VSO tells Asian jobseekers to develop skills by volunteering abroad
10th May 2010

The Diaspora Volunteering Programme (DVP), a group of diaspora organisations supported by VSO and the Diaspora Volunteering Alliance, are encouraging people from Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds to consider volunteering abroad as a way to protect or increase their skills and accelerate their recovery from the economic downtown. The calls comes as analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) showed that unemployment among black people aged between16-24 was well over twice the 20% rate of unemployment among white young people. Mixed ethnic groups had seen the biggest increases in unemployment, rising from 21% in March 2008 to 35% in November 2009, the research revealed.

Twenty three organisations, including the Asian Foundation for Philanthropy, Phillipine Generations and the Myanmar Burma Relief and Welfare Association make up the Diaspora Volunteering Programme. Evelyn Rodrigues, VSO Team Leader said: “Slashed training budgets, stalled promotions and limited resources during the recession caused professional development to grind to a halt. Volunteering is a great way to not only re-invigorate your skills and challenge yourself, but your input could make a dent on global poverty and even save lives. “

Evelyn Rodrigues continues: "The Diaspora Volunteering Programme builds on the huge impact of remittances and encourages people to donate time and skills, as well as money. Mobilising skilled volunteers from the Diaspora, people who can connect and relate quickly to local communities, is one of the most effective ways to have an impact overseas. "

Unanimously, all return volunteers have shared their elated feelings of “finding themselves”, “finding direction” and “career rejuvenation” after trips to various programmes across Asia and Africa.

Priya Lukka volunteers with the Saath project in Gujarat

London based return volunteer Priya Lukka, 34, works for the Financial Services Authority. Priya volunteered via the Asian Foundation for Philanthropy - a member of the DVP - who referred her to Saath organisation in Gujarat, India in July 2009. “I volunteered through Saath who are based in India across Gujarat; they specialise in poverty reduction programmes and work closely with slums. Because I work on regulating financial markets, I was sent out there to help Saath develop a strategy for micro-finance. The way the placement works means you get involved with a whole host of other projects – which was another bonus for me."

" Half of my week was spent developing strategies for how micro finance can grow in the area, so now they have in place a six branch structure for the six slums across the Gujarat and they want to access enough capital to grow bigger so that they can set up other branches in other slums. The other half of my week was spent in the slums, which is where you get most of your insight from."

"On a personal level I saw some of the worse scenes of poverty I have ever seen in my life and it wasn’t just in the slums, it was also in rural areas. There were some really shocking scenes of malnutrition, a lack of resource, a lack of money to make a livelihood. There were lots of kids in some of the villages we visited who were not being educated or were learning basic information. In some cases, in some of the villages, the parents of the children work in construction so they could be away for up to four months at a time. I met really young girls – as young as seven – who were looking after their baby brothers and sisters on their own. You have to be prepared for some of the images you are going to see but you have to stay focussed on the positive and that’s what you can do to help."

"You are coming into a developing country, so no matter how many times you have been there before on holiday, it’s completely different when you’re working there. It’s just about using the skills you have to help and being sensitive to the fact that you are dealing with very vulnerable communities. You have to learn how to communicate with people in the villages and community officers, policy makers etc."

Priya, who describes her experience as the “biggest challenge of her life”, wants to encourage more people from the Diaspora to volunteer. She adds:“It’s a really exciting time for India at the moment, everyone I spoke to said that India is undergoing a big change and the future is bright. It’s such a good feeling to know that you can bring in change through a programme you helped to implement.”

DVP volunteer placements run from two weeks to two months and skilled roles include psychiatrists, nurses, and accountants and communications professionals.

To find out how you can volunteer visit www.diasporavolunteeringalliance.org

For information on Asian Foundation for Philanthropy visit www.affp.org.uk

About the VSO

VSO is an international development charity that works through volunteers. Since 1958 over 33,000 volunteers have worked in over 120 countries. Today there over 1600 international volunteers working in 42 countries around the world. For further information visit www.vso.org.uk.