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The story about the journey

A small note before you start to read Im not a writer just a designer, I want to share this incredible experience; hope you enjoy it.

After all it was worth it I had an incredible time. I would do it over again... but maybe not with the same organization.

The journey started more than a year ago, when I decided that I didnt want to go back to work so soon and wanted to take a year off and maybe traveling would be a good thing to do. To travel for a year is very expensive so I thought why not find a volunteer organization its not as expensive as traveling and it could be done on long periods of time.

That is how I ended up in Africa, I was to be a volunteer maybe help a little not change the world or anything just do something.

I found an International Organization on the internet it sounded wonderful, work with the community, no experience, you pay your school fees for the training and the program is for 14 months, I was in, it sounded great. I went to an information weekend and it all sounded so nice and almost perfect. Here is more or less how the program is; 6 months training at one of the schools (they have them in Europe, India, US, and South Africa) 6 months at one of the projects (it can be South America, Africa, India.) and then 2 months back at one of the schools for closing the program they call it Camp Future and then if they offer and you are up to it you can join the organization. That was for me I just had to pay my ticket, visa and school fees, for me it was 2,500 USD for the whole year room and board. It was really a good opportunity.

On may 24, 2002 with my bags and my ticket in hand ready to board the plane and be part of the organization Humana People to People and be in one of their DRH Schools; KwaZulu Natal Experimental College in Durban, South Africa.

I will tell the truth but I will not obsess about it. I did have one of the most wonderful times in my life and all in all enjoyed it very, much. The one thing no one tells you and start to find out as the days pass that the program is the most useless thing it has no meaning and it has nothing to do with development work. The teachers are not qualified and no one is serious about teaching. Some of us were going to the project in Mozambique and we had to learn Portuguese, so we said where is our teacher? We had one for 3 days then nothing, we had to teach ourselves. In the information meeting they said that we would have to work hard, I thought thats no problem its fine by me, most of us felt the same way. But all you end up doing is cleaning, cutting grass, painting walls and cooking for everyone. The training? Well its based on a series of task that are on the computer and by doing them correctly you earn points to go to the project. The Tasks? Most of them are stupid, It could be a good idea if anyone cared about it, and if you had more free time to really do them right instead of doing them just to get points. Also I found out that it was not important; what was important to the school? More important than instructing future Development Instructors ? MONEY! Yes artistically called fundraising for the children in the streets? For teaching people how to use computers for free so they could get a better job? For an aids program? Outreach program?
None of the above. It is for the school.

You see when we paid our school fees it was supposed to cover the food and all those expenses, so what would be the need to give more money for the school! They do tell you at the start that you would have to fundraise they even say an amount but they dont tell you that if you dont reach that amount you will not be able to go to the project. And what is so bad about giving the money to the school? God only know they spend the money, the food is not that good or expensive, the maintenance the students take care of it, paint, clean, fix you name it! Maybe its for all those cell phones the teachers use.

We had to go out to the streets and ask for money for us it was not so bad, other DIs (Thats what we are called when you join and do the training Development Instructor) had to fundraise in Europe in the cold for big amounts of money. You end up shouting at the people in charge to try to change some things and make something good, its like talking to the walls its a waste of energy. In my opinion some of this people are already blinded by what they do.

Imagine you are the director of this place you know everyone at the end of the day hates the place and everyone complaints about it, and yet you sit in your little chair and do nothing about it and just keep talking to more and more people and convince them to join and lie to them. Its better here in Africa you think to yourself, if I go back to Europe or America I have no education and what could I possible do for a living? I think some of them in a different organization would actually do a good job.
Not all the people that join are like that, some go there to see Africa and not go back to their countries, or because they paid every cent they had to be in the program and now have no money to go back. But the price to pay is very high; if you are lucky you get paid considerably good (also depends on what part of the world you are from so if you are probably European or American you will get paid more than an African would).
You might read some of this and say then why didnt you go back? Why does some many people still finish and even join? Well for me it was a personal commitment I already was all the way in Africa had paid my ticket and visa, no one was going to give me my money back and I did meet lots of people and we did have some fun. How? at the BAR!

I dont want to bore you to death if you want more detail you can email. Its not only my point of view and not all is bad. My recommendation if you have lots of money and want to join an organization fast and actually dont care much about what you accomplish then join if you have more time and patience then join another program. If you have some time take a look at some of the sites, I have put both points of view you make your opinion.

From: The Story about the Journey at
http://www.fanyamambo.com/journey/urtxt.html

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
  
  

Copyright 2002, 2003 Tvind Alert, All Rights Reserved

 Permission is granted to reproduce the materials posted here provided that they are credited as "Source: Tvind Alert (http://www.tvindalert.com)"

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The story about the journey

A small note before you start to read Im not a writer just a designer, I want to share this incredible experience; hope you enjoy it.

After all it was worth it I had an incredible time. I would do it over again... but maybe not with the same organization.

The journey started more than a year ago, when I decided that I didnt want to go back to work so soon and wanted to take a year off and maybe traveling would be a good thing to do. To travel for a year is very expensive so I thought why not find a volunteer organization its not as expensive as traveling and it could be done on long periods of time.

That is how I ended up in Africa, I was to be a volunteer maybe help a little not change the world or anything just do something.

I found an International Organization on the internet it sounded wonderful, work with the community, no experience, you pay your school fees for the training and the program is for 14 months, I was in, it sounded great. I went to an information weekend and it all sounded so nice and almost perfect. Here is more or less how the program is; 6 months training at one of the schools (they have them in Europe, India, US, and South Africa) 6 months at one of the projects (it can be South America, Africa, India.) and then 2 months back at one of the schools for closing the program they call it Camp Future and then if they offer and you are up to it you can join the organization. That was for me I just had to pay my ticket, visa and school fees, for me it was 2,500 USD for the whole year room and board. It was really a good opportunity.

On may 24, 2002 with my bags and my ticket in hand ready to board the plane and be part of the organization Humana People to People and be in one of their DRH Schools; KwaZulu Natal Experimental College in Durban, South Africa.

I will tell the truth but I will not obsess about it. I did have one of the most wonderful times in my life and all in all enjoyed it very, much. The one thing no one tells you and start to find out as the days pass that the program is the most useless thing it has no meaning and it has nothing to do with development work. The teachers are not qualified and no one is serious about teaching. Some of us were going to the project in Mozambique and we had to learn Portuguese, so we said where is our teacher? We had one for 3 days then nothing, we had to teach ourselves. In the information meeting they said that we would have to work hard, I thought thats no problem its fine by me, most of us felt the same way. But all you end up doing is cleaning, cutting grass, painting walls and cooking for everyone. The training? Well its based on a series of task that are on the computer and by doing them correctly you earn points to go to the project. The Tasks? Most of them are stupid, It could be a good idea if anyone cared about it, and if you had more free time to really do them right instead of doing them just to get points. Also I found out that it was not important; what was important to the school? More important than instructing future Development Instructors ? MONEY! Yes artistically called fundraising for the children in the streets? For teaching people how to use computers for free so they could get a better job? For an aids program? Outreach program?
None of the above. It is for the school.

You see when we paid our school fees it was supposed to cover the food and all those expenses, so what would be the need to give more money for the school! They do tell you at the start that you would have to fundraise they even say an amount but they dont tell you that if you dont reach that amount you will not be able to go to the project. And what is so bad about giving the money to the school? God only know they spend the money, the food is not that good or expensive, the maintenance the students take care of it, paint, clean, fix you name it! Maybe its for all those cell phones the teachers use.

We had to go out to the streets and ask for money for us it was not so bad, other DIs (Thats what we are called when you join and do the training Development Instructor) had to fundraise in Europe in the cold for big amounts of money. You end up shouting at the people in charge to try to change some things and make something good, its like talking to the walls its a waste of energy. In my opinion some of this people are already blinded by what they do.

Imagine you are the director of this place you know everyone at the end of the day hates the place and everyone complaints about it, and yet you sit in your little chair and do nothing about it and just keep talking to more and more people and convince them to join and lie to them. Its better here in Africa you think to yourself, if I go back to Europe or America I have no education and what could I possible do for a living? I think some of them in a different organization would actually do a good job.
Not all the people that join are like that, some go there to see Africa and not go back to their countries, or because they paid every cent they had to be in the program and now have no money to go back. But the price to pay is very high; if you are lucky you get paid considerably good (also depends on what part of the world you are from so if you are probably European or American you will get paid more than an African would).
You might read some of this and say then why didnt you go back? Why does some many people still finish and even join? Well for me it was a personal commitment I already was all the way in Africa had paid my ticket and visa, no one was going to give me my money back and I did meet lots of people and we did have some fun. How? at the BAR!

I dont want to bore you to death if you want more detail you can email. Its not only my point of view and not all is bad. My recommendation if you have lots of money and want to join an organization fast and actually dont care much about what you accomplish then join if you have more time and patience then join another program. If you have some time take a look at some of the sites, I have put both points of view you make your opinion.

From: The Story about the Journey at
http://www.fanyamambo.com/journey/urtxt.html

Copyright 2002, 2003 Tvind Alert, All Rights Reserved

 Permission is granted to reproduce the materials posted here provided that they are credited as "Source: Tvind Alert (http://www.tvindalert.com)"