International Volunteer Leader’s Training ISLETLC03 Aug -Sep 2010 (YEP approved cse)

The most recent course we had was a ball. Here are some observations that were useful:
All were peer leaders with about 40% having been YEP team members in the past (from both YEP teams and non-YEP teams). Some of the trainees were very experienced leaders of other activities, with facilitation skills. Because they needed to attend the course, there was an initial sense of “do I really need to attend ANOTHER leadership course”? But after Day 1, it kinda clicked – with “Hey! this is different… never attended a course like this before!”.

I’m glad we could inspire leadership style versatility. Well, given the reality of the compressed time of a short course like this, whatever we can share is probably only the tip of an iceberg in the world of IV. That’s why the IVA has a Breakfast with a Soul series and the Teh Tarik and Kopi Kaki sessions to supplement the learning sessions.

The sharing was very open. In our “Networking with Seasoned IV Leaders’ session, we had two very engaging and experienced leaders visit us. Ms Elsie Wong and Mr Goh Ann Tat. Elsie is an old friend … oops, Freudian slip … sorry, Elsie … I meant young friend, who was involved in 4 marine survey projects in Sabah, Cambodia, Thailand, and Timor Leste. Ann Tat has a tremendous background from Raleigh , YEP, and RIEL. They both shared gems of experiences particularly in the areas of partnership and host engagement. Thanks, Elsie and Ann Tat! We really appreciate your time with us!

Dinner was full-on enjoyment. There were lots to learn from cooking together. Creativity, resourcefulness, teamwork, fun, and some team-building tips can be brought to life at dinner time. We had a great time at dinner. No wastage too. We also had super fresh towgay offered by Uncle Douya Lee. So fresh – right from his farm. (here’s the secret of the location being given away if you are in the market produce business)

We don’t have to say how much more we appreciated each other after Saturday Night’s Live .. I mean, Life Journey. Team leaders got to know each other even more; gaining more trust for each other. Now that was time well spent! As one expeditioneer later shared – after life journey, we got to know each other so well that instead of sleeping, we spent time eating together with our Muslim friends before the Puasa time starts. Time with each other became more important than time resting. That’s teammate-ship!

I must say, I thought the mozzie condition would be bad, but no! We didn’t need the mozzie nets at all.

The team felt that the Practical RAMS session was refreshing – especially since we’ve been cooped up in the kampong the whole third day and the morning storm on Sunday kept us in even longer. When the rain fizzled out into a tinkle, we jumped up into the truck and meandered to a coastal walk where there was a warning of estuarine ___________. I’ll leave you readers guessing. It can pose a severe risk to solo unwary travelers! However low the probability might be!

It’s late now, I’ve got to go. Thanks again to the expeditioneers who shared the lives with me! We wish you the very best in this admirable role you have taken up – to lead 20+ lives in a personally transformational experience!

IVA International Service- Learning Expedition Team Leaders’ Course (ISLE TLC) – An insight into IVA’s training philosophy

The IVA seeks to capacity-build organizations and its leaders with IV capability. We look forward to continually share and open sharing channels. This course aims to prepare team leaders of International Service-Learning Expeditions. These are expeditions that serve communities and aim to harness opportunities for people development at the same time. The content of this course has also been accepted by the NYC’s YEP. As such, we can tailor the course to cater to both YEP or non-YEP team leader preparation. In general, the course will cover issues such as expedition leadership, facilitation of learning, duty of care, and risk and crisis management.

Course Principles & Structure

This is an experiential and interactive course. It will be taught over two weekends with time for reflection in-between.  We take in as much as we give out. We believe that people who have taken up expedition leadership will also be people who have life experiences to contribute to the overall learning of the course.

Classroom sessions: The first weekend consists of  two day-sessions from 9:00am – 5:30pm.  Come dressed comfortably for games and sitting on the floor.

Reflection break: Singaporeans are over-busy people. We tend to crowd out our lives with activities. These activities prevent deeper learning and reflection. Part of the an ISL journey is a focus on reflection where processing of values, attitudes, perspectives occur. Because of our belif that this is important, we’ve built into our course a weekend break in-between the two weekends to give time for reflection, application/testing of some principles taught, and for participants to prepare for the logistics of the residential segment.

Field sessions: The second weekend will be the overnight residential segment. We believe in contextualizing in preparation. So we’ll be learning and playing in a rural environment, replicating the conditions of about 70% of the expedition locations.

Networking session: Because we are an association of practitioners from various backgrounds, where possible, we will have a networking session for course participants to meet with experienced expedition leaders sometime during the course. Do come with questions on leadership, partnership, and any other challenges you face.  Enriched learning happens during networking.

Mercy Relief kickstarts the MOVEment!

posted by Dian Melati on ExpeditionSg yahoogroups on Jan 22, 2010

Mercy Overseas Volunteer Expeditions (MOVE) was set up in order to
provide an activeplatform for individuals to exercise a spirit of active
global citizenry via engaging in programmes which complement Mercy
Relief’s ongoing overseas community development projects.

While Mercy Relief has established its standing as a humanitarian
charity in response to the human tragedies in Asia, it also carries out
longer-term development projects to uplift the lives of impoverished and
disadvantaged communities around Asia. Mercy Relief is currently
implementing 14 non-crisis poverty-reduction and disaster risk
mitigation projects in China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam
focusing on our core areas of water & sanitation, shelter, sustainable
livelihood, education and healthcare.

At Mercy Relief, we have always believed that the way forward in
developing the humanitarian sector isthrough exposing and educating the
community. Outgoing teams will carry out programmes within our project
locations, stemming from our five core areas above. With the objective
of rendering meaningful service to supplement as the `soft ware’
component to our `hard ware’ humanitarian work, MOVE thus
provides the beneficiaries with a holistic form of aid.

Comprising two primary platforms for volunteer deployments – Mercy
Expeditions (MX) and Mercy Youth (MY) – MOVE personifies our vision
of a more structured conduit for volunteers to develop themselves as
regional humanitarians.

MX: Mercy Expeditions allows working adults and volunteers in general to
develop their own potential and a chance to experience other cultures
and understand some of the socio-economic issues affecting our
neighbouring nations. For employees going under the banner of their
organizations, the programme aims to develop their sense of global
competence and leadership, and enrich their personal and professional
lives through CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities.

MY: Mercy Youth is open to young adults and full-time students who wish
to engage in a pro-active sense of experiential learning and make active
social contributions both at home and abroad. This includes participants
between the age of 15 to 35 who are embarking on NYC’s Youth
Expedition Programme (YEP) under the partnership between NYC and Mercy
Relief.

To drive this MOVEment forward will be the slogan It’s good to feel bad
. In humanitarian service, feeling bad is good as it makes us feel that
we could and should be doing more for the less fortunate. This is an
important mentality which should reach deep into the psyche of every
volunteer, and that is precisely what we strive to inculcate amongst our
returning overseas volunteers.

Returning volunteers will be automatically integrated into the MOVE
Network, for continued engagement and development in promoting an active
volunteering spirit and a civic life of compassion, care and
volunteerism amongst Man. Members of the network will be known as
MOVERs.

It’s a simple formula,really. MX + MY = MOVE

For more information on MOVE or to sign up your team, please email
move@mercyrelief.org

Priority will be given to ex-YEP leaders who have already formed a team
and are planning to lead an expedition within this year.

Volunteers return from quake-hit Haiti

By Dylan Loh for Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 24 January 2010 1814 hrs

SINGAPORE: Five volunteers of an eight-member CityCare team sent to quake-hit Haiti returned home on Sunday.

The eight members were the first team the social enterprise group sent to Haiti to help the quake survivors.

More helpers will join the rest of the team in Haiti in the coming weeks.

Volunteers described the disaster zone as a big slum, with people sleeping on streets alongside rats and cockroaches.

And the medical facilities there were ill-equipped to treat severely injured people such as a woman they treated, whose upper body had been trapped in the rubble.

Dr Tan Hun Hoe, a CityCare volunteer, said: “To see her face all smashed up and swollen up and, you know, disfigured, with wounds and with maggots crawling out. I think that’s quite a sight that we will never forget and it’s something to, perhaps, remind people how severe the injuries can be.”

- CNA/ir

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