International Aid and Volunteering

Before, during, and after my VSO-ICS placement, I have been aware of certain tropes about international development, and aid that the UK government gives to Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs). For a long time I felt uncomfortable about volunteering internationally, just because of the image it could project: of an affluent, white, westerner on some kind of self-righteous mission to ‘fix’ problems in the third world.

Our social constructions around development (with the UK as an admired ‘end’ goal) and aid (wasted by giving money to corrupt dictators) are a product of classical media images, with well-intentioned but flawed imaginings (see BandAidclassicalcolonialism, BandAid20nothinghaschanged, BandAid30thisisawkwardnow). In advance of going to Cambodia, I always felt like I needed to properly justify why I was going: emphasising the UK government support of VSO; altering my descriptive language to claim I was ‘working’ rather than ‘volunteering’; and detailing the specifics (as much as I knew) to distinguish myself from any perceived typical ‘gap yah’ activities.

Advice for Future VSO-ICS Volunteers (What is Not in the Handbook)

I was quite frustrated by the lack of practical information available to me, before I departed to Cambodia with VSO-ICS. It all felt a bit drip-fed and vague – particularly regarding the actual content of the work. I understand more now about the reasons for this: the situation is quite fluid and objectives are constantly evolving, staff members change all the time, and everything has to be approved by departments of multiple countries.

However, I still think that having more experiential knowledge would reduce worrying anticipation, and make future volunteers feel a little more in-control of their lives over the course of the imminent three months.

75%: Almost Enough Reflection on the VSO-ICS Programme

This week I was so busy, I almost didn’t realise that we were ¾ of the way through the programme! In three weeks time, I’ll be back in the UK, probably doing a lot of complaining about the cold, and eating a lot of real-dairy chocolate.

The general concensus is that we are all quite acclimatised to life in Ratanakiri (both UK volunteers, and KH volunteers): enough to the point where we are defensive about our adopted culture, and Ratanakiri cold (15 degrees C) now feels cold to us!

Here are a few more things we’ve learnt so far:

Fizz, Fancies and Fundraising!

Yesterday, I held a ‘Fizz and Fancies’ event as part of my fundraising/awareness raising efforts for VSO.  Held at my house, I invited everyone to come and share in cake and cava, whilst hearing about (and hopefully donating to) VSO. I was amazed at how many people came, and how generous they were – we raised over £200!

I was up at 8am on Sunday baking in an extremely regimented way, with almost Blue Peter foresight – entirely down to a pre-planned, religiously-followed ‘to-do’ list and a carefully selected group of recipes. As a result, there were bite-size versions of Banoffee Pies, Chocolate Meringues, Golden Gingernuts and Victoria Sponge. Aside from a few disasters (no cocoa powder: I am very grateful for my father’s shopping support) all went on time and I was even able to decorate the rooms with some of the materials VSO had sent through to help with the efforts. The cava was also spruced up for the occasion with a selection of either elderberry or lavender syrups (one homemade by foraging father, one sourced at a Fife foodie fair) – it was really fun to experiment, and my guests were brave enough to try them!

The End of the £1 Challenge, and 1970s Austerity

About 12.01am on Saturday morning, I ate two Mars Bars, various forms of cheese and a bagel with salmon and cream cheese. It was all incredible and delicious – although I was awake until 3am with huge amounts of energy! I am so glad that I’ve completed the £1/day challenge, and I’m relishing the variety of food available to me now. I lost almost 3lbs (1.5kg) in 5 days…and I’ve been trying to make it back up subsequently.

As a finale to the £1 week, on Saturday evening I hosted a Live Below the Line-inspired dinner, where I had a dinner budget of £1 per person attending. As a result, I cooked a 3 course meal for 10 on £10.01. I wanted to make it a fun event, but also prove that collective cooking is both socially and economically more sustainable!

However, just to make it a little more challenging (and exciting) my friends and I decided that it might be fun to theme it around the decade of the 1970s. Not wholly inappropriate, as it was famed for its austerity, it did mean that I had to cream classics like prawn cocktail on my very limited budget! I did relax the rules slightly (for the benefit of all those involved): I was allowed to use cupboard staples like oil and mustard, and alcohol was excluded.

MENU

Vodka martinis

Starters

Prawn cocktail with lettuce on homemade matzoh (that trusty favourite)

Sausages and pineapple on cocktail sticks

Deviled eggs

Main

Spaghetti Bolognese (soya protein instead of cheap meat mice)

Dessert

Pina Colada Jelly

Black Forest Gateau cocktails

A few friends also brought a beautiful salad platter, some meatloaf and cornflake crumble to supplement, so there were 70s options a-plenty. The era was evoked through a beaded curtain doorway, mood lighting, 70s posters, disco on vinyl, lots of 70s outfits and party games!

Guests also donated to my fundraising efforts as part of attending, and I raised over £50 from the evening, bringing me very very close to achieving my fundraising target.  I had such a good time (and thanks to everyone who came!).