Why?!
on Jana Gana Mana (India), 30/Sep/2010 18:57, 34 days ago
That's the million dollar question everyone is asking.....as if we could explain our motivations in a few simple words. So, with my first blog post will I attempt to explain all.Well, we wanted to travel, to have a big adventure, take some time out and away together, to challenge ourselves and, most importantly, make a difference to the lives of people living in developing countries.....those Millenium Development Goals aren't going to fix themselves! We knew we wanted to volunteer for an NGO where there was an opportunity to have a sustainable local impact, and I wanted to be supported by a reputable organisation - and as Katie's dad had volunteered for VSO, (http://www.vso.org.uk/about/) or Voluntary Services Overseas, in the 1960s it seemed an obvious choice.VSO has a strategic alliance with the UK’s Department for International Development and work in over 40 countries, sending volunteers to share their skills rather than money. All placements with VSO are fully funded and each country has its own programme office supporting volunteers.We applied to VSO earlier this year and then attended an assessment day in London consisting of group exercises and a personal interview. We were then accepted - however, then came what we felt was going to be the difficult part......we both wanted to be active volunteers (as opposed to one of us being active and the other just going merely as a partner) which meant VSO needing to be successful in finding two placements with different skill sets in the same place in the world. Katie's skills were always going to be in demand. But me? An ex deli boy/amateur politician? Hmmm. However, the day then came when we had a call to say that VSO had matched both of our skills to a placement in India, and once the partner organisations in Delhi had approved our CVs, the preparations for our year overseas began.That meant leaving my "job", a role I love, and for Katie, taking a sabbatical...and suddenly planning for how we would 'close down' our lives in the UK for 12 months.All VSO volunteers also attend 7 days of pre-departure training at a residential centre near Birmingham where we talk about our motives for volunteering, expectations, learn skills, receive health advice and get a chance to network with volunteers being sent to opposite parts of the globe.And then countdown to our November departure began.........