NEWSLETTER FOR JULY 2010
After the disappointment of the soccer World Cup in South Africa it was time to head off to Kenya. 

But before I tell you about my adventures in Africa I wanted to thank Craig, Sally and James for all their hard work over the last few months.

Craig for designing the new blog - if you have not seen it yet then go to: http://changingworldsblog.co.uk/

Sally for creating a new group on our Facebook account called ‘I was a Changing Worlds volunteer'. You can access it via the Changing Worlds Facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/changingworlds.gapyears#!/changingworlds.gapyears

James for helping us out in the office for the last four weeks and for providing valuable input in to our marketing strategy for the forthcoming year.

SCHOOL TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITIES
Over the summer we have been invited in to a number of schools as part of their induction day for their new sixth form.

As part of our selection process we have regular interview days. These days are a lot of fun and the news has got back to applicant's school teachers that we might be in a position to help them.

As part of the interview day we run a series of team activities designed to put you in scenarios they may have not been in before.

For example we play a game called Spiders web - you might have played it yourself. Whilst I cannot pretend that you are likely to face a massive spider whilst living and working overseas (although not totally impossible in some of destinations - tee hee!) it is a group activity that requires lots of thought, communication and ultimately physical strength.

This might assimilate a situation that any Changing Worlds participant might face whilst working abroad. For example a volunteer teacher is not going to be able to ‘wing it' in front of sixty plus children in a classroom in Kenya. Lots of thought is required in preparing the classes.

Any demanding placement asks for team play and good communication skills - gaining paid work in a busy hotel in New Zealand means the participant is going to work shifts, needs to be able to talk to hotel guests and to give clear instructions to fellow staff members at the end of the shift.

Our placements in the outback of Australia could not be more physically demanding - the same goes for stud and farming placements in New Zealand - where people working on the station need to be able to jump fences quickly to open heavy gates and to manouvre huge cattle or horses in to the yard.

I am not trying to pretend that the spider's web will fulfil all these areas because it won't in itself - but it is the way that people react to this scenario that is more interesting.

At Changing Worlds we want to identify where your strengths and weaknesses lay - are you up for the spider's web ahead. Some people are and some people are not. We want to make sure that what we offer our applicants is right for them to ensure that they can make the most of the placement.

Teachers in schools recognize this and for this reason have invited Changing Worlds in for their induction days - often working side by side with their new form tutors, teachers can observe how their students interact, who are the leaders, who are the team players, who are the loners? Equally students can get to know one another which is particularly useful where they come in from various feeder schools.

Its fun believe me - tying people up, blind folding them and calling them lots of horrible names - but it has a purpose!

For more information about our Activities days do look at our website at: http://www.changingworlds.co.uk/Content/Teachers/Overview.aspx

Thanks to everyone for helping us out over the last two months - particularly to Tony for organising the activities and to Jeff for building them!

If you are an ex Changing Worlds participant who has been through the spider's web and fancy laughing at others then do not hesitate to contact me for details. We will cover your travel expenses and give you lunch!

KENYA
This was my sixth trip to Kenya in as many years and as always I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Karanja and Mary were great hosts as was Richard the driver.

As usual it is a whistle stop tour and in the first day we did the usual orientation bit which mean't, of course, kissing a giraffe. Arggh!

Then it was off to the Masai Mara game reserve on the Tanzanian border. I have done the trip so many times I feel I know it really well - with the usual stopoffs on the edge of the Rift Valley to take in the great African skies, the towns of Hot Springs and Narok before getting further south to Masai country.

Wow has the highway improved in six years. The Chinese are pushing money and infrastructure at Kenya like there is no tomorrow!

As always Richard proved an excellent guide and we spotted most of the ‘big five' whilst on safari (The leopard much to my disappointment remains elusive!). That said we did see a kill this time around that I had not experienced before - its dramatic enough on the TV - to see it in real life is both shocking and amazing!

After two nights in the Masai we headed back to the placement town of Nakuru.

Before we left the region however we did the touristy bit and went to see the Masai village. I am never totally convinced that these people are as poor as they seem (and I can only say for the village that I visited - I cannot speak for others!). The children do not seem so malnourished, the village seems active and vibrant and the school is well maintained and managed by local staff. The warriors I spoke to were enjoying the soccer World Cup in the bar and the quality of life seems assured. However I think next time we will stop at the village a little further from the road - I fancy I will experience a very different type of ‘manyatta'. I think I was given the Disney version of Masai life.

Three hours and back to Nakuru was a long day but we arrived to meet Karanja and Mary in a bar and watching the soccer (these guys are football mad!).

I caught up with the volunteers we had in Nakuru and all was well with them. Jo took us to a new orphanage she and others had discovered on the bus route out of town.

Don't get me wrong I am sure the children that we met there need all the love and care they can get - however compared to the orphanages we work with within Nakuru this was a palace. The children have lots of interaction and adult company they could ever require and more. After half an hour I had seen enough and wanted to move on. In short we will not be sending volunteers there. There are more needy institutions where volunteers can have much greater impact.

This brings me nicely on to St Ann's orphanage in Nakuru. We have been sending volunteers to this place for the last year yet it was my first visit. I was pleased to meet the director Regina who could not speak too highly of the Changing Worlds volunteers and their input. Charlotte was busying herself with painting the new playroom for the babies and toddlers, Amy had built from nothing a chicken house for the orphanage! Its times like these that make Shirley and I feel very proud.

This went on as we visited a couple of familiar schools in the town. Annie, Rebecca and Amy had built new blackboards for the children in one primary school, Helen had fund raised and funded for new sky lights in another.

I was so humbled by the experience - it was truly fantastic to see the lasting impressions the Changing Worlds volunteers make to their projects. I hope their good work will continue in to the future. I will report back with further developments as they unfold as there is some exciting news coming in for August's news letter.

Then as if by magic the week was over and we were heading back to Nairobi for our return home. Not before however going back to Karanja's village in Kinangop where the reception is always good and the food is the best we experienced in Kenya. Thanks to Mummy and Daddy Karanja for making us feel welcome. Thanks too for Lawrence for showing us the amazing black and white Colobus monkeys that were simply huge!

A great week...and we managed a Tusker or two along the way!

FEEDBACK FROM AROUND THE WORLD
With most participants either on the road or back in the UK (and with me being away as well!) feedback has been relatively scarce this month.

That aside we had two very interesting reports back from two medical placements that I enjoyed reading.

The first came from Ishaan Sen who went to Southern India with us. Ishaan wrote to both myself and Krish his representative saying:
Dear David,
 
Thank you for the email I will keep all that you said in mind. You were a fantastic help to me during preperation for India aqnd helped me out a lot. If anyone else is going to Gremaltes in the future  I will be quite happy to speak to them. Maybe one I will return to Gremaltes and spend more time their or bring my family around. 

Thanks for all your help
 
Ishaan 

Hello Ishaan,

Thanks for your wonderful report that I will show future volunteers going to Gremaltes - I know that it will give them added confidence as their adventure looms.

Krish kept me updated of your health and welfare throughout your placement. I know India would have tested you (as it tests all of us) and particularly at the beginning everything is a complete shock to the system.

However despite the hardships you soldiered on and this is a great credit to you and your family for hanging in there when the going gets tough! Well done to you for making the placement such a success - not only for you but for all the people around you. I hope you will stay in contact with these new found friends in the future. After all life is about the people we meet and share experiences with.

Good luck at Bristol and with your studies. It will seem a relative breeze after India. Never let go of India - she is your friend for life.

Keep in touch.

Regards

David

If you would like to read the report from Ishaan in detail then do access our blog - see the URL address above.

Finally Fiona went to Ghana with us two years ago. She is keen to return (as many volunteers do!). She wrote about her wonderful experiences in Kumasi where clearly she got up to all sorts:

As a registered Children's Nurse the Plan was to work in hospital in Kumasi. Francis asked me several times if I definitely wanted to work in a hospital, after convincing him that I did he placed me in the local hospital in Emena which was a 4min walk from my house.

The hospital was a reasonably big one, it had one ward for 60 people, a pharmacy and outpatient department. It also had a pre/antenatal & HIV clinics. I attended the ward everyday 8am-4pm for over three weeks. During this time I cleaned the ward, made beds and followed ward round which took up to three hours of standing listening to the only doctor talking in Twi to his patients. As I didn't need to go into town I spent a lot of time in the village and didn't get to experience life in town.

I enjoyed my time with the other students at the hospital, I was able to mix with the locals, practice my Twi and see how the hospital / physio department worked. Unfortunately as I was not able to do much else and felt frustrated by my situation.  After discussing this with my fellow volunteers I decided to split my time between the Orphanage and at Charlie's School. This allowed me to spend time in town, engage with other Ghanaian's, the other Volunteers and immerse myself in Ghanaian culture.

I really enjoyed my time at the Schools, the students, teacher, everyone was very welcoming and grateful for anything we could bring to the school. Charlie taught English, computer and netball. Because there were only two computers for 30children it can be very hard to teach as every pupil needed time on the computer. I supervised the pupils while on the computer so Charlie could focus on the theory. The pupils are so keen to learn, we shared stories, food and many memories.

Being able to participate in sports was a real treat. At school the children were taught netball, at the stadium we helped to teach Hockey and Tennis. In return we were allowed free access to the athletics track and stadium. Coach Francis also helped us to secure tickets to Ghana's world cup qualifier match against Benin. The atmosphere in the stadium was unbelievable especially since Ghana won.

I was very unsure about the Orphanage, it had been portrayed as an awful place where the children have nothing, the sisters are very strict and most of the children have disabilities. I understand that you need to prepare volunteers for what they may see there but the volunteers were very anxious before their first visit. It is never easy to see children with disabilities especially those who are orphans.  I really enjoyed my time at both Orphanages, the children were amazing. They didn't complain, everything was a game and lots of fun was had by all.

It is important for discipline to be kept at all times, children thrive on it, unfortunately seeing it first hand in a 3^rd world country where there methods of discipline can be seen as out dated can be distressing.  All of the volunteers visited the orphanage several times a week; we all have different strengths and brought those with us.

There are plenty opportunities to travel around Ghana and there is much to see. I enjoyed Mole, the coast and Accra. I understand why travelling as a group provides safety but sometimes the best adventures are done in small groups.

Francis is a great guy but he can be frustrating, we changed plans to suit him and then he would cancel and change them without warning. I appreciate this is can be the African way but sometimes it felt he was doing it because he could.  This said, he was great company, always approachable and a font of endless knowledge. Not to mention his bargaining skills, that man can barter!

My host family was welcoming, friendly and ready to help at any opportunity. They took the time to shows us the village, the language, local customs and rituals.

Every day the volunteers ate breakfast and dinner together, at first everything was prepared by the housemaid but over time we cooked for each other, we cleaned and hand washed all our clothes.  This slow introduction into the house hold helped us find out feet and slowly gain independence.

Overall I truly enjoyed my time in Ghana: the place, the people, the food, the culture. It was a great experience that I won't ever forget.

I think I will end it there...enjoy your summer!

Regards

David