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| Experiences of Previous Volunteers |
Emma Fromant 2009-10 (5 months)
Whilst in my final year of university I received an email offering an opportunity to volunteer with ASA. The first thing that caught my eye was the wide range of roles that they could offer to their volunteers. After looking into what ASA actually does I soon found out that unlike popular „gap-year' organisations, they are not out to make money from volunteer placements, but is genuinely a development organisa-tion that valued it's volunteers research and work. After a professional interview process I was selected for the 5 month placement. Originally I applied for the marketing and PR role as at the time I was looking for a future career in this field. However between the time of applying and reaching Bhopal I had had a change of heart and since I had specialised in watershed processes throughout my BSc Geogra-phy degree I thought it would be a great opportunity to apply my knowledge. I was pleased to find out during the orientation at the start of the placement that ASA are flexible with project areas and more than happy to adhere with the skills and knowledge I already have. After much reading about the development schemes that ASA imple-ments and type of projects previous volunteers have carried out, I decided I would conduct an impact assessment on how check dams have improved farming practices and quality of life in the poor rural area of Jhabua. After creating a formal proposal and a plan of how to collect data in the field I was ready to conduct two weeks worth of household questionnaires and focus group meetings in order to gain enough information to create a sufficient assessment that will be published as an ASA document. The team members of ASA have given me much guidance and allowed me to take responsibility of my own project. This is a fantastic opportunity as having only just gradu-ated it is near impossible to get this kind of experience in the UK without already having some work experience! As well as this main research project I took part in smaller PR and marketing jobs and other administration jobs. There is a lot to be done within the NGO and all the staff members are already very busy with their own jobs, so it can sometimes mean quiet times for the volun-teers. This might feel unproductive at the time, but be patient and everything will get done in the end! Living in Bhopal and working for ASA can sometimes be challenging, but to get through the harder times makes it all the more rewarding. There is a great volunteer coordinator that gives you as much support as he can and all the staff members are extremely friendly, this is comforting when times get tough. It is also a unique opportunity to live in an area of India that is completely off the tourist map.
Madhya Pradesh offers plenty of interesting things to see and do, just with the added bonus of no western tourists, which makes it all the more special. All in all my time at ASA has been very rewarding and has helped me to determine which career direction to head in when I return to the UK, whilst giving me a very valuable experience that will stay with me forever. A placement at ASA is ideal for those looking for a future career in international development, the environmental sector or sustainable development. This volunteer experience will be invaluable for your CV and self development.
Ben Redmond 2009-10 (5 months)
After completing my degree in Environmental Science, I decided that I wanted to move towards a career in the Development Sector. The 5 month ASA placement seemed to be an ideal opportunity to gain experience and contribute in a meaningful way to the charity. Its approach of resource management and institution building seemed well suited to my qualifications. It also stood out from the wide range of volunteer schemes available as a small organization, directly tack-ling local issues through a participatory, sustainable approach. The time I have spent here in Bhopal has been highly rewarding. From day to day life in an Indian office to exploring the city and travel-ing further a field. The most challenging and the most satisfying period so far has been spent in the field. The demands of conducting re-search in a foreign environment, language and culture are far out weighed by the hospitality of staff and other local people. The oppor-tunity to visit rural communities and meet farmers was also valuable. It is fascinating to see this way of life in action and to spend time with
villagers. When I have not been in the field I have been occupied report writing, analyzing data, preparing presentations and project summaries. Bhopal is a rela-tively small city; it is also off the tourist circuit. It has picturesque lakes, a chaotic city centre, as well as the bus-tling New Market and Bittan Market. The accommoda-tion is situated in a quiet suburb. It has been a great place to live for 5 months and an ideal introduction to India. I plan to travel when the project is complete. However I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to live and work in Bhopal for this period. It has provided insight into Indian culture as well as practical experience of working within a development NGO.
Philip Hadley 2009 (5 months) After studying International Development and working in the not-for-profit sector in UK for a couple of years, I decided that I would like to gain some more practical, hands-on experience of the issues, I had been studying and campaigning about, respectively. My background is in Politics / Social Studies and my work experience to date has involved working on international campaigning/advocacy projects. I was interested in finding a placement which would enable me to work on some interesting projects; exploring the development is-sues, which I was interested in and hopefully making a good contri-bution to the work of an organisation with a good track record of innovative, sustainable development. ASA seemed to fit into what I was looking for. As an organisation involved in rural development projects, exploring ways of building sustainable livelihoods for India's many rural poor through several key innovative and interesting interventions, I decided to apply. ASA offers placements with a significant amount of research and writing is also something fairly unique for volunteer placements. The oppor-tunity to complete one or two projects based purely on my own res-
earch in rural India was something I did not want to pass up on. The prospect that the projects may be published afterwards is also something worth considering. I am particularly interested in the institutions and politics of develop-ment – that ASA's approach is anchored in participation and em-powerment of the beneficiaries of their projects, including them as much as possible in the development process, further motivated me to choose the organisation. My expectations have not been disappointed. Since arriving at ASA, I have been working on one main research project exploring the feasibility of establishing a farmer's cooperative, as well as several smaller tasks. The highlight to-date has definitely been doing field-work; meeting the beneficiaries of ASA's projects and seeing the ground level reality of the development issues I was interested in. On a personal level, travelling to a country so different from the UK and spending 5 months there is something that I definitely wanted to do. One of the most challenging things about the placement is getting to grips with India, which continues to challenge me, interest me, confuse and fascinate me, often all at the same time! ASA cater well to volunteers' social as well as professional needs. As a volunteer placement abroad, it is somewhat inevitable that the two will intertwine. I am grateful for the opportunity to work for ASA and the experience it has given me. I would definitely recommend ASA to anyone inter-ested in gaining experience in the development sector, in working abroad for a professional organisation, or simply with a wish to challenge their skills, knowledge or ideas in a totally different con-text.
Rebecca Griffiths 2009-10 (2 months)
Throughout my second year at university, I had been searching for various placements as part of my sandwich degree in Geography and natural hazards. After looking at a variety of different place-ments advertised, this seemed to be the ideal opportunity to gain valuable work experience as well as the chance to travel „off the beaten track', which is something that I have always wanted to do. As an undergraduate I have had very little previous experience in working for an NGO or even abroad. Therefore, I welcomed the chance to become involved with ASA's work, get outside of the classroom and experience what I had learnt about development for myself. When I arrived in Bhopal I was pleasantly surprised at the standards of accommodation and the office. My project for ASA was mainly focused on the agri-business area of ASA's work where I produced brochures for 2 new projects; farmer producer companies and the responsible soy initiative. I then went onto to produce a summary manual for the farmer producer company programme. The highlight of my placement was the field visits to two districts of MP that ASA work in. We were shown around numerous schemes and got to meet several farmers and villagers within the communities. Being my first visit to a predominantly tribal community, my cultural under-standing of different castes was significantly enriched. I was also struck by the friendliness and the strong sense of welcome amongst the communities. Overall, the experience was extremely challenging particularly being totally immersed in a completely alien culture, which at times was very frustrating. However, being thrown into a range of unusual situations meant that I quickly had to learn to deal with situations and develop my personal skills. I have gained a wide range of experiences from the placement, and had the opportunity to deal with „real life' issues. I am extremely grateful to ASA for giving me the unique opportunity to see key issues in rural development on the ground for myself.
Frances Alder - 2008-09 (2 months)
I first heard about ASA through my university. ASA offered a wide variety of research programmes, but the one which particularly interested me was a project which utilized GIS, an IT programme that I have gained experience in using as part of my university course. As a geography student, I have always been interested in working within NGOs and the not-for-profit sector. As the programme area of ASA was so closely linked to my degree, I was keen to take up the opportunity. I joined ASA in the summer after my second year at Leeds University. I viewed my time in the 2-month internship as something which gave me an excellent opportunity to help with ASA's development, as well as providing me with invaluable work experience. My work with ASA involved not only GIS mapping, but also writing promotional material. With English as one of the official languages in India, I was happy to be of use in this area as I could quickly work through the more academic documents and summarise them as brochures for ASA. Whilst creating brochures, I was able to call on skills I hadn't used since school, utilizing my A level in graphic design. I found the work in GIS challenging because although I have knowl-edge from my degree on GIS software, Bhoomi (the GIS software ASA has produced) was new to me and took some getting used to. At ASA, I was given the opportunity to visit one of the district offices, and see rural India and meet a number of local farmers, in order to collect raw data related to the farmers' land and their accessibility to resources. I then mapped this data back in the office, using Bhoomi. I was encouraged to write a report giving feedback on ASA's per-formance, which I enjoyed working on, putting together and present-ing to the other ASA members.
Lucy Wilmot - 2008-09 (5 months)
I spent five months with ASA, from September 2008 to February 2009. Prior to beginning my placement with ASA, I had been work-ing with an Environmental Consultancy in the UK in the area of EU chemical legislation. This was my first job after completing an MSc, and, though it was a challenging and diverse role with much scope for development within the company, I decided to leave it after just ten months to come to ASA. I remain convinced that this was one of the best deci-sions I have made. Making the world a fairer and more sustainable place forms the centre of my thoughts and aims. I wanted to get involved with development work in a developing country, and see for myself some of the challenges faced, and the most effective and sustainable solutions. I was very keen to do a voluntary placement with ASA in particular. Its grass-roots approach to rural development, with an emphasis on natural resource man-agement, was very much in kind with my view of a successful and sustainable approach.
The introductory weeks with ASA took place first in the head office in Bhopal, followed by visits to field offices and to rural communities in MP with whom ASA works. The field visits were an opportunity to witness and appreciate the huge effect ASA has on people's liveli-hoods, and the appreciation, trust and respect the communities have for ASA. It was amazing to spend time with people in the villages; to come to know their spontaneous and unbounded friendli-ness and generosity, and to be in the beautiful and peaceful settings in which they live.
I began a project investigating the cost of soybean production in MP: whether the cost is increasing; by how much; and why. The topic of research was very interesting, if slightly overwhelming in scope, and was made more so by an appreciation of the vital impor-tance furthering the understanding of soybean production was to ASA's work. The support and encouragement from staff at ASA was impressive, and of course fundamental to my project.
I felt privileged to be assigned a project with such import, and it is a credit to ASA and its volunteer program that it trusts and values volunteers enough to assign such projects. Spending time working and living in India has been greatly valuable to me, and it has been gratifying and very enjoyable. Bhopal, though a beautiful city, is not on the must-see list of India. This has made me aware of the India one may be confined to seeing as a tourists/traveller, and has heightened my appreciation of the opportunity to live and work amongst a community here, thus gaining a fuller impression of the people and culture of India.
Tom Salisbury - 2007-08 (5months)
I joined ASA for 5 months just after I had completed a degree in human geography. In the past I had had many opportunities to travel and con-duct research in different countries, particularly Argen-tina. As it was becoming clear that I wanted a career in Interna-tional Develop-ment, I knew it was important to con-tinue adding to my experiences. When I saw the placement at ASA being advertised, it ticked all the boxes; it was a chance to do some research in a rural develop-ment context and it was in a country I had never been to before.
When I first arrived at ASA, I was struck by how professional and large the organisation seemed to be. The head office in Bhopal was a lot nicer than many offices I had seen back in the UK! When we first arrived we were instructed to read their latest an-nual report to familiarise ourselves with ASA and their work. After a week or so settling-in we were given many different tasks throughout our placement. These ranged from conducting re-search in remote tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh, writing project proposals and designing brochures and websites in the head office.
For me, the real highlights of the placement came when I was out in the field, interacting with both ASA's field staff and members of the local community. It was a real privilege to be given these opportunities to really see what India is like, as well as producing some useful research that ASA could use in the future. This placement provided me with many great experiences, both personally but also professionally – for that, I am very grateful. I would heartily recommend a placement with ASA for those wish-ing to gain experience working in a large NGO and international development.
Sarah Gettings - 2007-08 (5months)
I decided to apply for a voluntary position at ASA to gain some insight into the development sector that I hoped I would be able to apply in my future career in research. Having graduated with a Masters in Sociological Research, I was working as a research assistant, although the projects I was involved with centred upon the UK only. Having previously volunteered in the not-for-profit sector I wanted to return to a working environment where targets and achievements focused upon effecting change and making improvements to other peoples lives. I began to investigate the possibility of combining work in this sector with travel, and found that the opportunity offered at ASA was distinct from other over-seas voluntary placements in their professional approach to overseas volunteers.
Since arriving at ASA 5 months ago my expectations have not been disappointed. ASA's progressive and forward looking ethos is sophisticated, making it easy for new members to find a place in the ASA team. When not working on social research projects, I have been tasked with a number of different tasks to support ASA's growth.
Janet Geddes - 2002
Prior to coming to ASA I had been working in an Environmental Consultancy firm in London, in its International Development team. My reasoning was that getting some solid “field experience” in a “developing country” would kick-start my consultancy career.
I went out to India with another volunteer who was also to work for ASA - somebody I didn't know before, but who is now a firm, life-long friend… the friendship the result of many shared experiences - good and bad - during our time in India.
It was not easy going from London to small town Gujarat… pace of life is much slower, alcohol is prohibited, most people are vegetarians, society is pretty conservative, and we were the only foreign-ers in town by the looks of it! Heat, dust, staring men, shouting children could take their toll at times. I feel that my experience with ASA was the catalyst to my career as an environmental consultant. I have never really looked back since then. It was not only the technical knowledge I gained and experience to put on my CV, but also the new self-confidence boost and the ability to work in difficult circumstances, with cultur-ally different colleagues and in culturally different settings. After 9 months back in a UK based environmental consultancy I returned again to live and work in India, working on fascinating assign-ments in the West Bank, Malawi and other places.
Alexandros Yiannopoulos - 1999 In 1999
I volunteered for about 6 months with ASA in Dahod, Gujarat. This was quite an opportunity, where I could apply my knowledge gained in my MSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development, and write my thesis on my experiences. The work I was involved in was interesting and a challenge. The first 3 months I worked with 2 fellow students from the Indian Institute of Forest Management to analyse the livelihood of the Bhil tribe in 12 villages in MP and Gujarat. We learned a lot about the people of the region, but as importantly, we learned to work together. Even though we got on very well and both were doing post-graduate degrees, we came from different backgrounds and experiences. These factors came into play in developing the assessment and analysing the results – there were some interesting discussions! An indicator of how well we were able to work together is the fact that we do still keep in touch today.
ASA introduced me to the principals of development work, and got me to apply my theoretical knowledge, such as using the PRA techniques I was taught at University and doing a demanding literature review. It not only helped develop my technical skills, but also taught me a bit about living overseas and working in a different culture. Those 6 months in ASA did make sure I could quickly adapt and have the confidence to work on much more demanding pro-jects a year later. My character and personality developed during that period, with a part of India remaining with me and I am sure never to leave.
Post ASA I did not go into the Development Sector but ended up in the Humanitarian Sector by a very fortunate accident. After ASA I spent 6 years with Action gainst Hunger working as an Agronomist, a Food Security Officer, then finally as a Food Security Coordinator, visiting DR Congo, Myanmar, Guinea, and Zambia. At the moment I am a Livelihood Delegate with the British Red Cross in Sri Lanka.All volunteers will be invited to attend the annual staff retreat |
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