved relaxing into a way of life that was so different to my own and I anticipate that Ghana will be no different. Whilst I don't want to compare the experiences, I know that the initial cultural 'shock' is likely to be the same, and I know that it will make me feel apprehensive, however I also know that I will absolutely love every second of experiencing a culture so far removed from what would be the norm in my day-to-day life.

I can't wait to begin the projects... I work in childcare and feel so passionate about giving children the best start in life. The projects aim to bring education, but also friendship. It has been our team's responsibility to create 'lesson plans' and whilst these are not set in stone, we have considered them with education at the heart. However, I believe that friendship and mutual understanding are just as important - we don't aim to 'westernise' the children's education, or enter into the projects with any assumptions about the 'right' way to do things, I hope to learn just as much as I teach, and I'm sure I will...

It has been a long 9 months.. from my interview, to planning fundraising, to doing fundraising, to planning lessons, to packing... but I have loved every second (although much of this love is rediscovered after periods of incredible stress!). Being part of Community Action has been the best thing I have done at University so far and I would recommend joining to anyone! The support we have recieved from Dave Squared has been amazing... it has been great to get to know 'the Daves' before we embark upon our trip and the level personal correspondance and dedication from them us has been a comofort and a reassurance.

24 hours and counting... see you all in Ghana!

Katie (Project Co-leader)

Posted by Community Action International ( 6:48 AM )
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