International Volunteer Camps : Yoko part 3

Continuing the interview with SCAN Committee member and super-active volunteer Yoko.

Yoko

Here she relates her experience of working alongside international volunteers at various "workcamps".

Before coming to Newcastle I had joined a workcamp in both Myanmar and Cambodia and thought it was the best way to communicate with local people. I love visiting other countries but I also like communicating with local people. So I thought doing a workcamp is a way to get instant access to local culture and people, and I wanted to try it in London as well.

 

[So before Christmas] I asked the SCAN office to lend me a sleeping bag because I joined a workcamp in London organised by a British non-profit organisation. Volunteer Action for Peace. It’s an international workcamp in London for learning about urban environmental issues.

 

It's quite brave to join a group of people who are all strangers to you, and in a new place. How did you hear about it, and decide to take part?

On the internet - almost everything I’ve done is through online. I found the workcamps in Myanmar and Cambodia through a Japanese organisation. So I knew how to find this, I just needed to be brave! The organisation I applied for has different kinds of workcamps in different countries, so it depends on you – where you want to work and where you want to try. For me I wanted to try an environmental one and I also wanted to visit London so there’s only one workcamp that matches my interests!

So SCAN lent you a sleeping bag - and a torch! - you went down on a train and then what happened?

I took one train to London, and then to Brixton and also then took a bus to Dulwich. I stayed in a small scout centre with six people from different countries – Russia, France, Philippines, Korea and England. And there was a campleader from Austria and she organised us and we worked together for one week. By doing different kinds of conservation work we learnt different viewpoints about urban environmental problems. For example they are worried about vandalism, and if nobody takes care of the wild nature there then conditions would be worse so someone needed to take care of doing something!

We went to different places like local parks - and the Olympic park as well - and also we joined conservation work and the London Wildlife Trust.

An interesting experience for me was to visit the Olympic park [pictured above]. It’s not so big, but this park is created, is planted & constructed for children. I met the designer of the Olympic park who told us in the city there are few places where children can experience nature, and many parents are worried for example about children getting injured, but he said it’s very important for them to experience nature - to play in natural places. So the park is the kind of place where they can play, and discover nature themselves.

They had spiky bushes – at first I thought that’s very dangerous for children, but the planner said yes it’s a little dangerous, but children can learn from it. They learn to be more cautious. There is no instruction on children of how to play in the park, so can they create their games and activity themselves.

What’s your overall experience of the workcamp?

It’s very useful I think. The main thing why I think it’s useful is it’s international, and naturally our conversation is going to be a cultural exchange. For example we had a dinner where we talked about how do you eat dinner with elderly people. For example - do you have to be polite etc? So we exchange our cultural differences naturally. By doing the workcamp I realised it was very important to be aware of my own culture too, of Japanese culture. Because this is the only thing I can introduce and I can share with people from other countries.

Would you recommend it to other students?

Yes definitely. The best skill you might get is communication skills, because some people can speak English well, and some people can’t, so you have to think about how you can communicate with different people from different countries; how you can change your way of speaking; how you behave, by body gesture for example. You should be creative as well. The opportunity is : How you can communicate in an international occasion. How you can share your experience, your culture, with people from different countries.


Since this interview, Yoko has arranged to participate in another international workcamp, this time in Iceland, so we in SCAN will be lending her a sleeping bag one more time!


If you would like to join international volunteers on one of our projects, come into the office or contact scan@ncl.ac.uk Students on the SCAN committee, like Yoko, can suggest projects they have worked on and that you may enjoy.

If you would like to learn some of the skills that Yoko worked on, such as hedge-planting & pruning, we advertise opportunities for organisations more locally such as Northumberland Wildlife Trust so come in and talk to us.

 

If you are more adventurous still, we recommend international volunteering with Madventurer.

Bell-ringing : Yoko part 2

 

Bell-ringing is one of the more unusual volunteer opportunities that SCAN has advertised to students this year. We didn't know quite what to expect, so were very happy when a video was posted by a student on our facebook page. We then received an email from the bell-ringing group, updating us on the students' progress below. (We love to receive feedback so if you have a Newcastle University student volunteering with you, please do drop us a line!)

 

Yuri started with us in May after our first promotion with you and has been a brilliant student.  She is about to return to Japan on the 28th of December so we will lose her as a ringer.

Last Friday I organised a ringing session and then a meal at the local pizzaria.  This was for Yuri to say thank you and give her a gift. Yuri's English was poor when she arrived but I have worked with ESOL students and many of the bell ringers are teachers retired or active. 

 

Yuri has helped by ringing for weddings and special services too.  I have taken her to visit other towers and our Captain Geoff White wants to take her to Newcastle Cathedral to ring this Sunday.

 

Yoko, I hope will make the same friends Yuri has made through bell ringing.  This I think is an advantage to foreign students who have no family where they are studying as well as any other student volunteer.

(photo of Jesmond bell-ringers from a youtube video)

 

 

Having heard something from the host organisation, I asked Yoko for the student's point of view : what is it like to take part in an activity such as bell ringing for the first time?
 

I heard about bell ringing from SCAN’s website and also my friend from INTO at Newcastle University told me it’s very nice. We were in the same course. And at that time I was just arrived into Newcastle and I was looking for something to do with local people so I thought “fantastic, it’s a very nice project” and I decided to join it.

How did you get there, did you take the bus?

I took the metro, because it’s in West Jesmond – but I could walk from my house!

At first I was wondering what’s going on! Bell ringing? I didn’t have any idea about bell ringing.

I went there and they are five or six people and they say they are bellringers and, hmm... It takes place in a church and there are five bells and the people pull on the ropes. People pull the bell according to some melody – a rhythm. To begin with people start counting in their heads, so you think 1,2,3 -  and actually I don’t really have any idea how! I still need to do some study!

The first time I couldn’t do anything as I didn’t have any idea. Then I had a small practice with one of the more experienced people. He gave me an induction and I practised first.
 

I’m thinking of the poor neighbours - when do you do it?

It’s on Friday. We do it for an hour, or more, and then we go to a pub, have a drink, have a chat. Actually I want to continue to join bell ringing because the people there are so nice and I feel secure when I talk with them. When I say something they listen to me, so I find it comfortable to stay with them. Some are retired people I guess. I think it’s a very nice opportunity to communicate with local people and I invited two friends, and they too said “it’s so nice!” - they want to come back.
 

A third blog post will follow, concerning Yoko's volunteering on international work camps.

If you would be interested in bell ringing, or any of SCAN's external volunteering opportunities, then click here to sign up, or email scan@ncl.ac.uk.

 

Crisis at Christmas : Yoko part 1

 

Yoko is a student from Japan who has recently joined the SCAN Committee. She has a great belief in volunteering, and before arriving in Newcastle had already joined international camps in Myanmar and in Cambodia. I interviewed her about some of the volunteering opportunities that she has taken on since arriving in Newcastle, and will post them here as 4 separate short blogs.

1. Crisis at Christmas

Crisis is a national charity for homeless people. They have 7 Crisis Skylight Centres in the UK, with one in Newcastle that relies upon volunteers for its energy, its projects, and for making Christmas warm and welcoming. More info here.

I heard about the Crisis at Christmas via SCAN. My last semester finished at the beginning of December so I was looking for something to do.

And here in Newcastle there is a Christmas event to help homeless people at an office in Newcastle so I decided to join.

I joined on Christmas day and Boxing day. And there were so many people coming into the place so I was surprised, because Christmas is the kind of day to stay with your family. But many people joined the Crisis Christmas event and we set out different areas, like café, IT room, clothing store for example, and I was in the IT room to help people who wanted to use computers but actually I didn’t do anything because I think they are more familiar with IT stuff than me!

I had a chat with people coming to the IT room, and actually at first I was a little bit disappointed because it was much quieter than the café, where so many people came to grab something to eat. But now I am happy I stayed in the IT room because I got time to talk with guests in a comfortable way.

Were you on your own there or were there staff, other volunteers?

There was a leader and I was there with 2 or 3 volunteers. Some people are repeaters and some people volunteer for Crisis for the first time - I think it’s half and half.

Did it feel worthwhile, like you helped?

Yes I think it is very helpful, because Christmas is the saddest time for people who don’t have someone to stay with. So last week I went to Crisis again and I heard that 98% of the guests were satisfied with the Christmas event.

Oh, you went back again?

I want to volunteer again – I already had contact with the volunteer coordinator and I'm waiting to hear.

Would you recommend it to others?

I would recommend it. By joining Crisis I developed my viewpoint. At first I had a bias about homeless people. Because I didn’t have any contact with homeless people before and it’s natural to have ideas. But with Crisis, I discovered they really are just normal people. In Japan we have homeless people also, especially in Tokyo : Tokyo is the place where they can get work easily. But I didn’t have any contact with them. This was a first time for me to do volunteering with homeless people.

(photos taken from various Crisis web links)