The view of the mountains from our office.

The typical day of a YCI volunteer in Morogoro starts around 6 or 7AM when the roosters rise and shine. Breakfast is served shortly after, and it’s not uncommon to eat at different times since everyone in the house usually has something different planned for the day.

After breakfast, if we have a meeting planned, we take the daladala (bus) to town or meet our program manager at the office on the way. The daladala is quite a funny experience, almost like sardines packed into a can. Everyone really gets to know each other, and you can feel the sense of community when someone is basically sitting on your lap. The meetings are not usually very long, and don’t ever really start on time. It’s not uncommon for scheduled meetings to change at the last-minute, as the culture here is very easy-going. The meetings consist of a lot of introductions and translation from Swahili to English and vice versa, but it’s interesting to try to guess what everyone is saying, and it’s all a part of the learning experience.

Depending on when the meetings end, we usually grab lunch in town or at home. Today we went to Ricky’s Café in town near the Faraja head office. They serve Western food like burgers and pizza, and have some other tasty options as well. If we go home for lunch, it’s usually served around 12:30-1:00PM and is very delicious Tanzanian food like ugali or pilau, with a side of fresh fruit. When we have the time to go home for lunch, we try to as much as possible.

Ricky's, our favorite stop for a quick bite to eat!

After lunch we make our way back to the office either by foot or on the daladala, and start planning our upcoming workshops and training sessions. Today we worked on getting tests and activities ready for our session with the Girls Club in Chamwino tomorrow. It’s nice to have our own space to work that’s quiet, with an accessible printer and some fans!

We usually walk home from the office after work, and sometimes do some quick shopping for fruits and veggies along the way. Having a few hours before dinner to relax and hang out with our host family is a great way to get to know each other. Dinner is served around 7:00PM, and is followed by either a quiet evening watching the Tanzanian news or playing cards. Since you tend to wake up pretty early, it’s pretty common to want to go to bed around 9:00PM, which still gives you plenty of time to spend with your host family or your fellow volunteers after dinner.

-Angela Nicholls, Youth Ambassador, Tanzania 2011

Angela is currently on project in Morogoro, Tanzania. The team arrived in Tanzania in mid-January and will be on project until mid-March. For more information on what the Tanzania teams have been up to, please check out the Tanzania category for more posts.

-Angela Mak, Youth Ambassador, Guyana 2011

This photo essay was created by Angela upon her return to Canada. She spent 5 weeks in Guyana this past summer. YCI is currently recruiting a volunteer team for Guyana departing in July. For more information on what the Guyana teams have been up to, please check out the Guyana category for more posts. 

Val at a lookout point in the hills above Port-au-Prince during a project planning trip to Haiti

In the fall of 2008, I volunteered with Youth Challenge International (YCI) on a ten week project in Ghana. My time in Ghana with YCI helped me to fulfill the internship requirements for my postgraduate International Project Management diploma. As a volunteer in Ghana, I helped to write a gender policy manual for YMCA Ghana; I also worked with youth and implemented workshops on subjects such as gender awareness, good citizenship, and HIV/AIDS awareness.

The experiences that stick with me the most from my trip to Ghana are my lunchtime discussions with youth workshop participants. It was most interesting to learn their opinions about the workshop, about YCI, and what they thought was needed to implement a successful workshop and a successful project. They would ask me about what I was doing in Ghana and what my motivations were for doing it. They wanted to know how my volunteer work and YCI’s work would benefit them in the long run. Through these conversations, I learned that youth in Ghana have a vision for their country, and they deeply desire to participate in achieving it.

It is now three and a half years later, and I feel that my experience in Ghana has prepared me well for my current position in Research and Project Development at the Foundation for International Development Assistance (FIDA). FIDA is an organization that works with rural farmers in Haiti to help them improve their own lives and improve food security through agriculture, literacy, and cooperative training. I began volunteering with FIDA just one month before the earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, and was hired on soon after. My job allows me to do amazing things like writing proposals for new projects, monitoring and coordinating projects in Haiti, and managing the organization’s social media channels. I have had the opportunity to experience Haiti in both an emergency environment and in its very slow but steady recovery.

One of the things that I love most about working with FIDA is their truly participatory approach. This is an organization that understands the desire of Haitians to be heard and to be engaged. In a time when many world leaders are calling for greater participation of Haitians in their own development, FIDA is leading the way. We don’t improve the lives of beneficiaries; we partner with them so they can improve their own lives. This requires us to acknowledge poor Haitian farmers for what they can do, and to listen to what they have to say. This is a lesson that I first learned from those youth workshop participants in Ghana. Now I am part of helping to spread that lesson throughout Haiti. It is now two years after the Haiti earthquake, and through FIDA, I have the opportunity to contribute to rural Haitian farmers improving their own lives and helping the country to feed itself again.

For more information on FIDA, check out our website, Facebook or Twitter by clicking through the links.

-Val Busch, Youth Ambassador, Ghana 2008 

One of the many fantastic views in Guyana

It has actually arrived. In all my travels, I have always found that the strangest thing was the actual arrival of the time to leave on the trip that I’ve spent so long planning. I was accepted as a YCI volunteer in early August, spent the whole fall fundraising, left Canada early to visit my family in Trinidad, and now the time to leave for Guyana draws near.

I spent my last couple of weeks in Canada shopping for this trip (personal gear, workshop and teaching supplies, house supplies) – the dollar store became my new best friend! I also discovered  that some government departments have free documents that you can order from them. For example, I got food guides and nutrition posters from Health Canada. My idea is to use them in a health related workshop, so hopefully we have one 

As I spend the last few days relaxing before I gallivant over to South America, many thoughts have been harassing my poor brain. So, what do I think volunteering in Guyana will be like? Well, it certainly won’t be a walk through a manicured city park, that’s for sure.  I expect lots of difficulties and a huge need for patience.  I also do not expect to see long term impacts of our contributions but that will just be a lesson in learning to appreciate daily “in the moment” things and achievements. I also think that “adaptation” will be the Sesame Street word of the day, everyday: adapt to heat/humidity, adapt to giant spiders and fish with teeth, adapt to a new culture, adapt to living with three virtual strangers, adapt to being the centre of attention, etc. As an introvert, many of those adaptations will be hard but there are ways to keep my sanity (for example, I will have to find a tree to hide under for some quiet solo time). Another thing that I think will require adaptation is that privacy will be MIA for those three months!!

There are many other things that I expect from this experience. They range from developing the skill to create educational yet engaging workshops to becoming proficient at river bathing. I also expect to learn leadership skills, how to make a yummy paratha, to further develop my photography skills, and to learn how to hand wash laundry in a river.

But in the end, I think it is important to approach overseas volunteering with an open mind and little expectations. Have goals, yes, but keep them a little flexible! I fully expect to learn some of the things I mentioned but also some things that I haven’t even thought of right now! As for fears, my only fear right now is that I’m not sure I brought enough memory cards for my camera.. Seriously. The world may as well end if I run out of memory cards…

-Kendra Seignoret, Youth Ambassador, Guyana 2012

Kendra is a Youth Ambassador who will be arriving in Guyana this Monday. She will be maintaining her blog as best as possible in the field. One of her fundraising initiatives has been to sell her photography online as greeting cards, which you can check out at www.traveltrunkphotography.com .  For more information on what the Guyana teams have been up to, please check out the Guyana category for more posts. 

Stonetown street activity

I traveled as a volunteer to Zanzibar in January of 2007 and stayed on as a YCI program assistant until April 2008.  Sometimes my life in Tanzania feels like a strange dream I had and at other points the memories are so sharp it feels like I might wake up there tomorrow.  It has been almost four years (!!!) since I came home from Tanzania and my reflections on the experience shift frequently.  I feel like I have more questions about international development than before I left, I wonder and worry about the best models for empowerment, and I struggle with my disconnect from the youth centre where I spent so much time.  The experience has, however, defined how I live my life in Canada and strengthened me into someone with much more direction than before.

First of all, I returned with a drive to further my education.  We are so blessed in Canada to have such amazing access to learning and I had not internalized that before traveling to Tanzania.  Realizing this propelled me into choosing teaching as a career. The confidence I had gained in Tanzania definitely helped me succeed in the U.B.C. teacher education program.  I now work as a learning assistance teacher and French teacher and have just started my masters in early literacy, with a focus on multicultural education.  I am committed to working with new Canadians, as I remember how scary and isolating it could be in Zanzibar when I couldn’t communicate my wants and needs or showcase my strengths due to language barriers.

Second, I was so moved by the fierce loyalty and sense of community amongst the people I worked with in Zanzibar.  The combination of seeing extended families (which seemed to include cousins, neighbours, friends etc.) support one another through life and my own homesickness made me so much more appreciative of the amazing people in my life.  I am grateful every day for my family and friends, in a way I wasn’t before I left.  Also, my Canadian friends that I volunteered and worked with in Zanzibar are so dear and important to me and are a constant source of inspiration in my life.

While my life for the past four years has been very rooted and settled in Vancouver, I know I am building a new skill set to return to international development in some way.  I am vice president of the B.C. council for the International Reading Association and I hope to connect that work to global literacy projects in the future.  My most prominent goal is to address the inequalities in education for girls and women.

I miss Zanzibar sunsets, sugar cane juice, and the amazing soup our landlady “Big Mama” sold outside her home.  I will never forget the colour of the Indian Ocean under a full moon or watching kids dance at our weekly talent nights.  I miss it, but I missed being home more.  I am so happy to have lived that life and I know I will go back in some capacity in the future.

-Kate Spence, YCI Youth Ambassador and IYIP Alumni, Tanzania 2007.

Want to learn what other YCI alumni are up to? Check out our blog’s Alumni Update category.

Sagal Abdulle

What does your job at YCI involve?

As a Program Coordinator at YCI, I support the growth and sustainability of some great projects. I get to work with really great people while facilitating opportunities for young people to engage in international volunteer and internship opportunities.

How did you get involved with YCI?

I became involved with YCI in 2005 as a Volunteer in Costa Rica. As a YCI program volunteer, I had the opportunity to live with and learn from some really wonderful people. This experience played a great role in cultivating my continued interest in youth development. I will always remember this experience but my fondest memory is of the incredible mayonnaise my group leader made for us, this was by far the best mayonnaise I have ever had! I kid you not!

What motivates you?

I am motivated by humanity!

What issue concerns you most?

I am most concerned about issues of youth marginalization and disengagement both locally and globally. I am inspired by the resilience of youth and believe that an informed, empowered and more understanding youth population will lead to a more peaceful world! I am also deeply invested in issues of conflict and peacebuilding and seek to contribute to fostering understanding amongst individuals in conflict situations.

What else do you do?

I like to sing and dance and usually draw the attention of innocent bystanders who become my unintentional audience! I also enjoy reading, learning and am a devoted fan of both the NFL and NBA.

The first is only accessible by clicking on this link: Lisa D’Alimonte’s Zanzibar Experience

-Lisa returned from her internship earlier this month after having worked as a governance Officer in Zanzibar

-Amanda Armstrong, IYIP Intern Guyana, 2011

-Pam Bruce , IYIP Intern Tanzania, 2006

-Jessica Nkongolo, IYIP Intern Tanzania, 2007 

I chose a project in Guyana, focusing on literacy and HIV/AIDS education, and left soon after.  We spent 5 weeks in Aranaputa, a tiny village beautifully situated in the Rupunumi plains, where we were warmly welcomed.  We began working with both the Primary School and Nursery School and discovered that though the children were anxious to learn, the resources available were woefully inadequate.  We were shocked to discover that even some of the oldest children in the school, in Grade 6, struggled with basic letter identification.  We began running after-school sessions for each grade level, and were incredibly touched by the excitement and enthusiasm the children showed for learning.  It was incredibly rewarding to see the progress that they made throughout our time there, and how they thrived under the extra attention and guidance.

Jenn and her 6th Grade remedial literacy class.

I have so many other treasured experiences from my time in Guyana. I was amazed and inspired by the friendliness of the local people, who plied us with traditional local beverages at night and dropped off bags of mangoes, starfruit, and peanuts for us in the mornings.  Leading workshops in Aranaputa and the surrounding communities helped me gain confidence and experience as a public speaker and facilitator. Clearing a hiking path with machetes in 30+ degree weather through dense jungle in support of a new tourism initiative by the community helped me find a level of perseverance I didn’t know I had.  But most of all, I will never forget the kids who never wanted their classes to end and were so excited by the prospect of an education.  It shames me now to think of how boring school was to me at age 11 or 12, and I now have first-hand experience with how absolutely vital early childhood education is. It is almost one year ago today we were preparing to leave the little red-roofed community centre that had been, for a short while, home.  My time with YCI in Guyana inspired me to be creative and think of ways to combine my passion for music with volunteerism; I don’t want to have to choose between the two.  This summer, I helped out with a children’s choir doing a humanitarian tour, combining volunteer work with performances, in South Africa (http://www.cbc.ca/sask/features/singafrica/).  For me, it was a culmination of the things which inspire me most; development work, traveling, and music, and the strong cultural connections which all of these things help people make.  Realizing this has been a crucial first step in learning more about myself and what I want to accomplish in my life.

The IYIP Program is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES). YES provides Canadian post-secondary graduates (aged 19-30) with the tools and experience they need to launch successful careers both at home in Canada and abroad.

The objectives of the International Youth Internship Program are:
• To provide eligible youth with international experience, skills and knowledge that will prepare them for future employment in a knowledge-based economy;
• To increase employment opportunities by promoting awareness among Canadian organizations of the advantages of integrating young Canadian professionals into their structures and programs;
• To provide opportunities for Canadians to increase their awareness, deepen their understanding and engage in international development;
• To contribute to the advancement of CIDA’s mandate (reducing poverty, promoting human rights and increased sustainable development) and to meeting CIDA’s priorities for Official Development Assistance.

Interns must meet the following requirements in order to be eligible for CIDA support:
• The intern must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• The intern must be a post-secondary graduate
• The intern must be currently out of school
• The intern must be between the ages of 19 and 30
• The intern must be currently unemployed or underemployed
• The intern must be legally entitled to work in Canada
• All interns must contribute to YCI’s public engagement efforts throughout their placement and upon their return home

To read more about the current eight internship opportunities, click on the links below:

Ghana: Communications Officer

Ghana: Gender Advisor

Guyana: Women’s Entrepreneurship Project Officer

Nicaragua: Environment Project Officer

Tanzania: Faraja Health Outreach Officer

Tanzania: Umoja Education Officer

Tanzania: ZANGOC Health Policy Officer

Uganda: Governance Project Officer

Application Deadline: January 2, 2012

No phone calls accepted about the position but email inquiries can be sent to generalinfo@yci.org