View from a Volunteer Team Leader: So what do we do now?

View from a Volunteer Team Leader: So what do we do now?: So what do we do now?  In November 2019 I lead a team from Developing World Connections based in Canada to help build a house in Cambodia. W...

So what do we do now?

So what do we do now?  In November 2019 I lead a team from Developing World Connections based in Canada to help build a house in Cambodia. We were working with an in country partner "Volunteer Build Cambodia" Quite an amazing organisation as it turned, but I will talk about them a little later in the Blog.

First of all I have to praise the team members on this project, some of whom had worked with me before. It always amazes me when team members return time and time again. It means I must get something right or maybe I just pick the right countries at the right time. And yes I know I say it every time, but these wonderful human beings were/are amazing. They worked hard and played hard together without the slightest problem. And it has to be said that putting together a team of people from different parts of the world, from different backgrounds, different religions, different expectations and different age groups is not an exact science. 

In fact nowadays I pretty much take whoever I can get. The days of being choosy and turning people away because we had too many applicants is just a distant memory.  The one consolation is that all these volunteers have the same idea in mind, to help a family less fortunate than themselves. Some are seasoned travelers and some are so far outside their comfort zone I can't believe they have actually signed up to do this. And that just proves how amazing these people are, because they are prepared to take themselves away from their creature comforts and rough it a little bit in a far off land getting hot and sweaty, eating different foods, communicating in a strange language and doing things they would never think of doing at home.

     

But that was November/December 2019. So what is different now in June 2020. Well for a start the whole world is in lock-down. Millions are dying from a deadly virus, anyone attempting to travel is going into quarantine. Airlines are going into liquidation, millions of people are unemployed, who a few months ago had their dream job for life. I am not going to bleat on about Covid-19. We all know what it is and the devastation it has caused, and we all know that life will not return to the old normal that we all knew and thought we understood. Not for some years to come in my humble opinion.

Which brings me to the question "So what do we do now?" And please remember these are only my personal thoughts and ramblings. You must make of them whatever you choose and decide for yourself where we go from here.

As I see it, when the world opens for business again, there will be even more need for people such as my wonderful team members to take up the challenge again and support those less fortunate than ourselves. But there will be a change, the need may be closer to home. The cost of flying may well be prohibitive as airlines try to get their operations back on line and seek to recoup some of the monumental losses they have incurred during this pandemic.  But most of all I wonder if people will want to travel, will want to possibly put themselves at risk by using airlines, airports and foreign hotels, where the attention to anti virus precautions may possibly not be as high as in their home country. 

I know that many will decide not to take the chance, not to risk it. All I can say is that for those who do, the world will be waiting and wanting. And organisations like Developing World Connections, would never dream of placing their volunteers at risk. The in country partners they work with are also very aware of the situation and would not put volunteers at risk. But you have to work it out for yourself and make your own decisions.  For me, I will be back as soon as it becomes possible. It breaks my heart that I am not able to be posting new projects for 2020. I love what I do, not just volunteering in country but getting to meet new friends and re-kindle relationships with dear friends from around the world as they return to work on new projects. 

So speaking of projects, Cambodia was my last one in November/December 2020.  It was organised by DWC (Developing World Connections) out of Kamloops, Canada. The partner in Cambodia was VBC (Volunteer Build Cambodia) a charity set up by a local business man to help his fellow countrymen and women live in a safe environment with a roof over their head and bathroom facilities for safe health and hygiene. They also have a school and a vocational college where local people are encouraged to learn a trade that will help them sustain their own future.

We were there to help build a house. To us this sounded like a big task. But to VBC, it was just another home to be constructed and added to their list of happy home owners which grows at the rate of approximately 5 per week. These guys don't hang about.

Because our team was somewhat larger than the guys at VBC where used to, they were a little concerned that we would finish our house to fast. And we were there for two weeks, so we needed to spread this out. The answer was easy, we would help another couple of volunteers from Malaysia who had funded a house build themselves. Sisters Janice and Kylie along with their mother, raised the funds for the house, in Malaysia but could not find enough volunteers to help them build it. So they were there working on their own and with the VBC staff. They were gracious enough to let us join in and help them.

So we worked part of the day on their house and the rest on our own which was situated just across the road from theirs. 

VBC build so many of these homes that it is just like a kit form house. A lot of the timber is already cut to size in their warehouse/vocational college and brought to site. The team then cut, saw and sand it into shape. Building doors and windows. Every house is the same size and design which makes for an easier construction program. 

The old house is cleared out of the way and the concrete base posts are stood into position. When the team have finished building the main frame structures, families from the village arrive and with the promise of a good lunch afterwards the men help raise the frames onto the base stands whilst the women help prepare the food. It doesn't take long and as soon as the frames are secured into place, the lunch begins. Then they are off again, leaving the VBC crew and the volunteers to complete the build.

Over the course of the build we attended two dedications, one for the home Janice & Kylie funded, and the DWC joint project with VBC funded by the volunteers in my team. We also built a toilet and shower facility next to our house. To say the new young home owners were pleased with the results would be an understatement. 

    

 

   

Until you see and experience the way of life these young families endure, it is hard to comprehend. You may have visited Cambodia in the past, and if you have, I would guess you also visited Siem Reap as this is home to Angkor Wat one of, if not the most famous tourist attraction in Cambodia. You may well have been to Pub Street and experienced the tourist bars and restaurants, The Night Market where they sell anything and everything a tourist could want. And yes you will get a feel for the people of Cambodia. But until you have been to the outlying villages, No not the floating villages maintained for the tourist industry, but the real homes of the Cambodian nationals, you will not truly understand the difficulties they have to live with.

Most families farm very small areas which provide just enough for them to live on. The men in the family often travel miles to work in the rice fields of  neighbouring villages to earn less than $1 per day. I am sure you have heard all this before and in many different languages throughout the world. But it still remains a fact that poverty is prevalent in many many countries and without the help of volunteers like the wonderful members of my teams who are prepared to pay for their own travel and expenses along with a donation towards whatever the project may be. And to then work through the heat and humidity, the dirt and the dust and sometimes the Typhoons that roll in whilst we are working to repair the damage from the last Typhoon. 

That's when you can stand back and pat yourself on the back for actually making difference to someone else's life and future.

But alas, that is all on hold at the moment, Covid 19 has made certain of that. Volunteers are unable to travel and the countries we work in are suffering their own lock-downs and travel restrictions. This does not help those who still so desperately need our help. That said, Developing World Connections continue to support their working partners in various parts of the world who are struggling to maintain the health and well-being of their nations underprivileged. VBC in Cambodia is still building to extend its school and vocational training facility. All are short of funds as the volunteers who brought in much needed revenue, are forced to stay away.

I am sure the time will come again when we can venture out into the world and fulfill our dreams of helping others. But I don't think this will be for some time to come. We can hope, but realistically I feel it will be years rather than months before we once again fulfill our hopes and dreams of a better future for so many needy families.

All I can say is watch this space. As soon as it is possible to put another project together, build another team and change the lives of not only the families we work with, but the team members themselves. I will be posting you the details, and that's a promise.

Until next time, take care, stay safe and stay well.

This is the link to the Cambodia picture Gallery.   https://photos.app.goo.gl/JUwajEh6133owY8CA 

This is the link to the full trip Gallery.  https://teamleader.myfreesites.net/gallery 

.