7 Years Later: Was my Volunteering work with VSO Worth?

When I resigned from my job at the National Council of Churches of  Kenya (NCCK) in 2005 to pursue international volunteering with the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in the Philippines, many of my friends thought I had made a terrible mistake. 

I was a young professional with a promising career in peacebuilding and many doubted my decision to volunteer overseas in unpaid work. 

I wanted to become a volunteer with VSO because I thought this would provide me with the ideal opportunity to work in international development where I would gain valuable  

I at Tagbilaran port, Bohol, on a job assignment
to Siliman University, Dumaguete

 work experience that would increase my prospects for a getting better when I return back to Kenya. I also wanted to have a chance to travel abroad, learn about other cultures, and meet new people while contributing my skills to change lives.

I took the risk to travel to Philippines, to a country I had never been before. Even though I had travelled to a few African countries and worked in the NGO sector for a while I still felt like a novice in international development.

Initially, my fears were many—cultural barriers including language difficulties, doubts concerning issues of my own security and safely, finances, relationships issues, loneliness, and the uncertainty of the future when I return. I was equally naïve about being viewed as a foreigner (even though I had read Volunteers Handbook several times).  I wasn’t also sure how this experience would turn out, and it didn’t help either that I had attended the VSO’s Preparing for Change training in Kitui. Questions lingered. Can I afford it? Will I make a difference? And will I cope?  Incidentally my experience in the Philippines turned out to be one of my biggest career adventures in the recent past.

When I arrived in Manila in October of 2005, I was excited to meet other volunteers who had arrived from UK, Canada, Netherlands, Portugal, Ethiopia and Kenya. There were nine of us, each headed to a different placement site. We spent a few days together and after the in-country training we all left for our placement sites.

CRS Staff at the Regional Office in Davao

I flew to Davao City two days later after a meeting with the senior management staff f my prospective employer, the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Manila. Davao is a fairly large city of about 1.4 million people located in the Southern Philippines island of Mindanao. Here, CRS peacebuilding program is based. It is a beautiful City with extensive beaches, tropical climate, large shopping malls, nice cuisines and a tourist hub.

My house was a large three-bedroom self-contained bungalow located in Ecoland, an upmarket part of the city, near the SM Mall in the middle of the city. It was a walking distance from the CRS’s office. I would later move to Matina to live with another Irish volunteer. After a year, I moved back to Ecoland, after my friend got married. I loved this neighborhood because I had pretty good access to most items that I needed and I was close to SM mall, where I enjoyed going to movies in the evening.

Development challenges in Philippines include poor health care services, poor local government capacity, poor quality of education, poverty, natural resources management and protection (mining, solid waste disposal and segregation) and armed conflicts in Mindanao.

The landscape in Mindanao was amazing and working with people in different cultures was just wonderful.  I was able to do really useful work with the displaced

Davao's SM Mall at night,  my favorite hangouts place

communities of Central Mindanao and Lanao Del Norte provinces where large-scale displacement had occurred in 2002 and 2003 during the all-out war under President Ramos. I trained local partners in advocacy skills and advocacy efforts of the Indigenous People and who were seeking recognition and participation in the formal peace process between the Government of Philippines in Moro Liberation Islamic Front (MLIF). I organized workshops, wrote policy briefs, edited CRS bi-annual newsletter, and wrote monographs for CRS. I also taught at Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute. One of my biggest achievements was establishing Mindanao Peace Education Forum (MinPEF), a convergence of CSOs and government agencies including the Office of the Presidential Advisor to the Peace Process (OPAPP) and MinCORD, to advocate for the mainstreaming of peace education in schools.  The forum continues to meet regularly to date and has succeeded to implement its programs in schools.

During the time I worked in Philippines I was able to create really meaningful relationships, made many friends and networked with many people in NGOs, government, academic and religious institutions. I was able to immerse myself very easily into the

Trying Tricycle  on my way to work

Philippines life because I made efforts to learn the local Tagalog language, which greatly enhanced my communication with colleagues, friends and communities. Thanks to my very encouraging supervisor, staff and a very pleasant work environment that I encountered at my placement that gave me total fulfillment in my job.

There were moments when odds worked against me. One such moment was when I found difficulty in transitioning and integrating especially in the early days. I had would be asked by my colleagues to help fix almost everything in the office, and I wouldn’t say no to their requests even when I knew I wasn’t able to help. When this happened they would just ignore me. This was a very frustrating moment. I later learnt to focus on creating relationships with them to expand their understanding while trying to show willingness to participate in the activities of the organization and undertaking assignments. I also learnt to be patient and humble. When there was no work to do and no one to greet me in the office I would count it as part of the learning experience. This experience also taught me to recognize and appreciate moments that require making a choice when confronted with different situations. Whenever I have felt powerless to make things change, I reminded myself that I had a choice to decide what is best for me at that time rather than feeling like a victim.  

In order to understand the cultural norms of the local people I immersed myself into their community’s activities, not only to win their support but to understand them even more. The most important lesson for me was the awareness that I needed not to judge

In a Peace Walk with CRS Colleagues in Davao 

others for who they are, or assuming my culture is the best or even I know everything. I saw myself as having a long way to go and I often challenged myself that I must allow the people to credit for their own future.

To maximize my own experience and career in the Philippines I decided to reach out to many people so they could support me. I however, did not always succeed in doing this. Some resisted my attempts to reach out and I guess it could be because of their own world views. I did not let this bother me. Instead, I tried to focus on the relationships that I had already built, always striving to be helpful and supportive to those I worked with. Most importantly, I based my relationships on positive actions, and making my work environment enjoyable, while also avoiding gossip or complaints at work. 

One thing that I particularly paid attention to was my own attitude at work. I tried to avoid as much possible the temptation to try to project myself as right and my colleagues as wrong. Coming from a different continent could easily make one to feel important, educated and knowledgeable than the rest of the colleagues. I was careful that this attitude could not come up as it could cause conflict, especially when one begins to see himself as better off than the rest.

Sometimes, I found myself getting angry and frustrated, especially in my earlier days, when I sat long hours without work or assignment. I felt my co-workers didn't trust or like me. I would be so mad, sit around, complain and feel upset with everyone. I didn't realize 

Facilitating a Workshop In Lanao Del Norte

that there were other people I could have reached out to improve my standing. But I let my anger cloud my vision. I learnt not to let emotions control me.  Instead of blaming and pointing a finger at others I learnt to focus on creating an enjoyable experience for myself.  I found out that venting out to a friend at times and discussing personal feelings could help me feel better instead of gossiping and creating dissatisfaction, negative reaction and impressions.

Volunteering with VSO definitely developed my personality. Meeting a lot of new people, dealing with cultural differences, having good conversations with people, taking action, doing something for the society, is all I needed to further build my confidence about myself and my abilities. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but it made me appreciate more what I had and that I shouldn’t just take everything for granted. Even though I experienced some challenges at the beginning, I came to appreciate my time there, as it turned out that my all my worries were averted completely. I experienced friendly and open-minded people in a country that is very cultured and it is these ethics and values that made me know and feel that I was home. The people I encountered were real and made me feel that way because they treated me as part of them and not as a foreigner. 

 

Looking back now, I realize that my time was very exciting. I learnt a lot about myself, my strengths and my weaknesses, and I gained new friendships.  I became more flexible, creative, resourceful and patient than before. The experience also changed my world view, as I was able to better appreciate people from different backgrounds and cultures. Professionally, I grew. I equally enjoyed the beautiful country of the Philippines and made many

With Tania, a Kroc Intern at the SM Mall, Davao

friends of a lifetime. At the same time, parts of their lives are incorporated into my own life.  I also gained a greater appreciation of the work of international NGOs in another part of the developing world. My skills sets greatly improved and I changed a great deal as a person. I now have two families in Kenya and the Philippines. 

Certainly, international volunteering is about commitment, passion and having an adventurous spirit.  However, one must be fully prepared, be open-minded and be ready to learn. It is important to be aware of pitfalls and avoid them so as to make the most of your experience abroad. Steering clear of the typical misconceptions of volunteering and being realistic with your expectations will help you remain focused. Expecting too much and wanting to change the world may be unrealistic. It may dampen your spirit. I realized that most times the impact of the locals on you is much bigger than the impact you may make on them. Once I observed a fellow volunteer who having spent a year abroad changed the VSO’s slogan “Sharing Skills, Changing Lives” to “Changing lives, sharing skills.” He felt that the experience had taught him so much and immensely changed his life more than the people he expected to change.

Maintain an open mind and flexible attitude will enable one to overcome related challenges such as harsh living conditions, and cultural differences that one may encounter while

Boat to Paradise Island Beach Where I spent my weekends

overseas. Complaining about hard working conditions, hot weather, or other discomforts may not help, even though these may be annoying from time to time. Its good to make the best of the situation to make your experience much better.

In 2007, I returned to Kenya and CRS Kenya was glad to have me as part of their staff. Since this time coincided with post-elections violence, my assignment was to implement a peacebuilding program in the Rift Valley province, an area that had experienced large-scale displacement.  Here, I continued to put to practice what I learnt in the Philippines. I was able to design and implement a successful peace program that enabled me to receive a Special Recognition Award, a CRS agency-wide Presidential Award in 2010. This opened further doors. In 2012 I received a scholarship to pursue further studies in the United States. I now work in the same field in another organization in Kenya.