Volunteer experiences

"I have gained a tremendous amount through my experience as a YfD volunteer. Above all I am both humbled and inspired by the people I have met and worked with here, who despite the many, many challenges carry on with a positive and generous spirit".

"Working for the World Food Programme, as part of my YfD placement, has been a great experience. To work for the UN on the 'front-line' of development work is what many people aspire for, so I felt very privileged to be a part of their work for a year.

The independence granted by the role is perhaps unrivalled by other VSO roles. I had a motorbike to access some of Malawi's most stunning environments and meet with rural communities, which in another volunteer role I may never have done."

"I have been amazed by the enthusiasm and initiative shown by some schools with only the slightest encouragement. It has been inspiring to work as part of a team at World Food Programme where people work together as a team with the highest level of commitment to their work and to the beneficiaries they are trying to reach.

I quickly felt like a resident of Ntcheu rather than a visitor... the area has been so welcoming that it has been easy to build a lifestyle, to be happy here and to carry out my job. It will be very difficult to leave Ntcheu and all the relationships I have made here, behind."

"I have gained very valuable work experience in the international development field. I have gained confidence in working with people of diverse backgrounds. I have improved my self-awareness of what I can achieve and the contributions I can offer."

"I have enjoyed my placement immensely and it has been a very valuable experience to me and it has contributed into my decision to apply for a Masters in Global Health in which I will start in September 2007.

I have seen a massive change in some deaf persons particularly those that have worked with me in learning facilitating and training skills. They have changed both professionally and personally. This experience has also made a change for me professionally and personally too."

"My experience has also given me an invaluable insight into many developmental issues. It is in fact on the basis of this experience that I am now considering a career path related to peace-building in the developing world." "With hindsight, I am able to see the relevance of many aspects of the training that was provided by the Youth for Development (YfD) team before my departure. Whilst I may have initially underestimated the finer points of adapting to life in a developing country, the overall experience has been both rewarding and fulfilling and has certainly prepared me for future work in this field. "

"What have I gained from my experience as a YfD volunteer? Where to start!?!

• Great amounts of confidence
• Communication, negotiation and leadership skills
• Problem solving initiative
• PATIENCE!
• Awareness of my weaknesses
• Ability to face my challenges and remain positive
• Assertiveness
• Many, many friends
• And a love for China, learning, being myself, and standing up for what I believe in."

"My work in Papua New Guinea has given me the capability to work more effectively independently, and a greater sense of self-reliance". "As well as the direct gains from the work I also feel I now have knowledge of Papua New Guinean culture, people, language and environment. I have a clearer understanding of the everyday difficulties associated with life in a developing country, and the obstacles that confront approaches to reduce poverty".

"I want to say that YfD VSO has been a fantastic experience for me. VSO Programme Office in Guyana has been really good to me, working hard to enable Ashton [another deaf volunteer] and I to settle down quickly, and deal with everything we asked them to sort out for us

I learned a lot from my placement as it was my first job since I left university in 2005. I learnt how to work within an organisation, how to plan and organise real projects - which it was exciting and challenging - and to research different approaches and methods to ensure correct choices were made"

"During the course of my placement, my understanding of how an NGO operates has vastly improved and I feel a lot more confident working in an international development context."

"I have a much clearer understanding of the challenges faced when attempting to implement development strategies. I have been able to learn about the skills required to work at field level, in particular, communication and interpersonal skills. Living in Malawi has also taught me about the realities, both the positive and negative, of living and working in a developing country"

"For me the training has easily been the best that I have attended and I have subsequently used training techniques that I learnt prior to going overseas, time and time again in workshops in Nigeria. The emphasis on participatory approaches to development is fantastic and it really is great fun. It makes me smile to think about all the crazy workshops and activities that I have been involved in, as a result of the training with VSO. I can honestly say that on the day I left for Nigeria I felt that VSO had prepared me as much as was possible for volunteering overseas."

"My experience as a volunteer has afforded me a fantastic opportunity to increase my knowledge of disability in a development context. I have been able to build on my existing skills and knowledge, by gaining direct experience of working in disability in Guyana, as well ongoing learning about the international disability agenda. This has been extremely satisfying.

I am very grateful that the flexibility of my placement allowed me to work on a range of projects and to use my initiative in developing new ideas and thinking of different ways that we can push the disability agenda.

My decision to apply for VSO was motivated by a wish to develop my professional experience in a different culture, whilst using my existing skills in a way that would enable others. To that end, I can honestly say that my experience as a volunteer has exceeded my expectations. Professionally and personally, I've learned as much in one year in my placement, as I could in two years in the UK. Pre departure and during my placement I have really gained a much better perspective on development. In particular I have a greater understanding of the impact of history, culture and politics in relation to how organisations function. "

"I volunteered in Nigeria working within an HIV clinic as a HIV Health Educator and Community Outreach Worker and it was the most fulfilling and happiest time in my life. The skills and experiences that I gained there will probably be unmatchable to anything else that I do and the friendships and relationships that I formed within the local community were incredible. It was the most challenging thing that I have ever done in my life so far, but I would give anything to still be there.

If you are serious about making a commitment to living and working overseas for a year, often in challenging environments, then go for it. It will probably turn out to be the most rewarding year of your life. What more can I say? I loved it!"

I am certain that without my VSO experience I wouldn't have got my job with World Vision. The experience it gave me was invaluable.

"YfD was an absolutely fantastic experience and opportunity that has hugely influenced me to want to work in 'development' in Africa on a much longer-term basis."

"It has profoundly changed my life, particularly my perception of money and its worth. I am now much more engaged in issues of fair trade, political activism (eg World Development Movement) etc."

"With the education and benefits I gained from the UIK, I was able to bring a different insight to the Filipino Deaf community. I initiated a reproductive health project and a theatre project, which I hope brought the Filipino Deaf community together. I volunteered with Yfd to learn about marginalised people and their ways of life. This experience has broadened my horizons on other, less fortunate Deaf communities. My Deaf Filipino friends told me I have made an impact on their life, just as they have on mine. They said they now have the confidence to do whatever they want."

Maija Elina Paasiaro, Fundraiser and Capacity Builder, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Maija Paasiaro has exchanged life as a researcher and writer for a publishing company in London for a role working with two Mongolian organisations looking to eliminate child labour and support women farmers. Read more about Maija

Richard Taylor - volunteering in Ethiopia helped hundreds of people gain life-saving access to water.

Richard Taylor’s year spent volunteering in Ethiopia helped hundreds of people gain life-saving access to water. Ten years on, it’s proved to be his springboard to a sought-after career. Now a policy officer with the Department for International Development in Sudan, Richard claims VSO gave him a unique insight that he still uses today. Read more about Richard

Read more

• Laura Carse Disability Day Article
• OT Presentation Sarah Leigh November 2006
• September Quarterly Newsletter(Tom Wipperman)
• Angela Spielsinger: Deaf Advocacy in Gambia