Archive for September, 2011
-
Familiar devastation
Posted on September 29, 2011 | No CommentsOff to Badin today – another of the worst affected areas. The scenery is much the same as what we saw around Mirpurkhas with families still on the move. I see more devastated brick factories in the fields in this area. The scenes of devastation are now familiar to me; the flood water is going nowhere. -
Seeing the true scale of flooding
Posted on September 29, 2011 | 1 CommentI awake early after an interrupted sleep. I am anxious to make up for yesterday’s lost time by getting on the road early. Unfortunately a message from our security advisor of anticipated strikes in the city delays us from leaving until we are sure the roads are safe. -
On the road to Hyderabad – day 1
Posted on September 29, 2011 | No CommentsFinally on the road to Hyderabad! It is two weeks after the flooding in Sindh province began and I am here to support the Pakistan Red Crescent Society with their water and sanitation response. -
A story of inspiration: From despair to “PRICELESS” leadership
Posted on September 22, 2011 | 7 CommentsThe youngest registered participant at the Global Volunteer Conference was a young man from the Pakistan Red Crescent Society. Syed Mahmood Kazmi, at only 19 years of age, is the president of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society Youth Club, member of the Emergency Response Team, First Aid facilitator, Youth as Agents of Behavioural Change (YABC) peer educator and a constant advocate for volunteering. -
An Intern’s Blog: “We can’t let down”
Posted on September 20, 2011 | 1 CommentThe Global Volunteer Conference is over. I cannot believe how quickly it came and went. Sitting in the hall on the last day, and listening to the Declaration on Volunteering being read-out, I was proud to have been a part of the team. I was also glad to have become acquainted with some inspirational and refreshingly energetic people. But most of all, I left Budapest with a feeling of accomplishment. -
An Intern’s Blog: Learning all the about the 3Ts of Volunteering at the GVC
Posted on September 16, 2011 | No CommentsAfter months of planning, anticipation and excitement, the first ever Global Volunteer Conference kicked-off in true humanitarian spirit yesterday morning. It was wonderful to see a room filled with people passionate about humanitarian and development work, excitingly chatting to the person sitting next to them about why they were here. -
RedTalk #11: Masooda Bano on International aid: eroding sustainable community volunteering?
Posted on September 16, 2011 | No CommentsDrawing on her extensive research in this field, Masooda Bano asserts that there is a strong negative correlation between foreign aid, and voluntary organisations' ability to mobilise communities. -
An Intern’s Blog: Countdown to the Global Volunteer Conference
Posted on September 12, 2011 | No CommentsWhen I heard that my department- Youth Action and Volunteering Development - was involved in organising the global volunteering conference with the UN, I was more than excited. And imagine my joy when I heard I was actually going along to this first ever international Global Volunteer Conference in Budapest. -
Japan: Volunteers show the value of fun for both young and old
Posted on September 9, 2011 | No CommentsIt’s pouring with rain, but as far as I can see that doesn’t seem to dampen the fun taking place under the canopies in the car park of the temporary shelter settlement. -
Japan: People and produce bound together?
Posted on September 8, 2011 | No CommentsThey’re chopping leeks and ginger and bitter gourd, then washing noodles and deep-frying vegetables in batter to make some of the most appetising tempura I’ve seen. You wouldn’t think from the gusto with which these women are setting about their task, that there’s a cloud of fear hanging over everything that comes out of the ground here. -
Japan: Memories and an uncertain future
Posted on September 7, 2011 | No CommentsMrs Yamada lights a short stick of incense and plants it in a bowl in front of the photograph of her late husband and the stone spirit tablet, which is Japanese people’s traditional way of remembering the dead. -
After the storm
Posted on September 6, 2011 | No CommentsWhen Susan Wallace evacuated her home and went to the American Red Cross shelter at Indian River High School in Dagsboro, Delaware, she didn't know what to expect. She was so pleasantly surprised by her two-night visit to the shelter that she intends to become a Red Cross volunteer.
