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While YCI hasn’t exactly been active in our blogging pursuits over the last six months, our volunteers have been more than making up for it by writing about their own journeys with YCI across the globe. (And let’s face it–reading about our partner’s work in Tanzania is probably far more interesting than reading about our Toronto office’s favourite lunch spots.)
Check out Trip to Africa, today’s featured YCI blog, to learn more about our programming in Tanzania!
“The final time we met, he asked us “Is there anywhere around here to get tested for HIV/AIDS? I have not been tested for a very long time, and it is important that everyone get tested every few months.” We told him our partner organization conducted tests, so we went with him and his friend to the center to get tested; the results for both, thankfully, were negative. It goes to show that the message here is spreading, and that people are not only aware of HIV/AIDS, but that people know that there is somewhere for them to go for help. . .”
This is my third month with YCI as the new International Programs Director and my first blog. After living away from Canada for the past four years and skipping the last four winters, its been great to be back in Toronto. The transition has been relatively seamless and I’ve really enjoyed being back.
Prior to working with YCI I spent time in Chad, Sierra Leone, Angola, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and Palestine, as well as York, England for a graduate degree in Post-war Reconstruction. I’ve been managing diverse programs in the field from health and education to de-mining, which has provided a great foundation in programming and management and will hopefully mean I’ll be well-placed to take on this new challenge here at YCI.
The past two months have been a steep learning curve. Leaning about YCI programs in East and West Africa as well as Central and South America, meeting staff and volunteers, participating in a strategic overview and budget design for the coming financial year have meant a busy and thorough induction. YCI has a long tradition of volunteer engagement, strong partner support and youth focused programming and the coming year will see a renewed commitment in how YCI views programming and how we can ensure maximum impact within the communities we work.
The IPD position includes oversight of staff in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda for our CIDA funded program as well as collaboration with out Alliance partners in South and Central America and the Group Leaders who facilitate volunteer groups. There is also a focus on financial management, reporting to donors and working on the quality and expansion of YCIs programs.
Next month I head back to the ‘Continent’ for a five-week trip to Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Uganda. An opportunity to see our programs up-close, meet our local partners and volunteers and assess the possibility of expanding YCI programs into Uganda. This will be the first time I’ve traveled as a visitor compared to being a field staff and have a lot to condense into a short time.
Ghana and Tanzania are new countries for me so I look forward, as always, to seeing a new place. I traveled briefly in Uganda and spent a lot of time in Kenya traveling back and forth from South Sudan and this will be my first time back after a long hiatus, and with four countries in five weeks, I’ll have lots of time in airports, on the road and back in the field. I can’t wait.
- Steve Cumming, International Programs Director
It’s Monday morning at about 8:30am. I’ve just rolled into the YCI office on my blades with my backpack full and heavy, containing a large box of granola bars and a whole lot of apples. There is still about an hour and a half before the 18 volunteers arrive to start their week of training prior to their departure to either Tanzania, Ghana or Ethiopia. I rush about making sure everything’s in order – brochures ready, apples washed, dishes clean, laptop and projector ready to go and then I plug in my iPod to some speakers to make the whole atmosphere just a little more inviting. Finally, I sit down with my cup of green tea and I wait.
As usual, I’m feeling a little nervous about meeting everyone in person and hoping they all enjoy themselves and feel more prepared. A lot of careful planning has gone into this week, starting almost a month ago arranging accommodations and billeting, looking for guest speakers and re-vamping some of the sessions with colleagues. And then I think about how the volunteers must be feeling; it might be their first time in Toronto. Or it might be their first time traveling for this long and they could have some pretty serious pre-travel jitters. It’s also their first time meeting their team—the folks they’ll be living and working with for the next eight or ten weeks. They are definitely way more nervous than I am.
As soon as Katie and then Quinten arrive, I start to relax. I know things are going to go well when all 18 volunteers are on-time and ready to start just after 10 a.m. The week is packed full of activities and while I’m not facilitating each session, it’s like I’m the MC for the event. The stress still gets to me even after coordinating more than 12 pre-departure training sessions similar to this one.
On Monday after meeting our Executive Director, Bryan, a session on YCI history, risk management and staying healthy, the afternoon is like a circus show and the office is transformed. The volunteers split into four groups that take over different parts of the office. The Ethiopia group meet in my office for a conference call with Redmond from Ottawa, just back in August from his project, and an in-person meeting with Laura who went to Ethiopia a year ago. The Zanzibar group is on the couch talking with Justina, while the groups traveling to Morogoro and to Ghana meet with Davian and Heywon, respectively at different tables in our main space. Meeting alumni is almost always the favourite session during pre-departure for volunteers—all their last-minute questions are answered and many of their anxieties quelled. It’s been a really long day and everyone’s been really enthusiastic and energetic despite jet lag and first day jitters.
The rest of the week goes really smoothly with guest speakers arriving on time and everyone actively participating. Emanuel came in to talk about HIV/AIDS, which included inevitable giggles as a few condoms are passed around the room. Two guest speakers came from the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation and openly shared their very personal stories about living with HIV. I’ve had the privilege of attending lots of PWAF speaks and during this particular speak, I was personally blown away and really moved by the way one of the speakers made his presentation – through a theatrical story-telling approach that had us all listening so attentively you could definitely hear a pin drop!
One of the highlights of the week was a workshop on teaching literacy and English as a foreign language in a social justice framework. Elizabeth and Jeff brought their personal expertise from Korea, Nepal, Bangladesh and beyond and activated the group through a series of games and activities. Talk about energy in the room! Oh… and maybe just a bit too much noise as we engaged in role plays, musicals and a bit of stomping. So much so that our neighbour from downstairs came for a visit to lodge a noise complaint. That was definitely a first for any pre-departure training session I’ve been a part of!
The week continued with sessions on gender, youth development and an afternoon dedicated to planning and facilitating workshops. The volunteers participating in the CIDA-funded Tanzania and Ghana projects also spent a couple of days with Kelly from the Centre for Intercultural Learning. This two-day session focused on intercultural effectiveness, where everyone spent time with a guest speaker from the host country where they would be traveling, to ask any question that they could think of. The volunteers going to Ethiopia spent their last day with Jessica and I exploring the concepts of culture shock and cultural adaptation. We were also lucky to be joined by Lula from the Ethiopian Association of Ontario, learning a bit of Amharic and more about Ethiopian culture.
Another highlight of the week was the chaos of the end-of-pre-departure YCI packing party! Packages had been arriving from family and friends for overseas field staff in the weeks leading up to pre-departure. Past participants had been sending in gifts for people they met on project. Field staff had made different requests for items such as books and disposable cameras, as well as informational resources for programming. The piles in my office and spilling over to Jane’s office are pretty huge and all of it has to go! Random suitcases found on the street or collected from secondhand stores with slightly odd smells and colourful interiors litter the storeroom. The volunteers also arrived with lots of donated items for programming purposes. With some creative approaches to packing, we managed to get everything ready with almost everyone traveling with an extra bag full of “stuff” for the field. Cooperation at its best! Hopefully everything makes it in one piece and to the intended location and recipient.
All in all, it really was a successful week. We all got to know each other better and I’m so excited for everything the volunteers will experience while they’re overseas. I truly appreciate how much of themselves everyone gave to the week to stay engaged and learn despite their overwhelming sense of “come on already, let me on that plane!” And that’s where we usually say goodbye – at the airport. There we were in terminal three near the KLM check-in kiosks. Just picture it – 15 volunteers with two bags each (still re-packing stuff!) plus all their carry-on, and me handing out evaluation forms, making sure baggage tags are properly filled out, and seeing everyone check-in before that final hug.
The volunteers travelling to Tanzania and Ghana ready to go at the airport! That
It’s always hard to say goodbye to each group, especially because I’m not getting on the plane with them! But I am grateful and appreciative to hear all about their experiences, see their fantastic photos and how their contributions on project make change over time. Pre-departure training, while being probably one of the most stressful parts of my job as a Volunteer Program Manager at YCI, is also so rewarding. It’s the culmination of all of our hard work – volunteers and staff at YCI – getting to that point. It’s a pleasure to meet them in person and contribute to their learning before their overseas journey begins. I wish them all the best on project.
With the fall Africa country program pre-departure sessions over and the projects currently in action, it’s time to step up all the preparations for winter departures already!
The group en route to Ethiopia! This photo was posted by Olivier on his travel blog.
-Amanda Stephens, Volunteer Programs Manager
I have always enjoyed volunteering, which I suppose is why I went to Tanzania with YCI in the first place. I find that there is an honesty, humility and energy when you are volunteering that is not present in the rest of our every day lives. Unfortunately, since I’ve been working in the office here for the past two years, I’ve found it much more difficult to volunteer than I did when I was a student. I give a lot of respect to people who have full time jobs and volunteer on a regular basis, because it can be tough to stay active. So, when I got the idea to plan a trip down to New Orleans to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity I was very excited to spend some quality time working as a volunteer again.
I took off for two and a half weeks and drove with my boyfriend all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico and back again, leaving time to take in sights of the ‘great American south’ along the way. I was surprised to experience culture shock on the trip that reminded me of times when I’ve been overseas. I was reminded that North America is a huge continent with lots of differences in culture and history to experience.
Some of the road trip highlights included activities like swamp touring in Louisiana, chili tasting in West Virginia and line-dancing lessons in Tennessee. We visited historic sites like the birthplace, assassination site and tomb of Martin Luther King jr., and learned about the history of American music by strolling Beale Street in Memphis, the ‘Honky-Tonk Highway’ in Nashville, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
Once in New Orleans, we spent 4 days on site with HFH working on new builds in the Lower Ninth Ward. We had the honour of meeting one of the homeowners-to-be and getting to know the local community in the area. We experienced the learning, motivation and inspiration that are common when volunteering in a new environment. We heard stories of loss and devastation and saw for ourselves the astonishing lack of progress rebuilding the ward that was hit hardest by the Katrina floodwaters. Only a small percentage of pre-Katrina residents in the lower ninth have returned to their homes. Many are still waiting for insurance money or other finances to come through and many more have given up entirely and have relocated to other states where they will start again.
Beyond the poverty and controversy that has been plaguing New Orleans since 2005, I found that there is still hope. I really enjoyed taking part in the productive and important work HFH is doing in the Gulf of Mexico. I was encouraged by the people I met and to see that some small steps have been made. My time painting, hammering and insulating on the build has refreshed my spirit and enthusiasm to be engaged and work to make a difference. Now that I am back in Canada I plan on continuing my volunteer commitment by working with HFH in Toronto and taking part in other activities in the Toronto area as I am able.
As we head into fall, I will be stepping down from my role of Volunteer Coordinator at YCI so that I can pursue a master’s degree. I’ve been accepted into Ryerson’s Public Policy and Administration program and will be focusing on my studies for the next year – but I will still be around the YCI office and volunteering with the Volunteer Action Network and the youth engagement program.
I want to say thank you to all the volunteers who I have connected with over the last couple years – it is your spirit and hard work that keeps YCI moving forward. I have confidence this will continue for many years to come.
-Laura Gourley, Volunteer Programs Coordinator
