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Newsletter
NOVEMBER 2011
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THIS MONTH'S TOPICS
1. FROM THE SERVICE: Help light-up our world
2. EXPERIENCE: The long road to Skardu - reflections of an online-turned-on-site volunteer
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1. FROM THE SERVICE: Help light-up our world
Many of you have already submitted photos for UNV’s Volunteering Matters campaign, showcasing examples of volunteer action. Thank you for helping light-up our world! You can view the pictures on the campaign website http://volunteeringmatters.unv.org.
Every picture lights up the country where the volunteer is located on an interactive map -- if you haven't seen your country light up yet, send your photo to the campaign website! Help us showcase the power of volunteerism in every country before International Volunteer Day (IVD) on 5 December. By participating you will automatically enter the Volunteering Matters photo competition.
Every week, we will introduce a new volunteerism topic – on the campaign website, you can watch the weekly video, follow the weekly discussions, and submit a photo on the current theme.
Let’s show the world that volunteering matters!
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2. EXPERIENCE: The long road to Skardu - reflections of an online-turned-on-site volunteer
Kate Anderson Simons is an education consultant who has consulted on domestic and international education projects for the Brookings Institution, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, National Association for the Education of Young Children, Child Trends, Inc., and the US Department of Health and Human Services. Her work focuses on vulnerable children, both in the US and internationally, who are affected by poverty, armed conflict, and inequitable learning environments. She holds a BA in Psychology from Pepperdine University and a Masters in Public Policy from Georgetown University. She has been an active online volunteer for GRACE Association Pakistan since 2007. Here is her story of volunteering with GRACE Association Pakistan:
I first connected with GRACE Association Pakistan in 2007 through the UNV Online Volunteering service. At the time, GRACE Association was seeking proposal-writing support for its early childhood development programming in Skardu, Baltistan. Through this opportunity, I learned about the community of Skardu and the surrounding areas.
When Khadim Hussain, the organization’s Chief Executive, first asked me to visit in 2008, I was concerned about the security situation there because the American news media was reporting only on the violent episodes in Pakistan. However, through talking with people like Khadim, and through researching education in Pakistan while working at the Brookings Institution, a different picture began to emerge.
I saw a country where education was highly valued and human resources were needed to further the momentum toward education in the communities. I learned that, just as in America, there were areas that were less safe and areas that were very safe. I was even told by a colleague who had visited Skardu that it would be more secure there than in many parts of my home of Washington, DC. I realized the media had painted an inaccurate picture of Pakistan, and Americans would continue to believe these inaccuracies if they had no access to real information.
In January 2011, I decided it was time to start planning my trip to Pakistan and Skardu. Along the way, I travelled to the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, DC 10 times to check on the status of my visa; to Islamabad via Doha with a diversion to Lahore because of weather conditions; twice again to the Islamabad airport in an attempt to fly to Skardu, only to have the flight cancelled two days in a row; and finally with GRACE chief executive Khadim Hussain on a 24-hour bus ride from Rawalpindi to Skardu, through Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan provinces.
When I arrived in the breathtaking Skardu valley, I knew this long journey was well worth the time and effort. I took steps to blend into Pakistani culture, including wearing shalwar kamiz and covering my head with a dupatta. I did this not because I felt it was required, but in respect for the local customs, and in turn I received respect from the people I met.
Reading the organization newsletter The Voice of Grassroots and following GRACE Association on the website and Facebook, I had an idea of the work the organization was doing in Skardu. However, meeting the people behind the work and seeing the evidence in the field, I realized there was much more to the story.
GRACE Association plays a prominent role in the community, and its leaders have a tremendous amount of social and political capital in the region. These relationships ensure that projects are aligned with community needs and completed satisfactorily.
My own background is in early childhood development, and the primary purpose of my visit was to work with teachers and the school’s administration to build capacity at GRACE Public School Skardu. I spent the first day observing the teachers, and I found that the relationships between students and teachers, and among students, were very strong. Children feel comfortable coming to the teachers with questions and the teachers are dedicated and willing to try new strategies in their work.
The next day I facilitated a workshop on enriching learning experiences. We talked about providing learning experiences that incorporated a variety of learning styles (seeing, listening, doing, touching, moving, etc.). During this workshop, the GRACE Public School Skardu teachers, principal and Khadim developed a vision for high-quality primary education, and we discussed the pathways to achieving that vision.
Next, we planned a series of activities for small groups of children in the nursery and prep classrooms (children aged three to five years), taught by teachers. We incorporated teacher-developed materials such as letter and picture cards, and recycled materials such as bottle caps for learning, counting, sorting and patterning.
On Thursday, we launched the new activities, and while it was a lot of work, teachers noted that the children were very interested in learning and that they were "learning through playing." Later that day, the principal, the teachers and I went shopping to buy materials books, blocks, animal figures, and puzzles to promote learning and bins in which to organise them. Finally, on Friday we worked on organizing the classroom and said goodbye. I will be conducting live trainings for the GRACE Public School Skardu staff via Skype, which will be projected onto a screen in the school. This will help us maintain the relationships that we developed until I am able to visit again.
Flying back from Skardu to Islamabad, I was sad to leave this beautiful place and my new friends. However, I am already planning to come back in 2012.
This experience demonstrated to me that through building relationships and leveraging existing community resources, collaborations between ordinary citizens and under-resourced communities can have significant impacts on both parties. On my last day in Islamabad, Khadim and I began brainstorming ways to bring this model of collaboration to other community based organizations. The result of our efforts was a plan for establishing the Grassroots Global Foundation (www.grassrootsglobal.org). This organization exists to empower grassroots organizations such as GRACE by connecting them with experts, funders, and ordinary citizens that can help them further their missions. We also work to advocate on behalf of indigenous NGOs, recognizing their deep relationships and community knowledge as vital to development in the most remote areas of the world.
Overall, my visit to Baltistan was incredible. While I had known that the Balti people were recognised for their hospitality, I was unprepared for what that really meant. Throughout my visit, I was invited into people's homes for tea after just meeting them; provided with handmade gifts from students; received daily text messages with inspiring words from my new friends; and most importantly, formed lifelong friendships.
The students and citizens of this region are full of hope and ambition for their futures, but are in need of technical support and resources to help them achieve this vision of excellence. I am hopeful that through continued collaboration, the GRACE staff, partners, and volunteers can make this vision a reality.
