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on Kenya VSO (Kenya), 31/Jan/2009 18:36, 34 days ago
'the views expressed in this weblog are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of VSO'.HiThis is my first blog posting, so to start off with the exciting news, I will be a volunteer with VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) and have a placement starting in early July as Adaptive Technology Trainer with the Kenya Society for the Blind in Nairobi. At the moment it looks like lasting for eight months.I have stacks of stuff to do like learn some Swahili, pack up my life and try to master the JAWS screen reader software but in quieter moments still end up ask myself 'how the hell did I get here?'.Back last September I was in a job that was going to last until Christmas, amongst other possibilities I started thinking again about VSO. It had always seemed appealing and in my mid-forties there was also the thought that if I do not do this now then I will just find more and more reasons not to go.Fortunately the initial online application form was simpler than when I last thought about applying a couple of years ago, then the chore of filling out every job I have ever had was all the excuse I needed to give up (do not be fooled there are worse forms later on!). I made it through the initial screening and was invited to London for an Assessment Day in November. The Assessment Day was quite relaxed and it was great to meet some other prospective volunteers, I hope that they got through as well.The decision after the Assessment Day took a while to come through and with my sceptical outlook on life I was not placing any bets on which way it would go but it turns out that they want me and took just two weeks to come up with two placement offers, the one in Nairobi or doing IT training in an HIV / Aids clinic in southern Tanzania.On the overnight bus from Scotland down to London I had plenty of time to think and decided on Kenya. As for my job, Community Outreach IT Tutor in Clackmannanshire, my contract was extended until the end of March.