Merry Christmas!

Christmas isn't as big of a deal in Kenya as it is in North America. Many people keep their shops open and there are very, very few decorations. I've seen a tree and a santa in a mall in Nairobi but that is it. In my town there is absolutely no sign that it is Christmas.

But not being people to give up easily, several of the volunteers have gotten together to celebrate at one of the volunteer's apartments in Nairobi. We decorated our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree with bracelets, key chains, and earrings and it actually looks quite festive :) We went to the big Nakumat and got all kinds of special foods (cheese, wine, asparagus, salad lettuce, etc) and made a delicious dinner. Our host even has a toaster oven so she made us brownies! This is a real treat as none of us have ovens.

We did a white elephant give exchange and I went first, got a great present...and got to keep it! I don't know if the volunteers are too nice or didn't really understand the cutthroat concept of a Koening white elephant exchange. Oh well :)

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Nyambuni

Karibu nyambuni! Welcome to my home! I live in this small apartment complex. It is very posh by Gatura standards and my exact apartment houses a family of 5 next door so I feel a bit excessive but I didn't pick it so I'll just be happy I have such a nice place. Most of the homes I've been to in town are simply one room with no kitchen or bathroom and they can house a family of 6-8 so as you look at the photos you'll realize how snazzy mine is.



We start with my very secure metal front door with padlock. Everyone has this type of door and I must admit that it feels very secure. You enter directly into the living room where I have a full set of hand-made furniture. The chairs look comfy but when you sit you can definitely tell you are sitting on a wood chair. Apparently padding is not a big priority here because all the furniture I've sat on here is the same.

I spend a lot of time in here using the computer, reading, doing ultimate abs, listening to my neighbor's music/conversations, etc.




Next door is the kitchen where I prepare all my food from scratch. The water doesn't work in the kitchen sink that is why there is a camping water container on the counter. You'll also notice my lovely water filter that I use to filter all my water (after boiling it, of course). And then my little baby stove in the corner. This is another luxury as it is gas and most people here use a stove about this size that burns wood. Actually, they first burn the wood to make charcoals and then burn those in the stove. A lot of work...and a lot of trees.


And then the bathroom. The water works in here from time to time. There is no apparent schedule and I've been up to 2 weeks with no water so I always keep 2 jerry cans full of water just in case. If I need to do laundry or just go through them before the water comes back on a boy on a bicycle rides my empty cans down to the river and brings them back full. I'm still amazed he can do this as his bicycle looks like it's from the 20's and the river is at the bottom of a huge hill.


The water may not work all the time, it may be ice cold when it does work, and my aim may need a bit of work, but I'm thrilled to even have a bathroom as so many people here just have a hole outside. I'm still not totally clear on how they bathe but I'm envisioning some sort of sponge bath since there is no drain even to let the water run into.




And finally the bedroom! I made the mistake of buying a cheap mattress so the bed is like sleeping on a wood board but that was my bad. I'm considering buying a new mattress (they are actually just foam rolls like what you might use for camping) and doubling up to save my tailbone :)

Well, this is my home for 6 months and I love it!

Shaft

Everything is so interesting around here I don't even know where to start. I'm taking requests on blog topics so just let me know what you want to hear about and I'll write about it. For today I think I'll write about work since several people have asked questions.

I have been very busy sifting through all the handwritten documents that have been kept since the organization began in 2003. Our chairperson didn't throw anything away so there was a lot to go through but I think we finally finished today. I'm so happy my employer is wiling to throw things away because now we have a manageable amount of documentation and are no longer drowning in paperwork! We were able to establish exactly what the organization does, who it serves, and what we need to do.

Of course we don't just sit around doing paperwork all the time... last week we conducted a workshop for our members as part of our project with the National Aids Control Council and we got excellent feedback from the participants. I usually attend only part of our workshops because when I am there they speak in English. I've found that they revert to Kikuyu as soon as I leave and participation is much better because everyone can speak Kikuyu and not everyone is comfortable speaking English so I try to limit my attendance when possible. Since the workshops are typcially 2-3 days long I sit in for an hour each day and it is always interesting :)

We had a fantastic facilitator for the last workshop but Francis also did a session on STDs. Kenyans have 2 official languages: Kiswahili and English. They are also fluent in their tribal language so most know a minimum of 3 languages quite well. This is great except that they tend to mix languages and change from one to another several times in one sentence. Since I understand English, a little Swahili, and no Kikuyu I'll hear: "Unafunya blah blah shaft of the penis blah blah kidogo kidogo." It's quite amusing. During that talk a lizard also fell from the ceiling and almost landed on Francis's head while he was speaking. I spent the rest of the session monitoring the lizard's movements to make sure it didn't try to crawl into my lap. On the last day I gave a presentation on volunteerism which went over very well.

Twiga na Tembo

Water, Toilets, Refrigerators

Thanks to all who answered my survey! I was wondering if anyone was really checking the blog so now I know at least 17 of you are :) Our clear winner was running water and on that note, my water randomly started working on Monday! I had gotten pretty used to not having it so now I feel like I'm living in the lap of luxury. Although the water in the kitchen only lasted for 2 days and is now mysteriously not working, I still have water in the bathroom! This is very convenient for washing hands, flushing the toilet, and you might think bathing but the water is straight from a mountain river and is ice cold so I'm still on the 2-3 times/week shower schedule.

As much as I appreciate having water I've decided what I miss the most is a refrigerator. Just imagine life with no cheese, no ice cream, and no leftovers. Since I have to make every meal from scratch it is a big pain that I can't make a large dish and eat it for 2 or 3 meals. I guess this choice should come as no surprise as I think most of you know food is more important to me than hygiene :)

*If you have written a comment I have responded so be sure to check the comments section.

Giraffe Sanctuary

I had to go to Nairobi last weekend for a Saturday meeting with other volunteers. The meeting itself was a bit dull but seeing the other volunteers was fabulous! We went out to dinner and I ate cheese and ice cream...other things too but those were the highlights for me as they comprise 2 of my major food groups back home and are both unavailable in Gatura.

Since you are not supposed to travel after dark we all stayed over Saturday night and had all Sunday to entertain ourselves. Having been in Kenya 3 weeks at that point I was itching to see some animals so we went to the Giraffe Sanctuary and the Elephant Orphanage. Both are just outside of town and the Giraffe Sanctuary is at the base of the Ngong Hills (Out of Africa).

The giraffes were beautiful and we were allowed to feed them which was interesting. I think Mark and Andrea will remember from their trip to Phoenix that they are quite slimy :) They had 7 giraffes in the sanctuary and they are all Rothschild giraffes (there are 3 types in Kenya: Rothschild, Reticulated, and Masai). This type of giraffe is endangered so they breed them here and then release them into the wild. The park is big but we got lucky and were able to see 6 of the 7 and 3 of them of close.

An added bonus were all the random animals actually living wild in the area. We saw baboons and a whole family of warthogs. Warthogs are ugly but so much fun to watch because of the way they shuffle around with their front legs bent so their mouths can reach the ground.


Elephant Orphanage

From there we went to the Elephant Orphanage where they rescue and rehabilitate baby elephants before reintroducing them into the wild. Most of these elephants are orphans whose mothers were killed by poachers. Visitors are only allowed in the park during one hour of the day and it is feeding time so we got to see quite a few and even touch one. Even the babies are hairy and look like dinosaurs...but so cute in their own way!

Fun Facts:

• A giraffe can kill a lion by kicking it. We got to hold a femur bone and it is HEAVY!
• Giraffes only sleep a total of 30 minutes a day.
• Giraffes are most liking to be killed by a predator while drinking because they have to stand with their legs spread to get their faces to the water.
• Giraffes are pregnant for 15 months and can hold the baby up to 3 additional months if the environment isn't hospitable to babies.
• Elephants are continually losing and replacing teeth. When they get very old their teeth don't grow back in anymore and they die of starvation.
• Elephants can "hear" with there trunks and feet by detecting very small vibrations when placed on the ground. Their sight is terrible.
• An elephant's temporal lobes (which are associated with memory) are more developed and have more foldage than humans' lobes so their memories are much better than ours.

White Girls in the Sun

Rebecca-London, Me, Frances-Ireland, Lizzie-London

Drug Deal

Last Friday we were in charge of organizing a medical camp with Children’s Fund International. This camp was target orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS. Children are considered AIDS orphans if one or both of their parents have died of AIDS. Many of these children are HIV positive themselves as a result of mother to child transmission.

This was a follow-up camp to capture two sites they were not able to service during the last camp due to an overwhelming turnout of 321 children. Turnout was much smaller this time but it was still a great opportunity for me to see how these operations are carried out.

Francis and I spent the morning driving around the countryside mobilizing our mobilizers to mobilize the orphans J It was a beautiful day for driving but we were met with unprepared mobilizers who hadn’t completely done their job of notifying OVCs and following up to ensure they would show up because the tea is ready to be harvested now and they’ve been busy in the fields picking tea by hand.

Because many of these people don’t have phones and have to walk great distances it is much more labor intensive to spread the word than sending out a mass e-mail like I wish we could do. We ended up trying to contact some OVCs ourselves but were met with the longest, steepest hill I have ever seen and taxed our motorbike beyond capacity with 3 passengers. Yes, three passengers. The Kenyan concept of personal space is much smaller than the requisite 6 inches North Americans require. I always end up in the middle since Francis is driving and we pick people up as we go. No one uses the gas going downhill here (I’m not sure if they’re conserving gas or the hills are too steep) so when we go downhill we smash right together and I quickly become intimate with the stranger we have just picked up.

After dusting ourselves off and fixing the motorbike we gave up on finding children and headed to the site where we met up with the team from CFI. They bring a doctor and several staff to distribute medicine. Prior to their arrival children are seen by the school nurse and have their list of prescriptions ready. As you can see drugs are handed out off the top of a truck and then someone explains to the children how and when to take them. Most come with some sort of caregiver so that is helpful but some do not.

As you can see from the photos these kids are adorable. I know they look a little pathetic in the pictures but that is because they were quite serious about having their photos taken. If only I had a second camera to capture them squealing with laughter as they all crowded around my digital camera to see themselves on screen!

The Office

The office is a very small space but we are hoping to expand very shortly. It is located about 2 blocks from my apartment so a very easy commute! A lot happens in this little room...The organizational planning, financing, meetings, drop-ins, and some counseling all happen in here. At all times there are 2-4 people working in the office but it often houses up to 8 people both providing and receiving services.


You may notice several computers in the photo but only one actually works...but it has no Internet so it is difficult to research funding. There is also a printer but there is no toner and they can't afford to replace it so we have to take anything we want to print or copy somewhere to pay and have it done so most records are handwritten. This will be a bit of a hurdle as far as efficiency goes but I have some ideas percolating.

As you can probably see from the photos this is an organizer's dream. I feel like there is a lot I can do for this organization in terms of organizational development and have been working quite hard to get some systems in place that will increase productivity (and accountability)...and in turn, funding. I'll keep you all posted as I start working on specific projects but for the next few weeks I'll be sorting through the piles of handwritten financial documents and receipts and training someone on how to track our finances more effectively.

Thanksgiving

On this day of appreciation I'd like to remind everyone of some basic modern conveniences most of us take for granted. Please respond to my poll in the right hand column of the screen. Before I came to Kenya I thought I knew my answer to this question but after living without all three for a few weeks I've come to realize my priorities are slightly different than I had thought...Originally I thought the toilet would be top on my list but I think the refrigerator has proven itself to be the most valuable appliance for me. I'm interested to hear what everyone else thinks!

15% of the world lives without running water

25% of the world lives with no fridge



42% of the world lives without flushing toilets

Correction! Erin's Address in Kenya

I have had several requests for my address so here it is:

Gatanga Kiiga Home Based Care
Attn: Erin Bresnan
PO Box 34
Gatura via Thika, Central Province, 1013
KENYA

I hope this means I'll be getting some mail! I have no idea how long it takes but I've been told if you are sending anything other than a letter it should be marked "educational materials" if possible on the customs form to ensure it actually reaches me.

Also, my phone number is 0728913067.

Fame!

I have finally arrived in Gatura! After a slight delay due to lack of housing I moved into my new home on Monday. I have been given the Kikuyu name of Wanjiko so I hear this everywhere I go. EVERYONE wants to say hi. I feel like a bit of a movie star and I don't think there is any chance of me ever doing anything unnoticed around here.

Because I'm the first white person to ever live in the village, and probably one of the only to visit as well, my presence has caused quite a stir. The day I first arrived 2 co-workers took me to lunch at the local restaurant. Before we walked in they said that we would give this man a lot of business. At first I didn't understand what they meant. When we walked in the place was completely empty. Within 5 minutes it was a full house of people just casually wandering in for a cup of tea or a little snack, and maybe to sneak a quick peek at the white lady.

The little kids really get a kick out of me and they all react one of two ways when they see me. They either stare like their eyes will pop out of their heads or they get all excited and yell to their friends, "Come see the mzungu!" Several of the pre-schoolers hung around outside my window singing a welcome song the other day. They are so cute but I'm hoping the novelty wears off at some point.

Shop Till You Drop

On Monday the driver from our sponsoring NGO gave me a ride from Nairobi to Thika where we met up with my employer. Thika is the last real town before Gatura so we had to go shopping for household items there. A more inappropriate group of people for this type of excursion there couldn't be. I had no idea what I would need, Francis didn't seem well versed on the particulars of household affairs and was convinced everything was way too expensive, and the driver was convinced I could get everything cheaper in Nairobi and was determined to find a good deal for me in some seedy back alley shop. Needless to say I am still without several key items but the driver did manage to score me a good deal on some curtains from a very shady second hand alley shack and I got most of the essentials like a mattress (really just a big foamy wrapped in material) and some dishes.

Home Sweet Home

Gatura looks to me like the beginning of an old west town with one main street full of rather ramshackle looking shops surrounded by a few homes and a lot of countryside. It is the last town on the tarmac before the road turns to dirt. This is the low rainy season so it is very green and the hills make for a beautiful landscape. The main crops in the area are tea and coffee but many people also have vegetable gardens. My house is on the outskirts of the main drag only a block from the office. My new home is very nice and even has an indoor bathroom...but I don't have any water yet so that has been a bit of a challenge. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is but there has been talk of it being fixed by the weekend. I am still getting settled in but will post photos once I get everything set up.

I have been very busy all week with a community building workshop, a regional AIDS conference, and a few meetings so I haven't actually spent much time in my new job itself yet but I have been getting to know the people I will work with and they are all extremely nice and have been so welcoming. They are all volunteers and one is my next door neighbor. They take turns helping me with whatever I need and they even walk me to the bus stop. I'm assuming this royal treatment will stop after a week or so but it has been a wonderful way to get settled in.

Status Check

My bee sting has started shrinking back to a 3 inch diameter after spreading to my elbow. Past the elbow was my cutoff point for seeking medical advice so I'm glad it decided to retreat. On the downside Francis (my boss) has typhoid fever but it doesn't seem to be slowing him down at all. He just takes his 8 tablets a day, sweats it out, and keeps on truckin!

Orientation in Nairobi

My New Boss

The big excitement since I last posted has been meeting our employers. They arrived on Wednesday and we have spent the past 3 days together. My employer is Francis. He is an incredible community organizer who can mobilize his entire community with a few calls from his cell phone. He started the organization in 2003 after seeing a need in his community to provide support to people living with HIV/AIDS and orphans of HIV/AIDS. He has gradually added volunteers to the organization and it now has 18 members. He is also a sustenance farmer and has a wife and baby so he is a very busy man! He is always ready to laugh and tells me that we will die soon enough so there is no need to spend time with worry :) I like his attitude and look forward to working with him.

Francis also informed me that because many of the people I will be working with are rural and illiterate, not only will I need to know Swahili but I will need to learn Kikuyu as well! I felt a bit overwhelmed by this at first but then I found another volunteer will need to know these 2 plus sign language...

Nairobi

One afternoon we took the bus into town. Nairobi downtown has several parts to it and I don't quite have my bearings yet so I'll have to write in more detail when I visit for the weekend sometime. I can say that the traffic is absolutely insane. I wasn't able to discern any type of lanes, crosswalks, or traffic rules of any type. I saw a few stoplights but almost all of them were out of order and no one seemed to pay attention to the ones that were working. I'm sure there must be some sort of system but I'll definitely need a lot more time to figure it out.

Last night we received our standard issue water filters and mosquito nets from VSO along with a demonstration on how to use them. Some of us are based in Nairobi and some in extremely rural areas but everyone will need to boil AND filter their water. I guess all of us volunteers will be picking up a new hobby :)

My Next Adventure

Tomorrow I leave for my new home in Gatura. I am very excited to see where I'll be living for the next 6 months and will write again soon after I arrive to let you know what it's like. But for this post I will wrap up my time in Nairobi which I have very much enjoyed. Our training was useful but I think the most valuable aspect of this week has been meeting and getting to know the other volunteers as many of us will be working together to share skills and resources on our different projects.

Status Check

I am doing well and feeling great other than a nasty bee sting that is starting to take over my right bicep. Fortunately all the other volunteers remembered to bring Benadryl so I've just drugged myself up and should be ready to experience Gatura tomorrow morning.

Swahili Lessons

Hamjambo! Jina langu ni Erin na ninasikia vizuri. Mimi ni mjitoleaji wa VSO na ninatoka nchi ya Canada.

Translation: Hello! My name is Erin and I am well. I am a VSO volunteer and I'm from Canada.

Not exactly eloquent but it will do for now. I just hope no one wants to move into any conversations deeper than what kind of meat they like, how many children they have, or what neighborhood they live in.

I have just finished 2 days of VERY intense language training. My teacher is nice and very quick to laugh which I love. She calls this a crash crash course in Kiswahili. I think Anne(ESL teacher) would have a lot to say about the methodology as there was no apparent order to the lessons and we covered irregular verbs before we even learned how to pronounce the vowels. But we did learn a decent amount for only 2 days.

*****

There are 16 volunteers in our group and we are from the Philippines-5, the Netherlands-1, Ireland-1, England-3, Uganda-3, Ghana-1, USA-1, and Canada-1. Everyone else is staying 1-2 years and we’ll be placed all over Kenya. We should all be able to stay in touch quite well and are hoping to get together for Christmas. A rumor has been circulating that we get a decent amount of vacation at Christmas but we’ll see if that is actually true.

We have been very busy with classes so we haven’t had time to go more than a few blocks from the hotel. We have classes in Nairobi all week but only 1 more day of language class so we may have a little more free time to explore after that. I’ll write again when we get a chance to see the city.

I’ve found a Kenyan dance off show on tv and I’m loving it (with the excuse that I’m practising my Swahili of course).

Kwaheri!

(Goodbye)

Culture Note:

One thing I had been told about Africa is that you really notice that people don’t think of paper as disposable like North Americans do. My teacher seems to be absolutely terrified of wasting paper and only uses one flipchart paper per day. The result is an absolute mess of words and phrases written just large enough to read jammed into one small space. Towards the end of the days she is squeezing words wherever she can find random space so if you look down at your notes for a few seconds and don’t see where she is writing you’ll never find how to spell that word. Definitely more challenging to learn this way. I'll certainly appreciate paper more from now on!

Departure Date

I have a departure date! I'll be leaving from Vancouver on November 4...only 10 more days! We packed my bags today and they are full of malaria medicine, vaccination cards, and sunblock.

I'll arrive in Nairobi on November 6 and stay there for a week of training before heading out to my post. I'm not sure what my placement will be like but I'm posting the links to a few videos of other Kenya volunteers under the Volunteer section in the right hand column so you can get a sense of the type of work volunteers are doing there.

If you want a postcard be sure to send me your street address and I'll see what I can do!

Big News

Dear Family and Friends,

So last most of you heard from me I was probably sitting around in Vancouver waiting for my permanent residency to come through so I could get a job. Well during those pleasant and leisurely 8 months while I was waiting for my legal status, I applied to a non-profit organization that accepts both US and Canadian citizens...perfect for me since I'm kind of both/neither. Then, after months of patiently waiting for something to happen, things started happening very quickly.

Timeline

• About a month ago I found out I was accepted to the volunteer organization.
  
• A few days later I received an offer for a position in Kenya.
  
• Later that same week my permanent residency arrived in the mail.
  
• The very next day I left for Ottawa to do 2 weeks of training for the volunteer position.
  
• Later that same week I sit here writing to all of you...
• to let you know that I'm leaving in 1 month (November 1st?)...
• to spend 6 months in Kenya.

Everyone probably thinks I'm a little crazy to be leaving Canada 1 month after I finally got my permanent residency, but there never seems to be a great time to leave family and friends for 6 months so I'm just going with it. My friend JoAnn tells me my life is very serendipitous so I hope this opportunity is part of that serendipitous path.

I am very excited to start this next short but powerful chapter in my life. I'm sad to be leaving Stephen behind for so long but he is very supportive and has been encouraging me throughout the entire application and training process. I feel lucky to be with someone so willing to take the risks necessary to help each other realize our true potential both as individuals and as a couple.

I also feel badly for my poor mother who will have one daughter in Afghanistan and one daughter in Kenya (fortunately the good sons are still in the Midwest). Please be kind to Stephen and Rita while I'm gone. They need your support!

I've created 2 blog posts with more info. One describes the organization I'll be working for and the job I'll be doing and the other provides some info on the volunteer organization that coordinated this entire experience. Please let me know if there is anything you want to know more about. I've included safety info in the side bar for the worriers in the group and additional info on Kenya and the AIDS epidemic for the researchers.

I probably won't be able to write many personal e-mails during this time but please bookmark my blog so you can check in and see what I'm up to and be sure to post comments or write me e-mails so I know what you are up to.

Cheers,

Erin

The Nitty Gritty

My new official job title is Organizational Development Advisor for Gatanga Kiiga Home-Based Care. So now you probably have two questions: what is Gatanga Kiiga Home-Based Care and what exactly does an organizational development advisor do? I don't have a ton of information on either just yet but I'll do my best to give you as good of an idea as I have about what I'll be doing. I also put a bit at the end on what my living situation might be like.

The Organization
Gatanga Kiiga Home-Based Care is a community based organization under the Ministry of Youth Affairs located near Kariara Location chief's camp in Gatura, Gatanga (between Nairobi and Mt. Kenya). The organization has 18 members and utilitizes a number of local volunteers.

GKHBC Main Objectives

• To train home-based care givers of People Living with HIV/AIDS and Orphans and Vulnerable Children.
• Care for the People Living with HIV/AIDS.
• Establish sustainable community projects.
  

Kenya has been showing a decline in HIV infection rates recently but still has a population of over 2.5 million people living with HIV or AIDS. 220,000 of these are children under 15 and there is a growing orphan population to care for. The Kenyan HIV infection ratio is 1.9 women for every man.

The Job
The purpose of my temporary position is to build the organizational capacity of the GKHBHC by strengthening its long-term planning, organizational systems, structures and processes for delivering programs. It is a growing organization and is seeking better planning for its activities as well as for its sustainability. It is also seeking to involve more men in the program as the burden of care has always been heaviest among women.

The following are my roles and responsibilities:

• Working with the board to develop clear communication and responsibilities within the organization.
• Undertaking a long-term planning process with Gatanga staff and board members and key local stakeholders.
• Promoting the long-term plan and GKHBC capabilities to new 'customers' as well as new potential funding partners.
• Supporting the organization to produce good quality reports on work carried out and results achieved against the planned activities.
• Strengthening systems for enabling GKHBC to have a sustainable resource mobilization plan in place to support its activities.
• Ensuring financial management and accountability mechanisms are developed and acted on/used.
  

Reading between the lines I would guess this is a fabulous organization that grew too fast and is having trouble with sustainability. I hope that I can be of some help so this service can continue for many years into the future.

The Home
I don't know much about my new living situation at all. I am told that it is "rural" but I will be near the market. I will have electricity and running water but an outdoor toilet. I am supposed to be in a private dwelling. However, I have been told that living arrangements can be very different from the description once you arrive sometimes so I am not expecting much.

I do not know how much access I will have to the Internet and since I'm the first and only volunteer in this particular area I guess I will have to wait to find out when I get there. I'll let you know the best way to contact me but I'm assuming e-mail will be the way to go.

CUSO-VSO

The Organization

Several of you have asked questions about the non-profit organization that is sending me to Kenya. CUSO-VSO is simply the North American arm of VSO (Volunteer Services Overseas). It has only recently opened up to Americans so that may be why many of you haven't heard of it before.

I chose VSO for several reasons but mostly because I really like their approach to development as it focuses on capacity building and sustainability. For example, rather than sending a volunteer to teach students they send a volunteer with an advanced degree and years of experience to teach the teachers how to teach the students more effectively. In this way they are not just sharing knowledge but building the capacity of the schools to teach students and hopefully creating a sustainable body of knowledge that will keep on giving after that volunteer is gone.

Here is a clip from their website:

Our volunteers work on long-term, sustainable solutions. CUSO-VSO is not an emergency aid agency. As a member of VSO International, we work with developing world organizations and governments to identify areas of greatest need, and then collaboratively develop strategic volunteer positions. We place volunteers from both the developed and developing world.

The Volunteers

VSO recruits volunteers from all over including Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Also, they cover all reasonable volunteer expenses including plan tickets, living expenses, and vaccinations. If you would like to make a donation to help cover these costs for my placement please go to their website.

VSO has been a really great organization to work with and I have been impressed with the amount of screening and training each volunteer receives. So far I would highly recommend the organization as a group to volunteer with and/or donate to. If anyone is thinking about doing some international volunteering please check out their website and ask me any questions you have.

That said, it is not easy to get into. They take only 200 or so people from North America each year and they are looking for people who already have degrees and professional experience and who will adapt quickly to new cultures. The screening process is extensive and you have to get through several stages and they get progressively more and more competitive. I had to submit an online application, then I had a phone interview, then I was invited to attend an assessment day in Vancouver, then I was accepted as a volunteer!

After that you go to two separate 4-day weekend training sessions in Ottawa. One shortly after you are accepted and one shortly before you leave. Since my placement came up 2 days after I was accepted I had to do these trainings back to back and that's why I was in Ottawa for 2 weeks last month. Once I get to Kenya I'll have some in-country training in Nairobi so by the time I finally get there I should be decently prepared...other than knowing Swahili well.