Paul Fegan reflects on his Platform2 experience and the path it's taken him on today...
 
Since returning from Platform2 (the overseas volunteering programme), 10 weeks in Kenya in 2009, I found myself at a loss. Before my experience in Kenya I had never really carried out any form of volunteering as I selfishly thought that there was always someone else out there to do that. Which unfortunately I feel is the problem with many youths of today’s society. I was so wrapped up in my own life and career aspirations I never really took the time to think how I could help others. Having returned, I found it difficult to adopt back into western society and how everything is taken for granted. Modules in my course at university, Product Design & Development, were all about consumerism, beating the competition, money is no object, which in my opinion is exactly what is destroying our world and I found it difficult to settle back into it. But what I realised is that the world needs engineers at all levels be it aesthetically pleasing gadgets for the rich, or simple, practical products for the less fortunate. I feel it is important to gain as much education as possible and then to apply this education in helping others.

'... what I realised is that the world needs engineers at all levels be it aesthetically pleasing gadgets for the rich, or simple, practical products for the less fortunate. I feel it is important to gain as much education as possible and then to apply this education in helping others'

My expectations

I decided to apply for the Global Xchange program so that I could get a better understanding of the world we live in and of the issues that are affecting us. From the UK phase I most want to find out what opportunities there are for me upon completion of the programme. I wanted to know and understand what we in the UK are doing to help those in developing countries. From the Exchange Country Phase I hope to get a better understanding of how the less fortunate live and I feel the best way in achieving this is to actually live with them and learn from them. I feel that to live with a host family in a developing country would be an invaluable experience to educate me and lead me in the right direction as to what I want out of my life. Before coming on the programme I was nervous about meeting my exchange partner and slightly worried as to whether we would get along or not. I realised that this was going to make a massive difference to how my 6months would go. I was afraid that we may have a clash of personalities or that our cultural differences may get too much. There were many things running through my head as to what could go wrong.
 
The story so far

Upon arrival in Gwynedd, Wales I had feelings of both anxiety and excitement. I didn’t know what to expect. When we first met the group from Namibia I was relieved to find that they were all nice people and to realise that we were all quite similar, despite our cultural and individual differences.  After spending a few days with the group as a whole we got split into our counterpart pairs. Due to the imbalance of Namibian to UK volunteers, I was partnered up with two Namibian volunteers, Travolta & Shivolo. We were put in a home in Bethel, a small village outside Bangor in Wales, with a lady called Wendy who lives at home on her own.

We have spent two months together now and we have become a close knit family. We are all from different cultures. Travolta and Shivolo from Namibia, Wendy from England but has been living in Wales for over 30years and myself from Ireland. This means we can all learn a lot from each other and our individual cultures. Even the Namibian boys have different cultures as they come from different tribes, Travolta from the Herero tribe and Shivolo Oshiwambo. We all learn a lot from each other and ask lots of questions and I constantly seem to be broadening my horizons as to how different people live their lives. There are even culture differences in the way people live in Wales and people from Ireland. The Welsh language is prevalent in the area of Gwynedd that we are living in, which i think is fantastic. I hink Ireland could learn a lot from this area and the preservation of the Irish language. Living with the boys has made my expectations of moving to Namibia a lot less daunting. Anything that comes into my head that may worry me about Namibia is answered by the boys. And what I have realised is that if they have lived long happy lives there for years, despite their disadvantages, then surely I can manage for three months.
 
I have a joint placement while staying in Wales. I spend two days of the week with the Black Environmental Network (BEN). BEN is an organisation that works with ethnic minorities. The aim is to bring these ethnic groups into the environment and to feel part of the community. It ranges from having Welsh language classes, to advice centres and social outings.

'The Namibians often feel that people from the UK rush too much and don’t take time to enjoy life, whereas the UK volunteers often find that the Namibians are too laid back. A good compromise is somewhere in between, where the job does get done, but not rushed and everyone can enjoy doing it'

I also spend two days with Christian Aid, where I act as a campaign Volunteer to promote the Climate Change and Tax Campaigns. I have been fortunate enough to attend a climate change conference, where many of the organisations that work with climate change throughout Wales came together to discuss issues and to build a network of links so that they can work with each other to combat the issue! This allowed me to gain a lot of information about the work that is carried out in relation to Climate Change and I was able to build my own network of contacts for future career possibilities. I have also spoken with various groups, promoting the Tax campaign and encouraging people of all ages to get involved.
 
Each Wednesday, one host home is responsible for organising a Global Citizenship Day (GCD) for the rest of the volunteers, based around a global issue. Our host home GCD was based around the theme of Poverty and inequality, where we arranged a day of activities around this theme. We got a guest speaker to talk about inequalities in Wales and had a tour of an old mining Quarry where people were enslaved in the past, as well as other activities and discussions. Throughout our three months we also have had various Community Action Days (CAD’s), where we spend a day organising activities for the community to get involved. One CAD involved working with a disability group in the local leisure centre finding out about the work of each group and general social interaction. Others have included a community welcome, working with a homeless group and promoting volunteering at Bangor University.
 
Summary

So far, my experience has exceeded my expectations. My initial thought was that my time in Wales was just a gap filler until I got to Namibia. Now that I’m here, I feel that I have learnt so much about the welsh culture and not only that, but I have learned a lot about myself and how I can cope in group situations and how to compromise for the better of a group. I have learned that I can easily adopt into new situations and flexibility is the key to having a successful group.
 
One example of compromise between the Namibia group and the UK group is time. The Namibians often feel that people from the UK rush too much and don’t take time to enjoy life, whereas the UK volunteers often find that the Namibians are too laid back. A good compromise is somewhere in between, where the job does get done, but not rushed and everyone can enjoy doing it.
 
I have also learned about the future career prospects in global development within the UK. Each week brings a totally new experience from the previous. My time is running so quick that it will be over before I know it, but I do feel that I have made the most of my time here so far and I look forward to a whole new experience in Namibia, where I can compare and contrast the differences between both countries and hopefully come up with a solution to which direction my career path will lead.

Words and photos: Paul Fegan

For more information on Platform2 visit www.myplatform2.com