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.

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!).

The Final Hours of the £1/day Challenge

As I near the end of my five-day challenge, I can feel myself growing more and more likely to break. I’ve never really focused on any form of real ‘diet’ before – mainly because my willpower is such that I would cheat myself regularly. This has been different. I have even resisted cheese crumbs tantalizingly left out on the kitchen counter top.

What perhaps made it slightly worse was a particularly difficult vaccination this morning (I’ve had many many vaccinations in the last six weeks) that left me wanting a cup of tea and quite a large bar of chocolate. Instead, I went home to heat up my pre-made-now-frozen soup. Nutritious, but less comforting. I realised how much I use food as a mood booster: I take my enjoyment from tastes and textures, and when feeling low I know how best to bring myself back up again!

However, I think if I were to do the challenge again I would still buy similar foods. They’ve definitely kept me (and my cycling around town) going, even if they weren’t particularly interesting. I enjoy the morning porridge (and it’s ridiculously effective!), and the soup does its job. I wish the evening was slightly more inspiring: again, I’m struggling to want to make dinner.

I have Mars Bars at the ready and I’ve got to the point where I’m concerned that I’ll be too full from the huge breakfast I’ve planned for tomorrow, that I won’t be able to physically consume all the snacks, sweet treats and juices that I am so desperate for currently. However, I feel so lucky that there is an end to the challenge.

According to the Trussell Trust, 71,428 people in Scotland used foodbanks last year. It was only through my prior planning that I was able to make my £5 last the week, but anything had gone wrong (for example, if my fabulous soup had been ruined or dropped or lost, or if my cooker had stopped working), I don’t know where I would have found the money to buy something new. I don’t think food poverty is the problem of an individual, or something that happens exclusively in ‘third world’ countries; rather it’s a consequence of how our economy functions. It’s Challenge Poverty Week next week (12-18th October 2014) and there are loads of events in Edinburgh and Glasgow that are examining the issues around poverty, social (not just welfare) reform and food poverty. You can find out about them here.

You can also donate to VSO, a charity that works to alleviate poverty worldwide, through my fundraising page. As ever, these funds do not go towards my going to Cambodia, but rather to the charity itself.

The Shop

The planning shop was quite difficult – I think I’ve memorised all the prices of the food pictured here, as well as all those discarded for being too expensive. Quite often a trade-off was made between price and energy value – the yellow split peas I thought would make good dhal were traded out for flour (crackers for soup) and oats (a big breakfast to stave off the mid-morning munchies). Curry powder was a fifth of my whole budget, but for 5 days without butter, oil, salt, pepper, herbs or spices, I thought it might bring some extra flavour! I’m so excited by the bananas already – I feel like they might bring my craved-for sugar kick.

Not pictured is a bag of mixed vegetables: they are in my freezer. When buying them I realised just how limited my challenge diet would be if I was equally restricted in terms of energy. No oven, hob, kettle, freezer, running water, electricity or gas!

I just had my last late-night snack before embarking on the challenge (a homemade doughnut and some cheese), I’ll update tomorrow on how it goes! And if you have any tips, let me know!