Ellen Clancy (3rd year Neuroscience) and Julia O’Driscoll (2nd year Liberal Arts) are the newly promoted access officers for BVDA (Bristol Volunteers for Development Abroad) who sat down with HC Bristol to discuss their experiences of gender equality, “voluntourism” and the challenges female volunteers face.
BVDA, a society at the University of Bristol, has been a UK registered charity since 2001; selecting and training Bristol students to volunteer oversees in developing countries. Clancy and O’Driscoll comment, “Our volunteering is in partnership with a local non-governmental organisation. We are informed by these experts what issues need to be addressed.” This year the charity is taking on projects in Malawi, Uganda, Nepal and is setting up a new project in India. BVDA intends to help developing communities with a range of issues from sanitation and education, to building fuel efficient stoves, constructing water tanks and, in countries such as Malwai, addressing the HIV/AIDS problem.
In Malawi, 10.8% of the population are living with HIV/AIDS, which is the ninth highest rate in the world. BVDA aims to address this with high precedence. Clancy and O’Driscoll discuss the “Horrific stigma” that AIDS victims experience, suggesting it leads them to be isolated from the community. Having heard sad stories of women whose husbands refused to wear contraception, Ellen and Julia comment how “It’s a difficult thing to approach as we don’t have a medical background, but the patients really appreciated people coming to speak to them.” Malawi now provides HIV/AIDS drugs for free. The BVDA access officers comment how this is of huge benefit to the community, as prior to this the cost for patients having to travel to get these drugs often meant having to sacrifice time at work. Part of their role as volunteers is bringing the drugs to the patients and checking up on their wellbeing.
Ellen and Julia discuss their experience volunteering in a female group in Malawi last year, commenting that they extended BVDA’s aims in order to include “Culturally sensitive issues” of gender equality, mental health and LGBT issues, in a country that is very religious (82.6% of Malawians following the Christian faith, 13% Muslim). Discussing how they ran two gender workshops, one with boys and one with girls: “We asked questions such as, ‘Is it a woman’s fault if she is harassed in a tight skirt?’ and both groups said it was.” However, Clancy and O’Driscoll clarified that it was not about enforcing their views on these communities, but about providing an opportunity for girls to speak about their ideas, as often in the classroom they are silenced, in order to create “An approachable discussion.”
Ellen continued, “It was a different experience being in an all girl group because the girls who had never had a female teacher suddenly had six females telling them they could do this. I am teaching you maths, you can also do maths.” Julia contributes how the girls were shocked that in western countries it is not uncommon for women to be the breadwinners. Most considerably, the female volunteers worked at a poorly funded youth centre which had a proportional gender imbalance.” The boys were asking for a second football kit and already had a football coach, whereas the girls were just asking for a netball post, so we had one made.
BVDA have also tried to address the issue of domestic violence by setting up an anonymous helpline in Uganda and by supporting the girls in the classroom if they feel threatened. The access officers also spoke of the challenges that face female volunteers, and how they can best prepare for the cultural difference. “There is a certain level of apprehension for all volunteers before going away, but just have your wits about you; respect the culture you intergrate yourself in by knowing how to respond to questions such as ‘Are you married?’ without causing offence or compromising your own beliefs.”
Significantly, Clancy and O’Driscoll discussed the difference between responsible volunteering and “Voluntourism,” which BVDA highlighted in their screening of Chloé Sanguinetti’s’ ‘The “Voluntourist”‘. Volunteering schemes have routinely come under scrutiny from NGOs for sending unskilled and unprepared volunteers to schools and orphanages, creating more harm than good. “People genuinely want to do some good in the world and these heavily advertised voluntourism schemes are hugely exploitive of that.” Julia pointed out, “If you see a huge price tag, you know to ask questions. With BVDA you are told from the outset that you have to raise £699. Every penny goes directly to the local action charity and you cover the cost of your flights yourself.” Moreover, BVDA provides 10 weeks of training with organisations such as Teach First, ensuring their volunteers are prepared for teaching responsibly in schools, “It is also about making sure you are not dealing with situations where you have inadequate and ensuring you pass the task on to someone with more experience.”
Julia and Ellen conclude in sharing the most valuble experience of their most volunteering work in Malawi, in aiding women who want to set up their own businesses. “Many of the women did not have experience in business or the time to think it through, so for a week we sat down and constructed a business plan. The women immediately identified a gap in the market and decided on a cafe, as nowhere sold prepared food. It was a proud and emotional moment when it started coming together. The business plan has been left there and can be adapted so that other people can set up their own business with the low interest loans.”
For more information on volunteering with BVDA, check out their website: http://bvda.weebly.com/