Questionnaire Self-Awareness

Transcription

1 Questionnaire Self-Awareness Source: How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas With minor adaptations Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega, Zahara Heckscher Penguin Books, 2002 ISBN: X 1. What is international volunteering and why do it? Rewards Learning Cultural awareness Spiritual development Reassessing priorities Career development and exploration Friendship How volunteers contribute Lending a hand Specialized skills and experience Writing and office work Teaching and training Resources and networking Human rights and civil society Solidarity, inspiration and new perspectives 2. Is volunteering overseas right for you? Examining your motivations Why are you interested in becoming an international volunteer? What life events have sparked this interest? What do you hope to get out of being an international volunteer? What do you hope to contribute? Where are you heading in your life and how does being an overseas volunteer fit into the picture? Things that motivate you to volunteer (rank each one: strong motivation / modest motivation / not a motivation) To put your concern for others in action To learn more about yourself

2 2 To escape a bad relationship or other personal problems To assuage your guilt To gain a better first hand perspective on the impact of wealthy countries in the world To save poor people; to lift poor people out of poverty You are unable to hold a job Your partner is doing it To gain experience in a field in which you have studied You are unable to pass your classes To be inspired by the efforts of people in developing countries To have an adventure To share your skills and expertise by responding to a specific request from a foreign organization To get to know another culture To just impress future employers To live out your faith or religious beliefs by working for justice Everybody is doing it To learn a foreign language To make religious converts You have an addiction and you think that a change in environment will help you quit To travel For a change, or fresh start To become a more effective advocate for changes at home that will help poor people overseas Other motivations: Action steps to deciding of volunteering is right for you 1. Consider why you want to volunteer 2. List and prioritize your motivations 3. Reflect on your motivations 4. Explore your options 5. Make a decision 3. The big picture: what is development? development as defined by various community leaders in Asia, Africa and Latin America living in a society that is free of war and violence gaining recognition for the collective rights of a community, not just individual rights being able to breathe clean air and drink clean water having access to jobs that pay a living wage achieving the right to protest government or corporate policies without fear of persecution, imprisonment, or death being able to have children play outside freely without the threat of land mines gaining the right to study in the local language enjoying the freedom to practice a traditional or minority religion living a lifestyle that allows people to spend time with their families and friends regaining the right for girls and boys to go to school without paying school fees having access to health care and affordable medicine living a life of dignity and respect

3 3 Action steps for looking at the big picture 1. Educate yourself about different factors that impacted the country s development 2. Clarify your vision about development 3. Challenge your perspective about development 4. Keep learning about development issues that interest you 4. Know yourself and choose the right kind of project/organization for you Assessing your interests and special needs (place an asterisk next to the questions and/or answers that are most important to you; prioritize your interests and special needs) Where do you want to volunteer? Which country or region Urban or rural placement For how long do you want to volunteer? Short term Medium term Long term What type of work do you want to do? Education, teaching, training Health Human rights Social work Micro-enterprise, fair trade, business consulting Women s issues Working with people with disabilities Children and youth Environmental issues Do you want to work with a government or a non-governmental organization? Would you prefer a religious or secular organization? What type of organization would you like to volunteer with? Service: meeting people s immediate needs Advocacy: speaking on behalf of someone else s interest Self-help: developing alternative institutions Electoral: using the political system Organizing: fighting for institutional change based on collective action Are you willing to pay to volunteer? What is the maximum amount that you are willing to spend? Compare the following factors to assess the financial value of a program. International transportation In-country transportation Room and board Health insurance and health services

4 4 Emergency medical and evacuation insurance Stipend for living expenses Tourist or non-work excursions and retreats Language instruction Technical training Passport and visa fees Pre-departure information and support In-country orientation In-country staff support Registration fees to institutions offering academic credit Assistance securing academic credit for volunteer work Post-service debriefing, job counseling, and re-entry support Re-entry or post-service relocation stipend Assistance with loan deferrals Benefits for families such as education funds for children, living stipends for dependents, health insurance for entire family, or volunteer placement for spouse What is your preferred living/housing situation? Do you have any special needs or concerns as a volunteer? High-school students and youth Couples and families (serving together with a spouse or dependent children) Senior and retirees People with medical condition or disabilities Women and men: gender issues within the organization and in the host country People of color: ethnicity within the organization and in the host country Gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender: sexual identity issues within the organization and in the host country What would you like your daily work life to look like? Schedule Tasks Work environment What level of staff support in the field would you prefer? In-country staff Project leaders in home country Organization that simply connects you to a local organization overseas Would you prefer team or individual volunteering? Questions to illuminate an organization s philosophy of development Do volunteers work on projects of the international volunteer organization, or are they placed with local organizations? For volunteers that are placed with local institutions, what type of groups are they placed with? How does the organization define development? Is the organization s field staff, if any, native or foreign-born? Whose idea was the project, and who requested volunteers to work on the project? What are the roles of volunteers and other outsiders?

5 5 How are local people or the intended beneficiaries involved in the project? What are the financial relationships between the international volunteer program and locals? Does a portion of the volunteer s program fee do to local organizations or people? Actions steps for choosing an organization 1. Assess your interests 2. Think about your special needs and aspirations 3. Examine your approach to international service 4. Think about which qualities on a volunteer organization are most important to you 5. Look at compilations of projects and create your list based on the characteristics that you are looking for 6. Read the profiles of your top organizational choices and rate them on a one-to-ten scale in terms of how closely it matches the type of opportunity you seek 7. Narrow your list to two to four organizations. If you do not find any group that meets your specifications, broaden your search by choosing one or two primary factors to judge organizations or consider volunteering without partnering with an organization 8. Gather preliminary information 9. Create a list of questions 10. Contact the organization to ask your questions 11. Contact alumni 12. Choose 13. Get a written document explaining fees, benefits, insurance issues and refund policies 5. The ideal volunteer organization The ideal volunteer placement organization 1. Is honest about expenses, activities and challenges in its promotional materials 2. Provides potential volunteers with names and contact information for previous volunteers 3. Makes an effort to recruit a wide range of volunteer, diverse in their ethnicity, class, religious belief, age and physical ability 4. Recruits highly skilled volunteers 5. Does not accept all prospective volunteers but screens for maturity and psychological health 6. Assists volunteers with fundraising as needed 7. Is transparent about the use of program fees 8. Provides fair, prorated rebates for volunteers who drop out

6 6 9. Provides orientation materials and preparation suggestions to volunteers well before they leave home (including, for example, information on culturally appropriate clothes to pack) 10. Encourages critical thinking about development and the role of volunteers before departure overseas 11. Provides extensive orientation to region, country, community, and customs for volunteers on or before arrival in-country 12. Includes a home-stay during the first weeks in-country to help volunteers imprint with a local family and have a home base within the community 13. Includes professional language training if needed 14. Has staff with long-term connections and commitment in the community 15. Places volunteers, whenever possible, with indigenous organizations rather than initiating its own projects 16. Incorporates a sustainable development perspective into its work 17. Offers a volunteer period of substantial length 18. Supports local hosts with financial resources as well as human resources 19. Engages volunteers in critical reflection of their experiences through discussion, journal writing and other reflection exercises 20. Encourages volunteers to experience the cultural wealth of the host country 21. Provides opportunities for volunteers to learn about the root causes of poverty and oppression 22. Provides formal opportunities for written and oral evaluation of the placement organization and uses this feedback in ongoing program development and innovation 23. Helps volunteers document their experiences for sharing back home 24. Creates opportunities for volunteers to make parting group gifts that will benefit the community and not just individuals 25. Has a concrete support structure (retreat, workshop or residential program) to help volunteers adjust to the challenges of returning home 26. Provides formal opportunities for volunteers to share their experiences upon return 27. Helps volunteers remain connected with, and supportive of, the people and organizations they worked with overseas 28. Provides support for returned volunteers who want to get involved in addressing the root causes of underdevelopment and/or bring the new knowledge from their international experiences to address local problems of injustice 29. Provides support for an alumni network so volunteers can stay in touch with each other and the organization 30. Involves alumni in fundraising, recruitment and training of new volunteers 6. Doing it without a program Action steps for doing it without a program 1. Evaluate your candidacy Does travel excite you more than it scares you? Are you comfortable when you do not have a precise plan? Are you good at reaching out to people and building personal relationships? Do you consider yourself to be a person with considerable life experiences or skills that would be relevant to people and organizations oversears? PROS of volunteering independently

7 7 You often are able to immerse yourself in the local culture and experience more quickly and completely than volunteers who go with formal volunteer programs You can combine extensive travel and exploration of another culture with volunteer work and you can balance the two according to your personal preferences You may be able to do work with local organizations that are more explicitly political or progressive, work that many international volunteer programs avoid You do not have to worry about what the volunteer who preceded you did or did not do You have a better opportunity to tailor your experience more precisely to fit your own skills, values, interests and learning objectives CONS of volunteering independently It is a lot of work to organize and there are no guarantees You may feel isolated. Even the strongest and most independent volunteers often long for the companionship and understanding of other volunteers It is much easier to have misunderstandings with hosts. You will not have the support of program staff, who are often people with strong language skills and working relationships with the host organization that have developed over years You will not have the opportunity to learn from the trials and errors of volunteers who have come before you on a program You will not have someone in the country trained and responsible for helping you when you are sick or having serious problems You may never make a serious commitment to volunteering, especially if you are trying to combine travel and volunteering. (Do you want to be a traveler or a volunteer? Can you do both?) You may harm or let down the organization hosting you if your volunteer stint does not work out. (Is anyone holding you accountable for your commitments? Can you hold yourself accountable?) 2. Assess your existing network Do you know any people or institutions overseas that could help you find a place to volunteer? Do you have any friends, or friends of friends, who have volunteered or worked overseas? Do they have any direct contacts with potential host organizations abroad? Perhaps you have volunteered locally with a solidarity or international development organization. Do these organizations have partner organizations overseas that might be interested in hosting a volunteer? Are you a member of a church or other religious organizations that have links with people or projects abroad? Do you know the issue area in which you would like to work? Are there any local organizations working on these issues that have international connections? 3. Get organized decide whether you will make it happen once you are there or organize it before you go 4. Go out and start networking 5. Arrange your placement When contacting an organization that you are interested in, include the following information Why you are interested in volunteering and especially what interests you in the organization you are contacting

8 8 Your relevant work experience and skills The approximate dates that you will be available The estimated number of hours per week you will be available All your contact information, including phone number, fax number, address and mailing address Ask the following questions to the organization Have you hosted volunteers in the past? If so, what type of work did they do? Will you provide contact information for previous volunteers? What skills would be most useful for a volunteer to contribute to your organization? Can your organization provide help in finding low-cost or donated housing? What are your organization s hours of operation? 6. If you decide to make it happen once you are overseas, consult travel guides, network volunteer opportunities through language schools. Arrive in the country with at least one lead for starting your search. 7. Lessen the burden on local hosts Consider paying your host organization a modest administrative fee for the staff time required to respond to your needs. Or make a contribution to one of their projects when you depart. Be flexible, adaptable and open-minded Work and contribute in whatever ways are requested and appropriate Be dependable, conscientious and work a little extra (or work some overtime) to compensate for the organization s investment of time