Volunteering Overseas:
An Unforgettable Experience, An Enduring Friendship

I’m fortunate to know people who just decided one day that they would drop everything here for the opportunity to work in a third world country. Although I too have entertained the idea of doing the same, somehow my path led me in a different direction. Sure, it can be a life-changing experience, but there is plenty of that in my carefully constructed bubble. However, at some point, I might have a healthier relationship with life if I allow my inner wisdom to poke and prod until the bubble finally bursts. Well, every time yet another friend stuffs the proverbial backpack with survivor paraphernalia to head south, I feel my feet twitching to follow along. Of course, there is plenty of volunteer work to be done on Canadian shores, from homeless shelters to senior centres. However, volunteering overseas takes a special amount of courage since volunteers are literally stepping into an unknown world ravaged by war, disease, poverty and malnutrition, natural disasters, and a host of other extreme ills. Work sites like refugee camps and squalid slums are far removed from the clean, air-conditioned work environments we’re used to in Canada, but they make up a huge part of a volunteer’s ‘office’ in the third world. But so do schools, village communities, and hospitals. With all these challenges, just what makes people so hungry for this kind of experience and where do they look for it? People like Gurpreet Kambo and Calvin Knight can offer us some insight.

Gurpreet went on a six-month volunteer and educational exchange program through Canada World Youth, an organization that connects young Canadians with their peers from different countries to foster understanding and cooperation. The program consisted of each Canadian participant being paired up with a member of the exchange country, in this case, Honduras. There were nine pairs in total along with a project supervisor from each country. Each pair spent three months in a rural part of Canada with a host family, where the exchange members were able to experience aspects of Canadian culture. They were also given a work placement, and Gurpreet and his exchange buddy got the opportunity to work in a small museum where they conducted tours and worked on the museum’s database among other things. For the second half of the program, the group flew to Honduras, where Gurpreet worked in a government daycare for street children. He and his fellow participants played with the children and taught them English. They also organized fundraisers for the centre and used the money to renovate the place.

All in all, Gurpreet feels that his experience as a volunteer was nothing short of amazing, and if he had the chance to do it again, he would. His main reason for doing it in the first place was to experience something new and meet new people. All too often, we in the West tend to have the attitude that people in the third world need our help and guidance. This way of thinking is reminiscent of the times when Western imperialism was at its zenith. Colonialism played a big part in spreading and imposing Western Christian values and ideals in the non-Christian world destroying the systems, cultures, and traditions native to those regions. Although help is always nice, and is never refused when offered, the attitude that we are the benevolent givers and they are the needy takers requires some adjustment in light of the Western colonial legacy and the continuing impact it has had in the third world. In Gurpreet’s case, he thought the daycare was getting on just fine without their help, but there was still “room for us to do things when we were there”. If we went with the attitude that we have just as much to learn as to give, than it would make for a much healthier relationship between nations and between people in general. Furthermore, we can’t discount the contributions of grassroots organizations to improving the health and well-being of their people. The Grameen Bank is one such example of a micro-credit organization that has made a real difference in the lives of the poor, particularly poor women in Bangladesh, and whose founder, Mohammad Yunus, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Many international volunteer groups work in concert with these NGOs (non-government organizations), and provide them with the manpower to administer assistance, groups like Kirabo Canada.

Kirabo Canada was founded by Calvin Knight, a high school teacher who not only wanted to share his knowledge and skills with his students in Canada, but also with kids around the world. He has both gained and given from his experiences in countries like Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Cuba. He spent a lot of time in India where he taught and mentored orphaned boys. Uganda was his next stop and this is where the idea of Kirabo Canada was born. Calvin’s not for profit organization is committed to “providing Canadians with the experience of living in a developing nation through interactions with locals, excursions, and above all volunteering…we create a bond between the Canadian and Uganda”. Kirabo works closely with grassroots organizations in providing educational programs for Ugandan children who have been impoverished by war.

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been waging a 20-year war against the Ugandan government and is responsible for large-scale human rights abuses including abducting children and turning them into child soldiers and sex slaves. Millions of Ugandans were displaced as a result of the LRA’s armed rebellion in the north. The Ugandan military tried to put a stop to the rebellion, but it only served to intensify LRA aggression. The LRA is a guerilla group led by self-professed messenger of ‘God’, Joseph Kony. Kony and his followers want to establish a theocratic state based on the Biblical Ten Commandments. LRA also represents the interests of the Acholi people who Kony asserts are being discriminated against. Unfortunately, the Acholi suffer a similar fate to that of the abducted children within their ranks. The LRA is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on war crime charges. In 2006, a truce was called, and the LRA is said to have moved its headquarters to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Although Uganda has been relatively peaceful for the last three years, the war has had a crippling effect on Uganda’s children. Many of the children are orphans and cannot afford the cost of schooling, which is one of the only ways to escape a life of poverty. The Almond Secondary School was established in 2003 to help children in Lira District, located in the northern region. The school is funded by Kirabo Canada and the primary donor, All Nations Christian Care Centre, a charity registered with the Ugandan government. Kirabo’s goal is to form an ongoing relationship with the kids through sponsorship and hands-on work. A good portion of the fee paid by volunteers who join Kirabo goes towards assisting the educational needs of the children as well as to pay for construction projects.

Another important aspect of the Kirabo volunteer experience is a visit to Rachele Secondary School, a rehabilitation centre for child soldiers that welcomes sponsorship initiatives to allow these children to get another chance at living life in a different way. The organization is 100% volunteer-run, and is committed to putting all money into various projects to help the kids of Uganda. There are of course administrative costs, but these are kept to a minimum.

Kirabo organizes an annual volunteer program in July. A maximum of 15 volunteers can be part of the excursion. Information sessions are planned months in advance to give Canadians a taste of what it might be like. The fee is $4499 and this includes flight, accommodation, transportation, excursions, food and drinks. When the group arrives in Uganda, they get a city tour and attend cultural performances. Then they leave for Lira and visit the Almond School and meet the students and staff. The first part of their day at the school is spent on construction projects and refurbishing anything in need of some repair. Kirabo constructed a courtyard for the school as well as reconstructed a dormitory that was falling apart. Calvin believes that this is an important element of the experience since there is a “physical entity left behind” when the group returns to Canada. In the afternoon, leadership seminars are conducted and the kids take part in educational activities that teach them skills in planning and problem-solving. Although English is the official language, the kids still have a lot of difficulty expressing themselves and so English makes up part of the curriculum. Afterschool some of the kids and volunteers meet to discuss plans for the Kampala and Lira Kids Day, a special day for Uganda’s poorest children, which Calvin started up on one of his first trips to the country. Kirabo works in conjunction with another international organization called Right to Play, which is supported by an international community of professional athletes who promote sport and play in disadvantaged regions of the world. On kids day, children gain confidence in their abilities, and learn about teamwork and cooperation. Kirabo also works with H.E.A.L. International (Health Empowerment Aid Light), another non-profit organization assisting with leadership programs in the area.

Indeed, the work Kirabo does is extensive. Calvin’s thoughts on his personal motivations?

It makes me happy. What I believe is it’s what makes everyone happy. It brings you more happiness than sitting doing nothing. Everyone wants to do their part…an innate desire to help people in need. What I enjoy doing is being directly involved. It has changed my life, and I want to give others the opportunity to do it as well.

…and what’s it like for the volunteers who participate?

It’s good sensory overload. Everything they are seeing, doing, hearing is completely foreign to them. The volunteers are getting just as much as they are giving. It is an uplifting experience to meet people being so happy with so little, which makes it impossible not to re-evaluate your own concerns.

So, yes, overseas volunteering definitely doesn’t sound like a walk in the park. It requires hard-work, courage, openness, and patience, but overall job satisfaction scores very high. People like Gurpreet, other friends I know, Canadian starlets from the Degrassi Generation, to name a few, have answered the calls of their inner voices to give and receive knowledge in one of the most fulfilling ways possible. Also, people like Calvin have made overseas volunteer work a lifelong pursuit. Youth volunteer organizations like Free the Children have set up recruitment programs in schools to encourage our Canadian youth to be part of a volunteer mission and learn something extraordinary about themselves and about the people they assist. Whether you build homes or teach English, play ball or play music, your skills are a welcome contribution to the global volunteer network.

In Gurpreet’s words,If you do do it, put your whole heart into it and have the most memorable experience you can possibly have. It’s not worth doing unless you put everything into it.

Kirabo Canada will be holding a Gala fundraiser at Lula Lounge (1585 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario) on April 26th which will include a silent auction and information booths to learn how to sponsor. The event will also feature performances by some spectacular spoken word and music artists. Tickets are $25 and the show starts at 7pm.
For more information on how you too can grab that nifty backpack and become an overseas volunteer, please visit the following sites:

www.KiraboCanada.ca
www.RightToPlay.com
www.FreeTheChildren.com
www.CanadaWorldYouth.org/en/





Copyright © 2009 Shazia Islam. All Rights Reserved.