Student Volunteers Abroad Newsletter | January 2016

January 2016

sva newsletter
student volunteers abroad | university of glasgow

Contents
CONTENTS

Welcome and upcoming events....1

NGO Spotlight......................................2
The Selection Day ..............................2
Board Member Spotlight..................3
Pep Talk from Martin Avila...............3
Get ready for SVOP! ...........................4
A message from the President.......4

Upcoming events A warm welcome to a new year

with SVA!
hope all of you have enjoyed a
January! This means you have a chance
Meeting with coordinators We
lovely winter break! This is our first
to bring along more of your friends on
and fundraising training
newsletter of the year, and whether you your summer project, or make sure that
are a member of the Alumni Network or they dont miss out on the fantastic
26 Jan
The SVA Annual Ceildih
28 Jan
SVOP Conference
13-14 Feb
Training Weekend
19 March

a new volunteer counting days until its

time to leave for your project, this will
be you go-to source for an overview of
everything SVA has been up to. You can
expect a busy second semester as our
fundraising events start to kick off. No
need to worry though, as most of this
will be a whole lot of fun! We hope to
see you all at our upcoming ceilidh and
at the Student Volunteering Overseas
Partnership (SVOP) conference that we
will be hosting in February.
Also remember that applications are
still open and will be until the 25th of

experiences you had last summer (or

at least ensure that they will no longer
mind you being unable to stop going
on about it). Spread the word!
Next newsletter will be sent out at the
end of February. Until then, get 2016
started in style with SVA!

Student Volunteers Abroad

Student Volunteers Abroad

The Selection Day

Board Member Spotlight

Anna Ferns

Indonesia Coordinator

Ruth Lamb

NGO Spotlight

Little Big Africa

Little Big Africa is SVAs local partner
organisation in Uganda. It was founded
in 2004 after two East Africa-based
development workers, Bikie and Debs,
felt that rural communities were not
feeling the positive impact that they
should be experiencing through the
efforts of numerous large-budget
charities. Little Big Africa was founded
with the idea of working closer to the
communities themselves. Since 2003,
the organisation has grown and seen a
lot of success.
Little Big Africa trains both local
and international volunteers to
work on development projects with
smaller budgets, taking place in the
heart of rural communities. It avoids
hefty administraton costs in order to
ensure that the money goes where it
is needed. Targeted local communities
form committees for every project
to encourage their participation and
ownership, both during the project and
after its completion. These are visited
three times a year to ensure that the
project has left a sustaianable, positive
impact.
Little Big Africa concentrates its
efforts in the Mbale and Manafwa
districts of Uganda. SVA volunteers will
work with the organisation to build a
water tank, promote water, sanitation
and hygiene education within the
community, promote the communitys
access to clean water, and help set up
the local committees for mantaining
the projects long-term effects.
www.littlebigafrica.org

SVA Newsletter January 2016

Every year, SVAs selection day marks

the first opportunity for prospective
volunteers to get a feeling of what
their project is going to mean for
them. On the 14th of November, an
excited bunch of applicants gathered
in the GUU Drawing Room, eager to
show why they should be chosen
for their first choice SVA project. The
coordinators had prepared a variety of
activities to get to know the applicants
better.
After some fun ice-breakers, the
applicants split into smaller groups to
think about what the most important
attributes of a successful volunteer or
a successful project would be. These
ended up on colourful post-it notes,
stuck to pictures of trees on the walls
of the Drawing Room. This exercise
provoked discussions that got to
take center stage as the applicants
then debated key controversies
in international development. Do
students really have the skills to make
a difference on volunteering projects?
Who really benefits from them? These
issues split the room as applicants
grouped together according to their
opinions, which they then got to voice

in an open debate.
Before lunch, applicants got to
show off their creative side when they
were instructed to show a lesson plan
for teaching hygiene practices any way
they liked. This resulted in a show of
roleplayed classroom scenarios, some
taking more creative license than
others - sadly, SVAs projects do not
involve donning a cape and becoming
a hygiene superhero!
The applicants then got to ask
coordinators their questions about their
preferred projects in smaller groups
before being individually interviewed.
The coordinators were pleased to
see a high standard of applicants,
setting them up for some tough
decisions. The selection day was a great
encouragement for next summers
projects for coordinators and applicants
alike. A big congratulations to all
successful volunteers and a big thank
you to everyone who made the day so
productive and enjoyable!
In fact, we liked the applicants
so much that we want more of you!
The application for 2016s project
has been reopened until the 25th of
January. Tell your mates!

Training Coordinator
Why should someone apply to become a
SVA volunteer?
Anna: Being an SVA Volunteer is such a great
opportunity for students. You can travel, gain
valuable skills, and support sustainable project goals in developing countries. You also
learn so much about international volunteerRuth lamb,
training coordinator
ing throughout
the year.
Ruth: You become part of a community. SVA
allows you to experience things you otherwise never would, while making a contribution to the society youre in. SVA projects
focus on meeting the needs of the particular
community - my projects main aim of cleaning a river ended up as helping with agriculture, the local village economy, teaching
English & working with children.
What did the experience mean to you?
Anna: The experience opened my eyes to
the mutual benefits of international volunteering, and inspired me to stay involved in
SVA by becoming Coordinator for this years
Indonesia project. It has truly enhanced
my university experience and has led me
to consider a career in non-governmental
organisations.
Ruth: I am a strong believer in social justice
and fighting for social change. SVA facilitated this on an international scale, by helping
marginalised and disadvantaged people
become empowered through education, be
that through learning English, improving the
environment, or raising issues relating to
womens rights or sexual health.
If you could offer any advice to applicants,
what would you say?
Anna: My advice would be to enjoy every
stage of the process; the fundraising and
weekly meetings where you get to know
your fellow volunteers, the SVA socials and
trainings, and actually being on project.
Also, I would say to get involved as much as
possible, use you particular skills to further
the whole experience, you will gain as much
as you give.
Ruth: Find out about the country and community you go into, especially its social and
cultural context. International volunteering
as a student is tied up with criticisms relating
to its superficial or tokenistic nature, however, no matter how big, you WILL make a
difference for the better in your own life, as
well as that of your fellow volunteers and the
people in your communities!

ruth lamb, training coordinator

ANNA FERNS, INDONESIA COORDINATOR

Pep talk by Martin Avila

from Xchange Scotland
On the 3rd of December, we were lucky
enough to host a talk by Martin Avila, Associate Director of Xchange Scotland (one
of SVAs partner organisations). Martin Avila was happy to share his own experiences
with international volunteering, his view
of how even smaller projects can have a
great positive impact, and also gave an
introduction to the operations of Xchange
Scotland.
The evening served as a great pep talk
for the many future SVA volunteers who
were in attendance. While it is important
to discuss and spread awareness of the
potential pitfalls of international volunteering, it is also important to lift up the
positive impact it can have, and Martin
Avila wanted to do just that. He shared his
story of how the project he went on as a
young volunteer without much direction
in life ended up being a transformative
experience taking him where he is today.
He talked about how the camaraderie,
sense of accomplishment, and exchange of
perspectives that are produced by a group
of volunteers from different countries and
backgrounds coming together to work on
a project in a foreign country can end up
causing a positive change in anyones life

or community, even if the duration of the

project is short.
Martin Avilas work in Xchange Scotland involves making this experience
available to a wider variety of potential
volunteers. A more diverse volunteer base
can lead to enhanced beneficial exchanges
between the volunteer and the community they volunteer in, as more diverse
perspectives tends to only bring more
good to the table in this field.
Xchange Scotland, much like SVA, does
not set up projects overseas, but connect
Scottish volunteers to existing local projects through the Alliance network. It also
makes use of the Erasmus+ programme.
Have a look at their website to learn more
about all their great work!

NEW APPLICATION
DEADLINE: 25 JAN

SVA Newsletter January 2016

Student Volunteers Abroad

Get ready for SVOP!

We are incredibly excited to announce that this years SVOP (Student Volunteering Overseas Partnership) conference will be hosted
by us at the University of Glasgow!
This event will be two days (1314 Feb) of getting to know other
volunteers from universities across
the UK, listen to inspiring speakers,
and share ideas about everything
from development projects to check
out to what questions to put on the
fundraising pub quiz. You will all
soon be getting more info about the
programme!
So what is SVOP, aside from a
funny-sounding acronym? It is a partnership of student-led volunteering
organisations in the UK that was
established in 2003. Aside from the
annual conference, it also uses online
resources to share expertise about
the best practices in international

volunteering. The core members of

SVOP are InterVol, Oxford Development Abroad (Oxford University),
Bristol Volunteers for Development
Abroad (Bristol University), Student
Volunteers Abroad (Glasgow University), Strathclyde International
Development (Strathclyde University), Edinburgh Global Projects (Edinburgh University) and DARE (Dundee
University).
Please be on the lookout for more
information about this amazing
event!

SVOP CONFERENCE
13-14 Feb

A message from the President

It has been an exciting year so far for
SVA and Id like to welcome our volunteers who have already met their Project
Coordinators and began to fundraise to
the team! Our first training night for SVA
members is being held on Tuesday 26th;
we are looking forward to discussing
some exciting fundraising ideas as well
as hearing from Dr Dickon Copsey about
volunteering and employability.
So far our board has enjoyed a potluck
night and a christmas celebration at The
Left Bank followed by dancing the night
away to Sister Sledge - We Are Family.
Thank you to everyone that came along
and made sure this night was magical.
Id like to reiterate the words of Niamh
OConnor (our diligent Secretary) in her
inspirational Christmas speech and say a
huge Zikomo/Thank You to every board
member. Its your hard-work and dedication to SVA and its projects that ensures

SVA Newsletter January 2016

we remain a successful student-led charity

that continues to provide affordable,
sustainable and worthwhile experiences
for our volunteers.

needs. Make sure to look out for each of

our teams events around campus and
help our volunteers meet their fundraising targets!

Being a part of SVA is a large commitment

to manage alongside the other demands
of university life but I feel that the support
that every member offers ensures that being part of SVA is rewarding in a multitude
of ways!

I hope to see you all dressed in

tartan and ceilidh dancing the
night away on Thursday 28th
January at the GUU!

This year we are continuing to run four

projects alongside local NGOs in Malawi,
Uganda, Indonesia and Kenya. The projects we support focus on gender empowerment, water sanitation, environmental
education, and entrepreneurship. SVA
work alongside local community members to provide project plans that arent
just a photo opportunity for volunteers
but support sustainable development
that is in-line with the communities true