My VSO Experience in Hindsight

By: Nandita Jacob, VSO Volunteer, India It will soon be a year since I left Anuradhapura in North Central Sri Lanka, after completing my two year VSO assignment. With the objectivity of time, Im able to see the experience more realistically and appreciate it even more, now. The assignment gave me a rare insight to another country. A VSO assignment is all about living with the local community, learning to fit in and work in another culture. There is no hiding in an artificial ex-pat world here. I stayed in a town with very few non-Sri Lankans around, living as a local, shopping in the markets, learning to speak Sinhala and using public transport for my daily commute. It gave me a fascinating insight to our neighbour, a country with a very different history, culture and perspective to India, despite its proximity. Sri Lanka is extremely complex and each new nuance was an amazing discovery and one I would never see, if I merely visited it as a tourist. The tragedy of a country where the people are amazingly kind and generous individually, yet caught in a civil war was sobering. I will never again be blas or underestimate the costs of war. It has taught me to be grateful for each day, knowing that any of us could be caught up at any time, in circumstances beyond our control. Sri Lanka is simply gorgeous. Lush natural beauty with a relatively small population leaves vast areas unspoilt and green. After two years there, I saw far beyond the touristy beaches of the coast or the tea plantations of the hills. My favourite time was going on community visits with my partner organisation, near Anuradhapura. The land is a mix of green fields and tall trees, redbrown earth, and blue-black water running in the various tanks and irrigation canals. Birds of every hue are lurking all over. At night, the stars come out, thick and overlapping, almost covering the sky. Late at night, travelling through roads lit only by the headlights of our van and the moonlight, once can make out different shades of dark in the forests, lakes and fields, and the scene is just indescribable. The assignment gave me a welcome break from the daily grind of the competitive and allconsuming corporate world - not that I did not have to work hard as a volunteer. My assignment, as a Management Adviser to a local NGO, meant capacity building of my colleagues. At work, I had to constantly mentor and share my skills with the staff, something that has taught me much patience ! This kind of role meant I had little time to do the report writing and documentation thats part of my work, so weekends and evenings in my home, often saw me putting in additional hours. Nevertheless, I had breathing space to develop other interests, I had time to read, travel, explore the hidden areas of Sri Lanka, and I know I have become a far more balanced person, than when I was simply working in the corporate rut.

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VSO with its many years of experience, is an ideal partner to do a sabbatical stint like this. Their workshops and training material, given to us before we leave for our overseas assignment, really prepares us for the challenges ahead. I think I didnt appreciate the true value of some of the topics covered until I landed in my assignment. I was certainly better equipped to manage the adjustment phase of living in another country and working with people from a different culture. The very nature of VSOs work, is all about empowering local communities, which means working closely with them, listening and learning from them, valuing their experience and sharing our skills, so that they go up the ladder of development on their own. Unlike corporate work wherein jobs are defined and work colleagues cooperate as a matter of routine, here nothing is so structured. We have to convince our partners to adopt or share any skills and knowledge, and we need to see everything in terms of impact on the community. This is extremely challenging yet very rewarding. The progress is small but our work does make a lasting difference in a small way. VSOs guidance through their in-country training and their programme staff is invaluable. They prepare us, give us space to develop our project within the objectives, and support us with advice whenever needed. Coming from outside the Development world, I had very glib and simplistic ideas about development. The experience has taught me how complex human issues are, and it has shown me that there are no real right or wrong answers. I think I am much more discerning and sensitive about human issues now and I hope this will make me more effective in any future work I do. The assignment exposed me to people Id never have met otherwise and I am richer for meeting them local people in my neighbourhood who looked after me so well, my landlady who would always cook extra when making special meals and send it to me, my work colleagues who learnt English simply to communicate with me and of course my fellow VSO volunteers. Being away from home and all that is familiar is an intense experience and one shared by every VSO volunteer. VSO volunteers are, without exception, friendly and open, and in-country, this network of volunteers are a lifeline. We share our holidays, frustrations, and fun. Fellow volunteers staying all over the country in various placements gives a convenient excuse to travel, and the unspoken VSO code of having an open house for any visiting volunteer means we get to spend time with each other. I have made several lifelong friends from different parts of the world, and this by itself makes the whole experience worth it. Finally, coming back into my real world of corporate work, I realize Ive picked up some invaluable skills. I have come back from my assignment more self confident, knowing I can meet challenges. My coping skills have developed and I think I can work much better with people now. The experience refreshed me and made me more capable of handling stress and competition, since my perspective has broadened considerably. Taking a decision to volunteer, especially for a two year overseas placement is a serious one. It is up to each person to weigh up the pros and cons. One must consider the implication of leaving ones family and all that is familiar, living alone in a new country and culture, and working in a fairly demanding and not so structured capacity building role. People outside the Development world need to evaluate the impact of a sabbatical on their career and consider what they will do on their return. Taking up a voluntary assignment also has monetary implications, since a volunteer is paid living expenses but not a salary. Saving is not possible and the VSO allowance, while adequate for daily living, does not allow for luxuries like private transport, expat-style living, etc. Considering all this and looking at my life now, I can still say that I gained far more from my
iVolunteer Overseas
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experience than I expected and I certainly got more than I ever gave. Would I repeat the experience with another placement? Yes indeed, if my circumstances in life allowed me to take another break. Will I visit Sri Lanka again and stay in touch with my local and VSO friends? An undoubted yes! Someone asked me if I came back disillusioned about humanity, seeing first hand the effects of a war. Extreme situations like war, natural disaster and deprivation certainly bring out the worst in human nature. However living in Sri Lanka, I constantly heard first hand stories of how members of one community took in friends of another community during riots or disasters, at times when they had nothing to gain and everything to lose. These people did not have to do anything but stepped forward when they saw someone in distress. There were too many instances of such quiet and selfless courage by so many ordinary people. Extreme situations also bring out the best in human nature and if anything, I have come back with my faith restored in goodness.

iVolunteer Overseas
D-134, First Floor, East of Kailash New Delhi-110065

Tel.: +91 11-26217459 Email : vso@ivolunteer.in Website: www.ivoindia.org