Experience

Bristol Volunteers for Development Abroad (BVDA)

• United Kingdom
• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Vice President

  • 2015 - Present

  Working to make BVDA a forum for discussion around international development and international (student) volunteering as well as a charity which sends volunteers on sustainable international projects every year. By doing so we will send better - more responsible - volunteers away every summer which will make our impact greater and more sustainable.

• Training Coordinator

  • 2014 - 2015

  Organizing appropriate training to ensure that student volunteers are prepared for oversees projects. The training included first aid, teacher training, an introduction to international developmeat, monitoring and evaluation, risk assessment, and voluntourism discussion. The aim of the training was to make the students think about 'responsible volunteering' and how they could practice this whilst on projects in the summer. Aiming at developing strong relationships with the community they were living with, promoting stronger cultural exchange and making the projects more sustainable - as the more integrated the students are the more likely it is that the practices will continue and the work they were doing doesn't stop when they fly home. Show less

• International Volunteer

  • Jun 2014 - Aug 2014

  - Lived and worked in a remote village in Manafwa, Eastern Uganda- Successfully completed the four project aims which were building a 10,000L water tank outside the local primary schools, teaching WASH education in school and to adults in community, building rocket-lorena stoves in people's houses, protecting a water source which provides clean drinking water for the community and setting up committees for all these aspects to ensure continued maintenance and practice of the project. - Taught in the school for 6 weeks and promoted behaviour change related to WASH education- Ran community and adult education workshops- Set up committees for each aspect of the project to ensure sustainability of the project, when I returned throughout the summer of 2015 I visited the community and these committees and they are all still active with agenda’s for the future Show less



Student Hubs

• United Kingdom
• Non-profit Organization Management
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Bristol Social Impact Network Coordinator

  • Sep 2015 - Jun 2016

  Working within Bristol Hub to try and strengthen the Social Impact Network. This is a network aims to connect all the societies & groups in Bristol University that focus on social, environmental or community issues. The idea being that if we can promote people to work together in a community rather than lots of seperate faction then the overall impact to the student and wider community will be greater. The practical side of this includes a shared calendar to prevent overlap of society events (in previous years been big problems with clashing events and resulting tensions between groups eventhough working towards similar aims). A forum to request publicity/advertising for events, enquiring about the possibility of co-hosting events with other groups and brainstorming ideas for future events and creating occasional face-to-face meetings to discuss overall strategies, goals, and larger events including multiple groups. Show less



Little Big Africa

• Manafwa, Uganda

• Project Facilitator Internship

  • Jun 2015 - Sep 2015

  In the summer 2015 I went back and worked for Little Big Africa as an intern. My responsibilities involved helping to train the volunteers in Uganda before they went on project and to assist and help them whilst they were on project. The training involved teaching about cultural sensitivity, how to be a responsible volunteer, teaching training, a debate about whether international volunteering does more harm than good, ethical photography and generally building their confidence to be able to live and work in the village for 7 weeks. There were two separate volunteer groups so I helped facilitate 2 training weeks. Once they were on project, I visited many schools around Manafwa which had received a water tank but not volunteers due to access issues. I worked in these schools between 2-4 days, teaching all the classes a ‘crash course’ of the hygiene and sanitation and setting up and training committees to continue promoting behaviour change toward good hygiene and sanitation practices in the school and in the wider community. After leaving these schools I would return a few weeks later to run a community meeting that the committees had organised and I would help to make a community and committee plan of action for the next few months. Overall, my role in all the communities around Manafwa was to help facilitate communities to empower themselves in promoting and initiating good sanitation practices and behaviour change in their own communities. Show less



Schools Plus

• Schools Plus Volunteer

  • Sep 2013 - May 2014

  I taught Year 10 pupils in Fairfield High School in Bristol who were preparing for their English GCSE. I helped them with essay writing skills, analysing poetry, Animal Farm and To Kill a Mockingbird. It was a very rewarding experience to build up a relationship with them over the academic year and to see how they grew with enthusiasm as they began to have more confidence in themselves. I taught Year 10 pupils in Fairfield High School in Bristol who were preparing for their English GCSE. I helped them with essay writing skills, analysing poetry, Animal Farm and To Kill a Mockingbird. It was a very rewarding experience to build up a relationship with them over the academic year and to see how they grew with enthusiasm as they began to have more confidence in themselves.