Just got back from round two: P2V (Preparing to Volunteer). Again, full-on, but this time, instead of being the only one in the group to be a first-timer, I was the only one who'd been there before. This is the course most people do first, whether they've got their placements or not. There were quite a few people who had applied and were waiting to be offered placements.
Very different to the Training Skills course. Felt slightly slower and more methodical, plus a much larger group. There were about 17 of us, and no small group work split like last time. It was presented in nice bite-sized chunks rather than all one subject. It didn't get as hyper and comical as last time, partly because of the content of the course and partly due to the personalities of the participants and trainers, I guess.
Feel well and truly institutionalised now, though. All I ever seem to do there is eat! Three square meals a day, including pudding. Heavy food and early dinner around 6pm, whereas I'm used to eating around 8/9pm. But it's free, what can you do!?
Arrived a little disorganised as I thought it was the other course, the longer five-day one, but it wasn't. Took the laptop for entertainment, which I didn't really need. However, I did get my own room this time, and the most luxurious showers in comparison to last time. I was in The Retreat, part of the extension, on the top floor (#29). Gorgeous showers :op Hope I get it again for the next round. Did make a difference having my own room. Didn't feel so bad staying at the bar or pottering around in the mornings.
So, Friday night began with a brief introduction to the course and the facilities, then adjourned to the bar. Again, some lovely people there, especially Michela, an Italian volunteer with the most gorgeous dreadlocks I've ever seen in my life! She'd already worked in Kenya, and said they'd helped her fit in really well there and brought the prices down to the local rate, but she does have quite dark features anyway so I don't think it'd have the same effect for a white Brit. Also made friends with Maria, a business woman from London, and we ended up playing Chisanga and Paul (two of the trainers) at pool. We beat them at doubles, which was a serious mistake because Chisanga spent the next day enacting revenge upon us - choosing us for extra reading and volunteering tasks. Pants ;)
Last time I knew Tom, the Banker, from my interview. This time no one from that course was there, but I'd met Chisanga last time. He wasn't teaching the Training Skills course, but he spent a bit of time in the bar and we'd had a few drinks together then with Kari, a Finnish IT volunteer.
The first night was a late one and much pool was played and beer consumed. Amazingly, I felt quite chirpy the next morning after a shower and breakfast. Just as well with 12 hours of training ahead. The first half of the day was spent exploring issues such as 'defining development and disadvantage', 'power and development' and 'aid, trade and debt' - all about how world banking works, how disadvantage becomes a cycle that's hard to break, and how power and corruption come into it.
After lunch, we played a really brilliant game called The Trade Game. It was fantastic, really drove home a point. I was part of a two-person Thailand. It was frustrating as hell. The bank kept closing just as we got there, our products were 'sub-standard', but if we got the UK to bank them for us they were perfectly acceptable! We never had enough to purchase the basic production equipment we needed, so ended up selling off all our resources for whatever we could get. We were slipping further and further into debt, yet we were still better off in the end than Tanzania!
We then went on to explore the effects of globalisation on developing countries: how development effects the environment differently in the North and South. We also had a two hour session on HIV and AIDS, which was really sobering. One of the things that was most concerning was that some communities are resistant to the use of condoms because they are suspicious that it's part of a white tactic to reduce the population. In colonial times, Africans were discouraged from having large families because the colonists wanted less black people around. It was not all doom and gloom though, as some countries like Uganda (which borders Rwanda) have managed to turn the rate of infection around and are starting to win the battle through education programmes. We were also taught that it is the role of all VSO volunteers, whatever their job description, to play an active part in HIV/AIDS education whilst on placement, either through talking to people we meet or joining local community projects.
I decided to look after myself that night and went to bed early. There was another course on and the bar was packed, but I was also utterly shattered by that point. I hit the hay by 10:30. I also figured out that if I had a shower before bed, I could have a slightly longer lie-in the next morning.
Although I slept longer, I actually woke feeling more tired! It was a reverse of the day before, where I woke up perky but felt shattered by the afternoon. This time I felt tired in the morning, but picked up in the afternoon and found I could concentrate better. We started by explored cultural issues: 'power and empowerment', our role as volunteers, VSO's expectations of us, and what VSO's goals for development are.
The after-dinner session was particularly useful. It covered relationships whilst on placement, and raised some seriously interesting questions which we explored with drama techniques. VSO are really open about this subject, and promote healthcare (obviously the HIV/AIDS epidemic is a major concern) and emotional and cultural good-practice. There were some case studies from previous volunteers, and a video, which was all interesting stuff. The racial aspect is very interesting as white people (men and women) do tend to receive a lot of attention because they are seen as wealthy and liberal. This made it very hard for a number of volunteers who did like someone, because they were constantly suspicious - unsure whether the person they liked really did like them back or was just attracted by the prospect of material goods or a visa to the UK, which apparently is not uncommon. So, it was good to have a think and discuss these issues.
Today we rounded-off by exploring the things that make us tick. The things we think we'll have trouble managing without, the things that are important to us, and how we will deal with our own expectations if they are not met. We also had a talk from the Funding Team about ways to help raise money and awareness, which was slightly too much for some of us to get our heads around by that point. Especially for those of us leaving soon, with so much to think about! In case anyone would like to contribute, though (and I will be updating this soon) you can donate here.
So, yes, another session down, and a glossy 415 page Good Health Guide to take away :)
Oh, and that book I mentioned in the first HH session - the one with the paintings - was Making Sense, A Rwandan Story. It's beautiful, so go buy it! :)
It was all starting to feel a bit real anyway, but I got home to find my departure date had arrived! I had a sixth sense it was about to. I even checked my e-mail at Harborne Hall in case. An hour before I got home Heather, my pre-departure co-ordinator, had e-mailed it.
They want me in Rwanda for 4th November, to join the second half of in-country training, so should fly 3rd. Bit sooner than I was expecting! Thought maybe mid-November, but that's cool. I'm leaving a bit later than most of the Rwanda volunteers because of my MA, hence I'll miss the first half of the training, but I'm sure I'll catch up to speed.
So :)
Eeeeep! What the hell am I doing!?! lol Hehehe. Blah! Weeeee....pop. 8*S
And breathe....
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