The IICP leadership
Last blog for a while at least, I am not planning on writing when I’m on vacation (the last 11 weeks have not been vacation. I’ve not been paid, and have occasionally done something akin to work. Its work scottie …but not as we know it!!!) I may continue to ramble after I get home (I’ve enjoyed the exercise of writing), but if you want to read, then you have to write me an e mail saying so- I am not planning on filling up your inboxes with my waffle unless you tell me you want me to. chrisinkolkata@gmail.com
I have a week of presentations, and frantic winding things up or handing things over so that if not finished, they can continue without me. Just like a 12 week summer student at P&G, only in the last few weeks have I felt I know what I’m doing, and with three more months I could really get things moving. However, I need to go back to work and earn some cash as my reserves are perilously low.
I can list my achievements as follows
Fundraising strategy- check
Progress on some specific fundraising projects – check
Some HR stuff completed – check
Some workshops for the staff with powerpoint slides – check
A bunch of kids had hydrotherapy with me- and didn’t drown, despite my best efforts.
Actually my last session was the most fun as we had only three kids all of whom could pretty much swim, so we had races and splashing contests. Its great to be a kid some days, even when you are 43.
I feel frustrated that I didn’t do more…..and whilst I can think of many excuses and reasons why not, I will still come away with a sense of “could have done better”.
Personally I have learned a lot as well. Probably the biggest thing is that im reasonably comfortable around people with disability. (Ranu said that if this is an outcome of any placement, then its been successful). They are all just people, even if communicating with them can be tough at times.
I have become a dangerous user (a little knowledge is a dangerous thing) of Microsoft publisher, open office writer, Facebook, blogspot, skype and backing up photos, music and data on external drives…. If you don’t have your life backed up- spend an hour and do it, as it saved me when my computer died.
I’ve met some amazing people motivated by more than just the monthly paycheque, and who have gone out of their way to look after me, knowing I was away from home.
Does volunteering really make a difference?
I had separate long discussions on this subject with Ranu, and Simon Palferman (Mondo challenge operations manager who took the plunge and sent me here, rather than make me teach chemistry in Tanzania (I still shudder slightly at how I personally could have ruined the education of 90 schoolchildren).
Ranu and Simon….party animals
I think we all have similar feelings about this. I could have stayed working, written a fairly large cheque to IICP and covered a chunk of their budget deficit this year (they can’t accept my credit card…yet, so they’d have to pay to get a sterling cheque cleared into Rupee, and go through the pain of trying to get the money, at least until someone sorts out their website).
Three months is not a long time to make a fundamental change to an organization. It was onlythe last couple of weeks I felt I knew what value I could bring to the IICP- and lets face it, I didn’t get them much in the way of new donations. I had to learn fundraising (thank you, thank you those who helped teach me), and the IICP had to learn that I could do other organizational stuff of use.
In some cases, volunteers show up, are not around long enough to actually do anything, and are just a drain on the limited resources of an NGO trying to do good work. (Ranu has told me many stories of some of her “gappers;” Gap year students who show up, party, get sick, travel and occasionally show up at work. For the receiving organization, this is just a pain in the ass. ( actually I did most of those too… maybe I am one of them )
In some cases, westerners showing up in a slum trying to do good works, is interpreted by the slum community as meaning, this NGO is rich- so give us the money instead. Hence the IICP has always worked on these projects with other NGO’s whose focus is poverty. I was fortunate to spend a couple of days in the slums and rural communities, but a careful Indian, local approach is what’s required there.
My conclusions are as follows.
- If you have a specific skill, that fits naturally with the organization- GREAT-use it! A physiotherapist or special educator can do amazing things at the IICP and is seen as help.
- Often its our secondary interests and hobbies that are useful. Had I been a web designer, I could have done the website myself. My slightly geeky inclination for the internet was where I focused my attention and my experience of managing an organization has helped on the HR stuff. ( I am not applying for a role in HR though)
- Spend the time before you start working out where the skills and needs overlap. Had I spent more time doing this in January, then I could have done 4-6 more weeks of useful stuff at IICP- because it took me this long to actually get moving
- If there is no overlap then get involved in an exisiting programme that is up and running- even if you are “just another volunteer who they can slot in”- because at least you are tangibly, supporting the ongoing work.
- The receiving organization also needs to overload you with work. Better to ask for 50 things and get 30 of them, versus ask for 20 initially and only get 15. For me hydrotherapy was an important routine thing for me, and I knew that it made a small tangible difference.
Do I regret it? Not at all- its been an amazing experience , and for me, better than just traveling। Would I do it again? Possibly- but I’d look for ways of making the time most efficient. I could have done so much more in a 6 month placement, and I’m sure in a year the IICP would have money pouring in…I hope they will anyway- I like this organization.
I have a week of presentations, and frantic winding things up or handing things over so that if not finished, they can continue without me. Just like a 12 week summer student at P&G, only in the last few weeks have I felt I know what I’m doing, and with three more months I could really get things moving. However, I need to go back to work and earn some cash as my reserves are perilously low.
I can list my achievements as follows
Fundraising strategy- check
Progress on some specific fundraising projects – check
Some HR stuff completed – check
Some workshops for the staff with powerpoint slides – check
A bunch of kids had hydrotherapy with me- and didn’t drown, despite my best efforts.
Actually my last session was the most fun as we had only three kids all of whom could pretty much swim, so we had races and splashing contests. Its great to be a kid some days, even when you are 43.
I feel frustrated that I didn’t do more…..and whilst I can think of many excuses and reasons why not, I will still come away with a sense of “could have done better”.
Personally I have learned a lot as well. Probably the biggest thing is that im reasonably comfortable around people with disability. (Ranu said that if this is an outcome of any placement, then its been successful). They are all just people, even if communicating with them can be tough at times.
I have become a dangerous user (a little knowledge is a dangerous thing) of Microsoft publisher, open office writer, Facebook, blogspot, skype and backing up photos, music and data on external drives…. If you don’t have your life backed up- spend an hour and do it, as it saved me when my computer died.
I’ve met some amazing people motivated by more than just the monthly paycheque, and who have gone out of their way to look after me, knowing I was away from home.
Does volunteering really make a difference?
I had separate long discussions on this subject with Ranu, and Simon Palferman (Mondo challenge operations manager who took the plunge and sent me here, rather than make me teach chemistry in Tanzania (I still shudder slightly at how I personally could have ruined the education of 90 schoolchildren).
Ranu and Simon….party animals
I think we all have similar feelings about this. I could have stayed working, written a fairly large cheque to IICP and covered a chunk of their budget deficit this year (they can’t accept my credit card…yet, so they’d have to pay to get a sterling cheque cleared into Rupee, and go through the pain of trying to get the money, at least until someone sorts out their website).
Three months is not a long time to make a fundamental change to an organization. It was onlythe last couple of weeks I felt I knew what value I could bring to the IICP- and lets face it, I didn’t get them much in the way of new donations. I had to learn fundraising (thank you, thank you those who helped teach me), and the IICP had to learn that I could do other organizational stuff of use.
In some cases, volunteers show up, are not around long enough to actually do anything, and are just a drain on the limited resources of an NGO trying to do good work. (Ranu has told me many stories of some of her “gappers;” Gap year students who show up, party, get sick, travel and occasionally show up at work. For the receiving organization, this is just a pain in the ass. ( actually I did most of those too… maybe I am one of them )
In some cases, westerners showing up in a slum trying to do good works, is interpreted by the slum community as meaning, this NGO is rich- so give us the money instead. Hence the IICP has always worked on these projects with other NGO’s whose focus is poverty. I was fortunate to spend a couple of days in the slums and rural communities, but a careful Indian, local approach is what’s required there.
My conclusions are as follows.
- If you have a specific skill, that fits naturally with the organization- GREAT-use it! A physiotherapist or special educator can do amazing things at the IICP and is seen as help.
- Often its our secondary interests and hobbies that are useful. Had I been a web designer, I could have done the website myself. My slightly geeky inclination for the internet was where I focused my attention and my experience of managing an organization has helped on the HR stuff. ( I am not applying for a role in HR though)
- Spend the time before you start working out where the skills and needs overlap. Had I spent more time doing this in January, then I could have done 4-6 more weeks of useful stuff at IICP- because it took me this long to actually get moving
- If there is no overlap then get involved in an exisiting programme that is up and running- even if you are “just another volunteer who they can slot in”- because at least you are tangibly, supporting the ongoing work.
- The receiving organization also needs to overload you with work. Better to ask for 50 things and get 30 of them, versus ask for 20 initially and only get 15. For me hydrotherapy was an important routine thing for me, and I knew that it made a small tangible difference.
Do I regret it? Not at all- its been an amazing experience , and for me, better than just traveling। Would I do it again? Possibly- but I’d look for ways of making the time most efficient. I could have done so much more in a 6 month placement, and I’m sure in a year the IICP would have money pouring in…I hope they will anyway- I like this organization.
And the rain came down…( go on musos..tell me which song that is from?)
I (and everyone else here) have whined about the heat, and last Saturday was 42.1C (hottest ever in May apparently. I was playing golf with a bunch of mad dogs and Indians. I won Rs 30 as well with a birdie on the 9th J).
However, the week before my round was curtailed. In the space of 10 minutes the sky went from bright blue, through grey to angry malevolent black, the temperature dropped at least 5C and a howling wind sent us scurrying to the halfway house. Om Kaul declared it would blow over. We stood on the tenth tee for 2 minutes, felt the first drops of rain and decided it might be better to wait, and then watched as the heavens opened. It was disappointing because after we stopped, changed and had tea and toast, it brightened up and would have been a pleasant evening to play golf.
Yesterday was slightly different though- the heavens not only opened, they stayed open for a good 4 hours, and I ventured out only to watch the fantastic light show put on by Odin special effects Inc. (dunno if there is an Indian god of thunder- Im sure there is as they have a god for everything else). I thought this would close down the street market, but they put up an extra waterproof sheet over their stall, and carried on selling. Even my icecream man was still on the corner trying to flog “Mango Funs” at Rs20.
Rain? What rain…..should it stop me selling you a saree at a very good price sir??
Since then Ive tried to yell my final presentation at the IICP over the delicate sound of thunder, and was woken at 4.45am this morning by the earth moving I seriously thought it was an explosion for a minute. When I finally ventured out for my run, it was deliciously cool for the first 20 minutes, but thereafter I could feel the sun working, and see the puddles evaporating, wispy tendrils of steam rising and making it very sticky.
This isn’t even the rainy season yet, so when the monssons come its even worse. However, this has been a weird year for weather. I hope its not too hot when Rita comes out to stay.
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