2. Why did I decide to go?
• Desire to try and make a positive impact on
the lives of people less fortunate than myself.
• Desire to change my own life by :
- Experiencing poverty first hand.
- Experiencing another culture first hand.
- Gaining valuable experience of working in a
very different and challenging
environment.
3.
4. Why choose VSO-ICS?
• ICS is a youth focused program, which allows
those with no prior experience to participate
in changing the world for the better.
• VSO is a world renowned organisation with a
long history of sending volunteers overseas.
• The program lets individuals like myself
engage with their world, not just as individuals
but as part of a group of like minded people.
5. Where did we go?
• My team were based in Baglung district Nepal
in a number of villages in the mountains
above Baglung Bazaar.
• We were paired off into different villages, all
of which were walking distance (up to 4 hours
walk) from each other.
6.
7. What we did
• Social research – Focus groups, meetings with
local organisations etc.
• Worked with local schools – using them as
focal points for the community we arranged
training and education projects within the
community
• Focused on Sexual & Reproductive Health and
Women’s rights as well as climate change.
14. 3 pieces of advice
• Go with an open mind – if you go to a country
without preconceptions you can see the
beauty of it for what it is.
• Make sure you have some good books
• Make an effort to learn the language – even if
you aren’t very good at it, if you try people
will warm to you and you can build strong
relationships with them.
15. How ICS helped me
• I’ve learnt how to project manage
• I’ve learnt a lot about social research
techniques
• I’ve learnt about how to coordinate projects
and events with a number of different
organisations/groups.
