A Very Enriching Experience

Given a chance to work in a developing country is a very enriching experience. Working in development poses a lot of challenge which will make ones eyes open to the realities of life.

Firstly, one will work in an environment which is totally different from what one is used to. Sometimes, one has to cope up with the varying intense heat and intense cold temperatures.
The scarcity of food, the unavailability of electricity, the unavailability of transport and
foremost, the unavailability of efficient medical personnel.

Secondly, the culture of the people that one will be working with is the hardest challenge that a volunteer will have to face. They have their own way of doing things in the office which one will just find very ineffective. They have their own culture as a people which is equally difficult to penetrate. And, introducing changes is totally difficult because of their fear of the unknown.

Thirdly, working with fellow volunteers who come from different countries poses also a very great challenge. Each volunteer has their own culture which is totally different from one another. Each volunteer carry with them their individual work experience which may sometimes clash with the experience of the others. They have different ways of doing things.

HOWEVER, with the above, my experience as a VSO volunteer in The Gambia, West Africa was very enriching, which has added to my already enhanced awareness of the nature of man and will definitely help me in my dealings with different people in my work.

In other words, I SURVIVED because I believed that I can do the job with just being ADAPTABLE and FLEXIBLE.