Testimonials

Tanzania - Megan’s experience volunteering

In October 2009 I spent three months in Arusha, Tanzania, working as a volunteer with Voluntary Projects Overseas. My placement was based at Shika – an after school centre for children. Below I have summarized my experience.

The three months I spent at the After School Centre in Arusha were truly amazing, a part of my life I will always remember. The children are obviously what made this such a fantastic experience. Their huge smiles and big brown eyes inquisitively looking up at you, each one with different expectations. Some eager to learn, some eager to be your friend. An incredible enthusiasm for life, refreshing imaginations when playing with limited resources, small hands entering yours, hands flying up and fingers flicking when the teacher asks a question, girls playing with your hair or wildly skipping, boys concentrating hard whilst playing a game of football, excitement of catching the centre’s dogs as they escape yet again, quietness whilst a large helping of food is gobbled down, tatty uniforms in need of repair, and most strikingly an overall positivity in lives which involve so many challenges. Challenges that children this age should not have to face.

No tears were shed in the three months I was there. Children are encouraged to be tough in order to cope with their lives, often having suffered so much more than children in the U.K. Whether the lack of tears is a good thing is debatable. What is not debatable is the amount of love these kids have to give and how much they need in return.

No two days are the same; however, there is a structure to the day. The children attend the nearby school in the mornings and then come to the centre in the afternoons. It starts with a very large lunch followed by a ‘life skills’ session, this covers a wide variety of topics. Being a counsellor, I was able to teach the children about emotional and social well being, along with whatever I was asked to teach on – spontaneity is vital! It would then be time for tuition; this was either Maths or English. Followed by free play and then an activity. A full packed afternoon involving great variety.

Resources are limited but this certainly does not limit their learning or enjoyment of the centre.

I was there in the lead up to Christmas and a real highlight for me was teaching the children Christmas songs. Their eyes lit up and their excitement was contagious. The singing was at times a little painful (!) but the dance moves were fantastic!

I loved every minute of every day I spent at the centre.

I was also very fortunate to have the most amazing home stay. I was living with a family who made me feel so welcome and I felt completely relaxed and at home with them.

The social life in Arusha is also great and will definitely keep you entertained.

My advice to anyone considering this voluntary placement is definitely to go for it. I would recommend the full three months to gain the most from the experience. Discover where your skills will be most beneficial and really throw yourself into it.

I would do it all again without a second thought, it was a truly incredible experience.

Cambodia - Heather's story

came to Siem Reap for 6 weeks in June not knowing what to expect. On arriving at the orphanage on my first day I felt I had made the right decision. The atmosphere was electric and it was clear it was going to be an excellent 6 weeks. Witnessing firsthand the work that VPO was involved with was such a worthwhile experience.

The children were so happy and fun to be around. Though I was approximately 6,500 miles from home because of the children and the fun to be had, at no point did I feel lonely. Teaching the children was very rewarding and it is definitely an experience that I would recommend to anyone, no matter what age or walk of life they come from. It was truly the experience of a lifetime. Though I have been home 8 months, I still miss the children and staff working at the orphanage and I cannot wait to return one day soon.

Heather Steacy

Bronwyn’s experience building in Cambodia

My decision to be involved in a building project, as a volunteer came purely and simply from my desire to contribute.

I come from a background of built forms, rational structures and construction details; a world where efficiency of resourcing and net-lettable areas are the main focus.
I studied for 6 years in a field where I, quite naively it turns out, fancifully imagined that I could have an influence over my client’s lives through design.
I graduated, got employed, managed to dodge flying and ricocheting bullets during the recession that Australia never quite entered, and found myself wondering what my ‘contribution’ had amounted to. In the two years post-study, I have met and worked with a plethora of developers, engineers, quantity surveyors and cost estimators. I can sadly count the number of clients I have worked with on one hand. Fuelled by this amounting frustration, I conceded that I had to look at other ways to fill the void.

Frank Lloyd Wright put it bluntly. He said there are three things an architect should know: Number one, how to get a commission. Number two, how to get a commission. Number three, how to get a commission. I still like to think I hold a less tainted belief that my training has taught me to want to know more, and experience more. 

I think my first words on site were ‘so is this as stable as all the other houses?’ (slight sarcasm noted). Which of course was greeted with a hut-full (correction, half a hut- the ‘half’ that understood English) of laughs. Of course there were some minor bracing elements which were just being introduced and could be improved upon, but ultimately, as I began to learn, those were minor and trivial. It wasn’t about the construction details, or the structural stability of the houses that mattered, it was the smiles on the family’s faces, and those of fellow villagers, that I would take with me.

The days out in Bos Village, consisted of the volunteers being picked up at 7am from the Guest House, by our three local workers, and their smiles. Regardless of the fact that we were limited in our ability to communicate, their smiles said it all. They took us to the markets on the way, helped us buy fresh produce and welcomed us to have lunch with them, prepared by the mother of the family. When we arrived on site, we greeted the family (eventually in more convincing Khmer as the days went on), and started about the day. Between the varying ages and backgrounds of the volunteers, and levels of experience, everyone got in touch with their ‘sweaty’ self. At first, communication was a challenge, but with time, patience and understanding, it became natural to know what was next. I discovered a new-found appreciation for manual labour, but more specifically for the work ethic of Cambodians. All members of the family and village would help, would teach and would watch as we attempted to do what they could do with their eyes closed.

I have never met a warmer and more genuine group of people, stopping at nothing to make sure you felt welcome. From their humble-ness and grace, its hard to imagine, let alone conceive the tortures of their such recent pasts. I have learnt a lot from my time in Cambodia, beyond words, even and despite its fleeting-ness. I missed the final completion of the house, but look forward to reading the post-occupancy report after the defects liability period has ceased (jokes). I am currently working on gathering ideas for alternate external cladding solutions, through an internal design competition in my office, and am working toward producing working drawings for site (mainly for the volunteers) to help bridge the communication gap.

This time with VPO has been an eye-opening experience, one of appreciation and gratitude, but more importantly one that has convinced me (and brought awareness to others) that when there is inequity, there is something that can be done, and one person’s contributions, can actually make a valuable difference.

Bronwyn Marshall
MArch, BComm, BDesSt, DipMktRch