« Back
Font Size:
Five years of experience in five months
Aug 17, 2007 By: Danielle Milley(Prevously published in April 2006)
DURHAM -- Although Mark Simmons’s time in Ghana is coming to a close, he’s left his mark at the West African AIDS Foundation and it’s left his mark on him.
“I’ve found my time in Ghana to be very rewarding, and I’ve grown and experienced more in the last five months than I have in my last five years in Canada,” he said. “Living in and adapting to a new culture has taught me a lot about myself, and I’ve realized that I’m a much stronger person than I gave myself credit for.”
The Durham resident has been in Accra, Ghana since September doing a five-month volunteer placement at the West African AIDS Foundation. With his internship set to end Feb. 15, Mr. Simmons reflected in his latest e-mail interview on the work he’s being doing.
Mr. Simmons –- or Mr. IT as he’s became known -– was sent to WAAF to share his computer skills; his work has included a mix of computer training, maintenance and support.
“(The) purpose of my role as a computer trainer is to increase the staff’s ability to use computers, and to increase their effectiveness in doing so,” he said. “This will not only allow them to produce more attractive and professional documents, but will also allow them to spend less time on their computers and more time conducting educational seminars, HIV counselling and testing, and other vital activities.”
By the time he leaves, he’ll have completed eight staff training sessions; networked WAAF’s computers so each staff member can access the Internet and share files with others; done maintenance work to keep the computers running smoothly, and updated WAAF’s website.
The goal of a Canadian Crossroads International internship is to help the host organization do what it does better and to impart the skills of the volunteer to the staff so volunteers with the same skills won’t need to be sent in the future.
“Volunteers with Canadian Crossroads International are not sent to help with an organization’s day-to-day work, but to use their skills and experience to help the organization to grow,” Mr. Simmons said. “Good capacity building has a lasting effect, so the benefits of a volunteer’s work will remain with the organization long after the volunteer leaves.”
CCI organized Mr. Simmons’s internship. CCI is a 40-year-old international, non-profit organization that organizes partnerships between organizations in Canada and to the south –- WAAF is partnered with the AIDS Committee of London (ACOL). The internship was funded by NetCorps, an international internship program managed by a nine-member coalition, of which CCI is a part.
Eddie Donton, WAAF’s executive director, said volunteers are a vital part of the organization’s personnel.
“They play a key role in helping WAAF to meet its goals and overcome challenges,” he said. “Volunteers assist WAAF in a wide variety of ways, including organizational planning, fundraising training, IT training... We have had volunteers from all over the world at WAAF.”
In the past, volunteers have helped put together the annual report and set up a stock system in the pharmacy. More recently Mr. Simmons and his fellow CCI volunteer, Lijeanne Lee, co-ordinated a multi-media education and fundraising program “through which tens of thousands of Ghanaians heard important HIV prevention and anti-stigmatization messages,” he said.
Elizabeth Dove, CCI’s Ontario regional director, said many times the skills the volunteers bring are available in the partner organization’s country, but it doesn’t have the funding to pay a competitive salary.
But CCI volunteers not only bring their skills to the organizations, they also build on the relationship of the different partner organizations.
Mr. Donton is glad to have the partnership with CCI and the benefits that come with it.
“Our partnership with (them) has also allowed us to form a partnership with the AIDS Committee of London, a partnership that allows both WAAF and ACOL to benefit from an exchange of knowledge and skills,” he said. “This exchange helps to build each partner’s capacity, as well as increasing the cultural diversity and cultural awareness of each organization.”
Ms. Dove said CCI acts as the facilitator and does things such as training the volunteers, working as a consultant and serving as a partner for public engagement in Canada.
“We also work with the partners to help them locate their roles and objectives,” she said. CCI also finds the volunteers and then, in the case of Mr. Simmons, both WAAF and ACOL are involved in the interview and decision.
CCI trains the volunteers and prepares them for what life will be like in their temporary home.
Mr. Donton said most volunteers take time to adjust to life in Ghana and working at WAAF, but once they do they love it.
“I always see a change occur in the people who volunteer at WAAF. When they first begin work here, they exhibit the symptoms of culture shock... But as they become more familiar with life in Ghana, especially by living with host families, the volunteers are gradually able to integrate themselves into the culture,” he said. “By the end of six months (for those who stay that long), most volunteers are looking to either settle in Ghana or to extend their stay here, and 90 per cent of the volunteers who have worked at WAAF have said that they would like to come back and work with us again.”
Mr. Simmons is no exception.
“While I may never get the opportunity to volunteer abroad again, I’m definitely interested in working abroad for at least another year. I’m currently working towards becoming an English-as-a-second-language teacher, which will give me the opportunity to visit a variety of countries throughout the world,” he said. “I know that at some point I’ll want to live in Canada again, but for now my experiences in Ghana have left me with a desire to live in other countries and experience other cultures.”
Although he’d like to extend his stay in Africa, Mr. Simmons must return home to complete the Canadian phase of his placement at ACOL.
“I will be completing my role as an intern by taking information on WAAF and its work back to ACOL’s staff, clients and other stakeholders, making presentations on my experiences throughout the community and helping to plan the future of the partnership between CCI, ACOL and WAAF,” he said.
