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WEEKLY WEBCAST
Tuesdays 10am ET/7am PT |
A Brief History & Background
People and Places has evolved from the recognition that many volunteer recruitment organisations are out of step with the needs of local communities and volunteers. Ours is a truly different approach – to specifically match volunteers and projects. Our starting point for every project is the local community – their needs and those of the project are paramount. Only with a comprehensive understanding and respect for the community and the project will people and places match volunteers to placements.
We are committed to ensuring that as much as possible of your hard earned money reaches your host country and is used for the benefit of local well being and knowledge. We are committed to ensuring that your placement is as rewarding as possible for you and the projects on which you work. We offer our service at no charge to volunteers and at a minimal charge to the projects.
People and Places is not run for the benefit of shareholders. Any annual profit, after all justifiable operating costs, is paid into a CAF account. This commitment is clearly stated in our Shareholders Agreement
We commit...
- that the vast majority of the volunteer funds benefits the local economy
- a good match of projects and volunteers
- a challenging, rewarding and safe experience for volunteers and communities alike
Helping the local economy
You pay nothing to us – the total price of your volunteer experience will be sent directly to the local project manager who, with the project team, will designate funds to ensure local sustainability. Our fee is met by the project manager, and we guarantee that at least 75% of the price you pay will remain in the host country. This approach has obvious benefits – local management teams receive your funds immediately, easing cash flow, and because our charges are low, they are able to use more of the funds locally … up to 100% more!
Matching people and places
Having assured ourselves that the projects are well managed and the managers are fully committed, we work closely with them to build careful profiles of their volunteer requirements. We will take as much care learning about you, so that we can effectively select the most appropriate project for you. We take every possible step to ensure that the local communities benefit as much as possible from your time, your expertise and your money.
Wherever appropriate we require volunteers to undergo criminal record screening to ensure the safety of vulnerable children and adults.
Whether you want to share a specific expertise or step well out of your comfort zone, our personal experiences and professional skills enable us to match people and places for the benefit of both.
People and Places Team Members
Harold Goodwin
Dr. Harold Goodwin is a world expert in responsible and sustainable tourism. He works with communities, governments, international funding agencies, and within the tourism industry to develop responsible tourism. He founded and directs the MSc in Responsible Tourism Management at the University of Greenwich.
He is committed to enabling local communities and economically poor people to conserve their natural and cultural heritage through careful linking with responsible travellers. He has held the belief for some time that economically poor communities and volunteers can be better served than they have been by the majority of existing volunteer recruitment organisations.
Sallie Grayson
Sallie Grayson is one of those volunteers who was not best served!
She ran a niche marketing company for 20 years and has served as a non-executive director, and consultant in industries as varied as retail, finance health and tourism. She has a proven record in direct marketing and business development. She has worked with communities in Africa to improve their economic welfare.
Her volunteer experience, and the shared experience of other volunteers and the communities in which they worked, left her frustrated and cynical about the volunteer industry, but inspired by the potential benefits to volunteer and community alike …
… and determined to do something!
Kate Stefanko
Kate Stefanko has over 10 years’ experience in the travel industry, particularly in the development of cultural immersion tours for specialist travel companies. She places particular emphasis on matching the cultural experience of the traveller to the need for a sustainable and empowering experience for the destination.
To our combined academic, strategic and commercial skills, we bring a grounded passion for the importance of travelling to make a difference.
The Philosophy
People and Places was established to recruit and place volunteers in local projects run by local people for the benefit of their communities and their environment. People and Places is a (not-for-profit) company. All profits are covenanted for charitable purposes and used to serve the needs of the communities with whom we work. People and Places serves the needs of local projects, by recruiting and placing volunteers on their behalf. We have no political or religious affiliations.
Our core values are mutual respect, service, partnership, transparency and sustainability. We believe that people who are willing and able to contribute their expertise, skills and time for the benefit of others, should be provided with quality volunteering opportunities and be well supported in their volunteering.
Unique Volunteer Activities
Each volunteer opportunity within the People & Places framework is unique because it is designed specifically based upon the needs of the community and matched with individual participants. The following is an example of one such project:
This project involves far more than teaching! Based in the townships of Port Elizabeth, the project currently involves 7 primary schools (children aged 4–13, usually) with programmes designed to empower hard-pressed teachers in desperately under-resourced schools as they work towards the overall well-being of their pupils. Over-burdened teachers, whilst committed to change, struggle to adapt, and need support and training.
Port Elizabeth is not only an attractive tourist city; it is also a fantastic example of the new emerging South Africa. The ANC started its struggle against apartheid here and the city was the first in South Africa to accept a black mayor. Port Elizabeth and its surrounding area is being renamed ‘ Nelson Mandela Bay’ to reflect these strong local links. While South Africa is on the path towards becoming one of the power houses of Africa, the apartheid legacy remains – one of the greatest challenges is the growing gap between rich and poor.
While many of the township teachers are qualified and professional, the education system is in a state of transition. At the end of apartheid, South Africa had 17 different education systems, with different levels for different races, different training institutions and expectations for different teachers. It was an education system designed to prevent critical thinking, and was based on rote learning and minimal participation. Then, in 1994, it all changed – to an education system premised on democratic human rights, outcomes based, critical thinking and experiential learning – but still with the very same teachers, who have had to adapt radically and the disparity in resources between formerly white and township schools still exists. The education system is in transition, constant flux, and teachers operate with varying levels of skill and confidence.
Coupled with the challenges inherent in this change are the problems of large classes, social deprivation, HIV/ Aids and the resultant breakdown of the family. Teachers do their best under the circumstances, but often just need a bit of support and encouragement – and this is where you can make a meaningful contribution.
The schools involved in this project have been identified for their innovation and dynamism. Previous volunteers have observed that despite the deprivation they are joyful places and that the vast majority of teachers are professional and committed, and the children polite and eager to learn. One of the schools is New Brighton Primary School, where the Saga Charitable Trust has already funded basic improvements and set up a computer room, and the school has received many Saga guests and gifts.
The principals are keen to work together to share knowledge for the benefit of all. The schools themselves decide where their needs are greatest, and individual volunteer’s skills will be matched to these needs, also taking into account previous volunteer input.
Skills needed:
Whether your skills and abilities are professional or practical, you can be sure that your placement in this project will bring a warm reception and real rewards. Volunteers with education, childcare or TEFL experience will be especially welcome, and the schools recognise that they need help in following areas:
- Basic literacy can be vastly improved by one-on-one time for English reading and writing. Many children have grown up in illiterate families, non English
- Lesson planning and teaching methodologies – these are fundamental areas of modern education in which many teachers have received no training
- Information Technology – whilst some schools have computers, computer literacy among teachers cannot be taken as read – all schools in the project will welcome IT training
- The nutritional needs of students can be addressed by programmes to establish food gardens, and gardening skills are greatly needed
- Basic health care information and school nurses are simply unavailable
- Life skills practitioners, who can get children to work in groups and share experiences. ALL the schools have orphans as a result of AIDS, and many children come from broken or violent homes, Drugs are increasingly prevalent, and sexual health, in particular prevention of HIV is important.
- Extra-curricular activities such as sport or visits to museums and galleries cannot take place in the over-stretched teaching day
- Quality educational materials are seldom available, and even if they are, schools struggle to organise and account for them. Basic cataloguing and accounting skills are needed
- Administration falls on the shoulders of the principals alone – there are no funds for support staff, and help is needed to establish sustainable systems for paperwork
Recent volunteers
Volunteers have helped with computerisation for schools and partially trained teaching staff; setting up a programme for teaching English as a second language; children have received their first ever art lessons; reading techniques have improved; lesson planning and presentational skills are developing.
Sample Itinerary (South Africa)
Climate and Clothing
Some of you might already know South Africa or have stayed in similar climes. Depending on what time of year you go, it could be warm, hot or very hot as it was when I went In January-March 2008. It never gets cold by our standards but it has a reputation as being the ‘windy city’ which can make it feel a little chilly at times. I went last year during April and May and I found it was quite cool in the early morning and in the late evening (it got dark about 6- ish then). Basically you will need mostly cool comfortable clothing. If you are there in the hotter months it is best to go for natural fabrics rather than man-made fibres as you can get rather hot and sweaty in the schools. You will probably need to use a waterproof at least once so it is best to take a light one. As it was cold in the U.K. at both ends of my stay, I travelled in layers of summer clothing and a sweater under a waterproof. You will need a cardigan or a sweater, wrap, fleece etc at some stage as the wind can sometimes make it feel a bit cool.
I think that the information is a little stricter than it needs to be with regard to dress code. Obviously you would not dress in any way that would give offence but we had no problem with wearing cropped trousers to school with a sleeveless or short-sleeved blouse or T-shirt. The staff at the schools wear a variety of styles of clothing but as a rule are very smartly turned out, as are the children. Coming from a colder climate, you do need to think of comfort as well as appearance because there is no air-con in the schools and the classes are very crowded. The advice about shoes needs to be checked with someone who was at your particular school. At Emafini I wore sandals almost all of the time, but needed shoes that covered my feet after heavy rain, as some areas did get rather muddy. Brenda at Tshume School found her feet got quite sore after crossing from building to building wearing light sandals on a stony terrain.
Calabash Tours/Trust and your first day
On the Monday, if it follows the same pattern as last time, you will be picked up from the hotel by one of the staff at Calabash Tours who will take you on a tour of Port Elizabeth and a Township, with very interesting and amusing but often very moving commentary, and then possibly on to your schools. The first time I went, we finished the day with a meeting at the Calabash Headquarters with Paul, where we were shown a DVD about Calabash Trust and given all the information we should need about our roles and our and the schools' expectations. Last time the day was arranged slightly differently but was in essence the same. Paul and his staff are 'in charge' of us while we are there. We all fell in love with all the Calabash staff immediately- especially Paul- and became quite possessive about our ‘report’ time with him each week. I hope you get to spend time with Nelson, Monga and Luyanda too, all of whom we could have happily packed into our suitcases and taken home with us. Hands off Simphwe from Calabash Trust though; he belongs to Brenda and me and we revelled in outdoing one another with reporting back whatever contact we had had with him during the weeks we were there. I still get a great buzz when I remember hearing him playing the marimba and singing with his beautiful tenor voice – sadly that is not part of the orientation day – it is not his day job and you will have to visit a shebeen for that. It’s a shame they are all attached or married and young enough to be our children! I’ll stop being flippant now and give them the credit that is due to them. They are a wonderful team of people to work with and you can feel assured of their support and advice at all times. I had a lot of contact with Bongie too who is one of Paul’s secretaries and extremely helpful. Paul, in particular, is an inspirational person, totally dedicated, hard-working and committed to the programme. He has wisdom well beyond his years. I will have no hesitation in crossing seas and continents again to work with him and his staff.
On the Tuesday you will probably go into the schools and begin to get to know the staff and the children. You will also discuss with the staff what they would like you to do- this will already have been negotiated to some extent before you arrive. However, it is not set in stone and might need further negotiation or a little fine tuning before everyone feels comfortable with what you are expected to do. The best approach is to go in with an open mind, to try it and then if you are not happy, discuss it with your volunteer colleagues (especially if they are experienced) and the probable outcome will be a meeting with Paul and/or the Principal when a more workable arrangement will be arrived at. It is possible that you will start working on that first day. I certainly expected to since I did not want to waste any time and I was used to working there. However, if you want a more gradual introduction over that first day or week, I'm sure it can be arranged.
The Schools, the Staff and Expectations
There are many things that are similar and many things that are different between the schools we are going to and those we have become accustomed to back home. I believe you need to come with eyes wide open, broad minds, a certain amount of tolerance and above all, a big heart. As you can no doubt see, I wear mine on my sleeve most of the time. (Not to be recommended). The most important thing to hold on to, I believe is, that the staff at the schools are all professionals with good qualifications, just as in our schools, and we should not let their lack of resources and sometimes imperfect command of English fool us into thinking they are in any way lacking in skills or commitment. For the most part they work extremely hard with huge classes in the hardest of conditions - I am in awe of them.
I have to put the brakes on here because I am aware that a few volunteers do not share my view of the situation in Township schools and that you probably need to know this. Those who disagree with me see lots of time-wasting on the part of teaching staff while they answer their mobile phones; lots of hours of teaching time lost because the teacher is not in the class or even in school; lots of resources wasted because they lie hidden in cupboards or in boxes, forgotten and unused, and lots of children spending hours out of the classroom when they should be learning. They are entitled to their opinions and they are right- all of this does happen in all of the schools to a greater or lesser degree. It upsets me as much as it does them but where we differ is how we react to it. We could walk away and say ‘Why should we bother? If they are not prepared to put in the hours in the classroom and use the resources donated to them, why should I waste my time and money? They are not interested in what I have to offer, they are only interested in my money.’ Or we could say, ‘This is not my school, this is not my country; I don’t live their lives; I don’t suffer their hardship. I came to give and I did not expect to put conditions on the giving. And if invited we can help them to manage their time in the classrooms, show them how to use the resources that have been donated, show them by our own example how precious and valuable is the time spent helping the children to learn. Their morale is very low especially following a period of largely unsuccessful industrial action last year and then finding that the pay they received during the strike last year is being docked from their pay over a period of very few months this year. You will see for yourselves the conditions under which they work. There are people far more qualified than me who can explain the struggles and the hardship they have endured. In any case you must form your own opinions and react in your own ways.
It can be quite hard, initially, to break down perceived barriers between them and us. We are nervous because we don't know what to expect, but they are even more nervous of us and can feel anxious that we might pose a threat to them. We have to remember that we are guests in their country and their school and can't impose our culture and beliefs on them. On the other hand they will soon show you how grateful they are for the fact that we have travelled so far at great cost to come and support them. I still don’t think I have broken down the barriers as much as I would like and I want to improve on this next time. The closest I got was last year when I became ill and some of the teachers visited me at the hotel. We shared a brief time of common humanity and for that time we were all women together- there were no differences and we spoke openly. I would love there to be this openness in discussion about teaching.
Your role
What you do in the school will depend largely on what skills you have to offer. I always hope that following from last year's experiences and subsequent discussions, there will be a qualified teacher volunteer in each school who will supervise a programme of work to suit the needs of the school concerned but that is probably because I am a teacher. This will not always be the case and although desirable, is not always necessary. You don’t have to be a qualified teacher to give support in many of the tasks involved in the support of Literacy skills, especially in reading, and there are many other areas where help can be given. One of the most successful experiences from the point of view of the volunteer and of the children that I have witnessed happened with a non-teacher volunteer who taught a couple of hundred children basic computer skills in a month. She unlocked the mysterious world of computers for a load of nervous teachers too! Another volunteer this year, whose work back home was in a totally different field and who had had no formal training in teaching reading, worked with a group of very low ability children and the progress they made in a month was astounding.
Contact Information
web: www.travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk
Kate Stefanko - kate@travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk |