Trip to the Zoo

By Harry Kent, Programme Advisor

I had barely even caught my breath from my stint as Desk Officer in Ghana before being told I was heading off to Sri Lanka to help with the new office development. Immediately I was excited about my first trip to Asia and was curious to compare it to my time spent in Africa…

On my arrival I was greeted with such hospitality, after an hour’s taxi ride I pretty much knew everything about my driver, which varied from his experience over the Tsunami to how he had a wife and two girlfriends all of which knew each other, my look of disbelief somewhat puzzled him as he then said “what your wife doesn’t want you to be happy??”.

Shyamelee and Harry, all smiles

After a long but successful conference the following day we set out to see the placements. Over the last year I have been to many orphanages but none had compared to the Mother Theresa home in Kandy. This was the most difficult but rewarding placement I have ever seen which really benefits from our volunteers help.

My overall impression of Sri Lanka was that is was a country full of potential with not enough people there to enjoy it. The Sri Lankan people were great and I especially loved the head wobble and the vague use of directions. I soon found out that left in fact meant right and I can only but hope that a certain man was confused in the same way when calling me a pretty girl hmmm…

Beautiful Unawatuna beach

Although Sri Lanka is clearly lacking on the tourist front, I could not help but see the huge amount of potential it has with palm fringed beaches, amazing local food (a little better than fufu in Ghana I must say), and possibly the best hospitality I have ever encountered.

My advice is let’s put Sri Lanka back on the tourist trail, they need and so do we….

November sees the first Projects Abroad Information Evening being held in Scotland. This is your chance to come along and speak to ex-volunteers and our Projects Abroad staff members about volunteering opportunities abroad.

Our ex-volunteers love having the opportunity to talk about their experiences overseas and hopefully it will give you plenty of information on how we operate, the projects and destinations available and how to get involved.

The event is being held on Thursday 6th November, between 6-8pm at Stewart’s Melville College in Edinburgh.

We will be running many more Information Evenings around the country in the New Year, so keep your eyes peeled!

The full details are as followed:

Wallace Dunlop Hall, Stewart’s Melville College,
Queensferry Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3EZ
6th November
6 - 8pm

You can also RSVP HERE. We look forward to seeing you there!

Historic Route 66

By Scott McQuarrie, Programme Advisor

“It changed my life like it changed everyone else’s”, read the endorsement on the back of the book. The endorsement was by Bob Dylan and the book was ‘On The Road’ by Jack Kerouac. Since I’ll listen to pretty much anything Dylan has to say, I picked up the book and began reading. The book is essentially about a set of road trips across 1950’s underground America at the height of the Beat generation. The major appeal of the book is its themes of friendship, travel, possibility and music. With this in mind and in view of the fact that one of the main aspects of Projects Abroad is cultural exchange, I thought a short piece about my recent US road adventure would be relevant.

I looked at a map of America, then drew a line through 14 States – New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California. The objective seemed quite simple - I had to drive from New York to San Francisco in 15 days. It was only when I bought a bigger, more detailed map, that the enormity of the task hit me. However I wasn’t alone, my friend David from Edinburgh was with me. I nicknamed him Sat Dav for the trip on the basis he was in charge of directions and had vetoed getting a GPS system! After a few meetings to decide our specific route we were set - New York to Chicago, then old Route 66.

A real benefit of being part of the Projects Abroad community is you have the chance to meet up with friends in different countries. This trip was no exception! First stop after touching down in New York was the Projects Abroad office to see Tom Pastorius, Vice President. One thing I have always maintained from my volunteering days is you have a far better experience if you have a ‘native’ to hang with. It worked for me in Ghana, why not everywhere else? Once we got Tom to stop laughing at us for trying to travel distances like NYC to Chicago in half a day (it is roughly the same distance as the length of the UK apparently, who knew?), we re-arranged our route on his advice and hit the road.

Over the next 15 days we travelled roughly 3,500 miles and like any good trip I learned things about the country and the people. It would take far too long for me to write about each place I visited, so here are my top tips to help survive on the road in the US:
* ALWAYS weigh up the pro’s and cons of renting a SUV
* TRY to get off the interstate roads - the smaller highways may not be as quick but they are much more fun
* ALWAYS try the deep dish pizza in Chicago
* DON’T visit the mini Stonehenge in Rolla and think of Spinal Tap
* ALWAYS take a crash helmet to bar’s in Tulsa when watching the visa presidential debates on TV - the crowds can get quite rowdy
* ALWAYS order the apple pie and milkshake at Ted’s diner in Albuquerque
* NEVER turn on to the wrong side of the road in Santa Fa when a police car is facing you
* YOU MUST visit Zion and Yosemite National Park - simply stunning
* STOP in the middle of the New Mexico desert - like every Western movie you have ever seen
* THINK of Mars as you drive through the red rocks of Monument Valley in Arizona - this State has the most breathtaking natural beauty I have ever seen
* NEVER bet in Vegas. The House always wins!
* STAY in San Francisco as long as you can
* REMEMBER a motorway is a freeway, petrol is gas and a car boot is the trunk - easy, right?
* ALWAYS take out insurance - don’t worry if you don’t though, you’ll see a few adverts on TV for it
* ALWAYS stop to chat - America is one of the most unique and friendliest countries I have visited, especially the families and workers on old route 66

and last but not least….

• NEVER go out with Will Harper, US Deputy Director, the night before you set off on a road trip. His dancing, rapping skills and Dave Chapelle impersonations meant a late night for yours truly

To finish off I’d like to leave you with a funny quote from an Adam Sandler film I saw whilst in a small motel in a place called Bishop. The film was Mr Deeds and the lines are delivered at a funeral. I thought it was a fitting end to our Beat style trip…

“Now Brother Preston is soaring with eagles high above, because he lived a life of love.
Yes he’s flying way up high, because he was a supercool guy.
He’s gone away, too soon it seems, leaving behind his unfinished dreams.
Yes we remember Preston Blake, a man with faith no man could shake.
A strength no man could break.
A character no man could fake.
For goodness sake, let’s eat some cake.”

A big thank you to all in the US office for their hospitality and advice.

USA!USA!

Claartje and kids

By Claartje van Wayenburg, Programme Advisor

I’ve never felt more welcome than here in South Africa. I’ve only been here for two months and feels like I’ve lived here my whole life! Everybody who I have met gives me the feeling that I’m part of their big, happy family. Living in a host family gives me the real African experience, it has been so wonderful. I sometimes wish I could stay here forever! My family is so warm and friendly and takes care of me just like their own daughter.

As a Dutch woman here in Cape Town, working for Projects Abroad has a lot of advantages. I’m able to hop on a train or mini-bus and go to the beach, the city or the mountains, so there is always much for me to do even though I am far away from home. One special aspect is that there is a large population in Cape Town of people who speak Afrikaans, a language quite similar to Dutch, so I’m able to understand most of what they are saying and chat with the locals! Many Dutch volunteers that come to Cape Town find that being able to understand and speak a bit of Afrikaans is really important, especially when working in local communities where it is spoken more widely then English.

Claartje hard at work

I am assisting with Marketing and Recruitment of local South Africans, so my job is establishing contacts with many Universities and High Schools in the Western Cape, doing presentations and answering questions over the internet and phone about Projects Abroad and what we are all about! It’s wonderful to be able to tell South Africans about all the different possibilities that Projects Abroad has to offer around the world. They are already becoming very enthusiastic about our projects and I think we will see more South African volunteers around the world soon!

Ian in Germany

By Ian Birbeck,

I have worked for Projects Abroad for a few years now. I have attended quite a few Open Days in the UK over the years. Last weekend I was invited to attend the Berlin Open Day by Michael and the German team.

I looked forward to the Open Day in one of Europe’s great cities. It wasn’t until I was on the plane flying to Germany I started to think about the fact I could only say thank you in German so it could be an interesting experience. It reminded me of the same realisation when I went to Moldova as a volunteer originally that I was teaching in a country where I didn’t speak the language.

As the time went round on Saturday morning the sun was shining and I wandered through the city in bright sunshine. I met up with Doris and went off on a mission to buy a bell. Another new experience. We had the option of a porcelain bell or three different sizes of bell. We left the department store having an impressive bell to indicate the different sessions at the Open Day.

As I neared the Hotel I started to run through my speech in my head. I have done it once or twice before. It was good to catch up with the German team again and go for a coffee to settle the nerves. Still a little nervous I proceeded.

The room was filled as I started to talk and they seemed to understand. They even reacted favourably to some of my stories. In the group sessions they even understood my tales about puppet making in Cambodia. It is amazing how many people speak great English.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the team and their great bunch of reps. It is a bit embarrassing to sit around a table of eight and realise they all have to speak English because you can’t speak their language!

On Sunday it was the opportunity to be a tourist. A few of the photos below explain the day. I don’t know if anyone has any ideas for captions!!

Meenakshi Temple in Madurai by James Taylor, our Desk Officer in India over the summer

I read an article in the New York Times a while ago about the temple circuit in Tamil Nadu and I was just reminded of it by photos from a close friend who just returned from Mahabalipuram, just south of Chennai, which is famous for its stone temples right on the beach.

While the North of India may have the Taj Mahal, Tamil Nadu has the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai. Madurai is only two hours away from Projects Abroad’s base in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu so it is natural meet up spot for volunteers on the weekends and the Meenakshi Temple is a big draw. If I was a betting man, I would wager that close to every volunteer who has ever been in India with us has been to the Meenakshi Temple and Madurai.

Kanyakumari, the southernmost point in India

Do former volunteers in India have any stories about their travels to Madurai, Thanjavur or Mahabalipuram?

For anyone who hasn’t been to Tamil Nadu I would recommend taking a look at this article when you can.

Temples Where Gods Come to Life – New York Times

Volunteers in Jamaica

Although most of our programs have no set start dates, we have just arranged a new and exciting Water Infrastructure Project for Jamaica. This is a one time project with set dates between 5th January – 4th February 2009.

An ex-volunteer, Wendy Tisdell, runs a pumping solutions company (http://www.primepump.com.au/) who are experts in pumping and water infrastructure in the mining and industrial sector. While volunteering with us in Jamaica she decided to use the expertise of her firm to help the needs of an orphanage and school in Mandeville. They are going to complete 2 separate water-related infrastructure projects, one at New Hope orphanage and one at McIntosh Primary School.

PrimePump will provide on the ground expertise and the funding and Projects Abroad has been asked to provide the manpower.

New Hope Orphanage
This project is to refurbish an existing water tank at the orphanage. They will install a solar powered hot water heating system to supply hot water for the kids. We will also build a garden including fencing and irrigation. New Hope is an extremely poor orphanage with very basic facilities. It is based in a residential area of Mandeville. Our volunteers help look after 30 orphans aged between a 1 month old to 5 years old. This part of the project will be for the first 2 weeks.

McIntosh Primary School
This school has severe water issues. The project is to build a water storage system with an electric pump to carry the water to the ablution block. We will also refurbish the ablution block. McIntosh Primary is a government school with 923 students, even though the capacity is 400! This part of the work will be for the last 2 weeks.

Volunteers Needed!
We need to 9 volunteers for this project. They can be skilled or unskilled but need to be ready for a physical challenge. The type of skills that would be useful are:
1.Electricians
2.Builders
3.Plumbers
4.Carpenters
5.Civil and mechanical engineer (these can also be students or graduates who can assist with planning, designing foundations and doing drawings)

If you are interested in this exciting project please contact any Projects Abroad office for more information.

Impact on Frontier Countries
“The capitalization of the banks in these (developing) countries depends on the capitalization of the banks in the developed world,” Dr. Peter Slowe, former chairman of Labour Finance and Industry said on Tuesday.

LINK TO VIDEO CLIP

By Dr. Peter Slowe, Director and Founder of Projects Abroad

I was invited on to the Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 to talk about the global financial crisis. I said that the media narrative of the present financial crisis is much scarier than the reality – except in some of the developing countries where Projects Abroad works.

I appreciate that there are problems in the developed countries but, so far in the UK, the EU and the US, not one depositor has lost any money. There is not one single victim among the savers in the street.

What we are seeing now in the developed world is a larger-than-normal version of the self-correcting mechanism on which capitalism is based. Badly-run banks are now in trouble. These banks have to sell equity or a portfolio of loans to raise extra money from governments or from better-run banks.

When governments intervene, it doesn’t signify the end of capitalism, it’s just a normal part of the process. The state grows rich by capitalism and the state spends its riches to bail out capitalism.

It’s perfectly normal – nowadays.

At this point in the economic cycle a century or more ago, our despairing ancestors were breaking down the doors of banks to find empty coffers. But now, we live in capitalist democracies and it’s the democracy that makes all the difference. Americans have votes so the $700 billion has not only rescued Wall Street but also covered extra tax credits, helped hurricane victims and done loads of other good things. The British have votes, so the government effectively guarantees our savings and limits unemployment.

Unfortunately, in the developing countries, we can see a very different story. It is there where the victims of the financial crisis actually live. In Ghana, for example, the high cost of borrowing has combined with high fuel prices to put an end to several vital infrastructure projects. In Mongolia, the country’s dollar-earning mining industry is grinding to a halt for lack of funds.

Assistance to developing countries now will save livelihoods – and lives.

Jette in Costa Rica

By Jette Romey

Last year, I was in Costa Rica with Projects Abroad to teach English in a local kindergarten. I had a really great time there and my host family was always friendly and made me feel very comfortable at their home.

I was very glad that I had brought a few presents from Germany to show my host family how much I appreciated their hospitality. I gave my host Mom a calender with pictures from Berlin and a little Berlin bear with the Berlin flag on its shirt. She was very surprised about the presents and really seemed to like them.

Therefore, I was a little bit perplexed when she only sat the bear on one of the shelves in her office but didn’t hang the calender up on the wall. She only put it in her cupboard and never looked at it again, as far as I know.

Some other volunteers told me that their host parents had reacted in the same way. So we just thought that maybe our presents had not been the perfect choice for the host families.

How about you guys? Have any of you had experiences like this as well? What kind of presents did you bring to your host family? Probably all other future volunteers, including myself, would love to hear what your host families liked about your presents. I hope to read something from you here soon!