Vocational Impact

How has it been since you returned from Nkosi's haven? It has been a slightly strange transition, from working full-on, every day in South Africa, to suddenly returning to a normal pace of life. But I guess this is the experience I was looking for, real work-experience. I felt that the few weeks I was there wasn’t long enough, and in hindsight, wish I had gone for double the time. But it’s hard to know this before you go, and there is lots to consider too, like costs and what the day-to-day demands will be like. I think I would have been able to get more stuff done if I had gone for longer. It would be a completely different experience if you go for 4 weeks instead of 2. I still have lots of plans and ideas in my head, that I would have loved to explore whilst I was in Johannesburg. Vocational Impact really helped set up my placement and tailored the topics to my specific degree requirements. No other volunteer organization provides this level of support. But it isn’t just the 2 weeks I went, I wanted to continue to work with the project even after I had left and offer them continued support of the amazing work that they do at Nkosi’s Haven. I didn’t want to just leave a project in the middle, once I had started it so being able to continue supporting from the UK is a really great part of this placement and means I can continue to gain valuable work-experience in a real-life environment. There was some elements that I didn’t want to rush, just to fit them in, so I have offered to continue my placement from the UK. You can see the time spent at Nkois’s Haven as your in-country placement and when you return you can continue the work, but remotely. So when you arrived, it sounded like you had to hit-the-ground-running? The first few days were good. I was introduced to everyone, and then rested after the long days of travel. I understand what was meant by feeling a bit isolated in the first few days, as it’s all so new, and overwhelming. Vocational Impact checked in on me every day, and helped me settle in as well as the in-country team. It can feel quite strange, as you don’t really know anyone, and nobody really knows you. It can feel strange as you’ve never been there before. I was prepared for this, as Vocational Impact really helped prepare me, we had a pre-departure call, and they sent lots and lots of information. Then it was the total opposite when a big corporate event happened at Nkosi’s Haven with over 100 volunteers there to work with the 50+ children. It was madness but really enjoyable to see everyone in action and the Haven so alive. Meeting the corporate partners was really interesting, and understanding how they help Nkosi's Haven. It was a very humbling part of the process. The corporate partners are a lifeline for NGOs. They not only provide essential donations, they also bring expertise and security. Understanding this relationship was really eye-opening. The history of the relationship, how it came about, the length of time they had been involved and how they supported. They bought 30-40 cases of donations, toys, clothes, and books. Corporate donors always get heavily criticised for the mistakes they make, and never get enough recognition for the good work they do, so it was really nice to see the direct impact of the corporate relationship. CSR is often seen as a box ticking / PR exercise, but seeing the corporate relationship in action encouraged me to make others aware that they do do good, and they are making a difference. And they do actually care. So I thought, how do you encourage another relationship like this? If there were 2 or 3 more corporate partners, then Nkosi’s Haven would be in a much more secure financial position. So I made this part of my placement, how do you make that connection with corporates and start accessing CSR budgets? Is it a case of reaching out to certain people? Or is it who you know? Getting compliant ready. Reaching out to South African based corporates to access donations Vocational Impact really helped me understand this better, as they have years of experience working with corporates and international development. It was great to learn about how to create these relationships and how the volunteer fee’s they create, form a big part of the donations received by their partner projects; including Nkosi’s Haven. One of the main challenges of starting new corporate relationships, where there is a high emphasis on compliance, is international charities are really struggling to keep up with compliance demands. This is where Vocational Impact volunteers have been stepping in and making a real impact. Volunteers have been helping Nkosi's Haven with policy, compliance, accounts, budgets, website content, marketing and policies. This is where the real need is, and this is where students are able to apply their university education and support. I was working on monitoring and evaluating for Nkosi’s Haven, as suggested by the Chairman of the charity. It was a big list, of policies, compliance, which is a wonderful idea, but how do you put that into place at somewhere like Nkosi’s Haven, when they literally don’t have any time? I felt like I was in the thick of it, based in the central office, where the phone is constantly ringing, there are children in and out, staff in and out, trying to keep all these people happy. This is why it’s so amazing what Vocational Impact are doing, supporting the running, the business and marketing needs through the volunteers they send. They prepare all the volunteers individually, set them up with a tailored project that is mutually beneficial to both Nkosi’s Haven and the student volunteer applying their degree subject in a real life situation. Both parties are benefitting from the relationship. Plus, they provide essential funding to Nkosi’s Haven, which will grow as the volunteer numbers grow. Educated young people absolutely can step in and fulfil this need. They can physically and mentally support an international charity that is fighting every day for the rights of children with HIV/AIDS. Nkosi’s Haven have fallen into the dangerous trap where international volunteers were costing them money, rather than receiving anything for hosting. There are many volunteer organisations out there that do not send a single £ or $ to the hosting organisation. They have since stopped working with all other volunteer organisations, and recognise the Vocational Impact programmes as the most beneficial, with funding and providing educated students. It takes the strain away from Nkosi’s Haven, with their business demands ever increasing and volunteers being able to provide support. Vocational Impact want to increase volunteer numbers for Nkosi’s Haven. Another one of the challenges at Nkosi’s Haven is that there is so much information, all over the world, from people that have helped over the years, and it hasn’t all been drawn together. They would really benefit from a centralised data system and storage so information can be drawn easily. Because of the resource struggles, the communication between Nkosi’s Haven and the outside world is compromised. There is so much media published around Gail and around Nkosi and the whole history of Nkosi Johnson. It was making world headlines. So many positive stories. They need a social media strategy, and consistent content uploaded onto their social media channels, this is the perfect project for a business and/or marketing student to work on. One of the kids could be taught how to handle this, which also provides skills to the residents of the Haven. They have lots of work to do on their compliance, and policies, and this is a project that a law student, or international development student could work on. It was amazing the pre-departure information Vocational Impact sent me, it was so accurate to what I ended up doing on my placement, and helped me understand the type of projects Nkosi's Haven were focusing on and where I could jump in and help with straight away. I was given free-reign and was told ‘if you see a gap, go right ahead and explore’. I’ve done business for 4 years, and it’s all about how to present yourself, pitch ideas, but going to Nkosi’s Haven was the real deal, there was freedom to make an instant impact. I started working on a marketing strategy, and then moved onto a strategy document that bought in all the elements and highlighted areas of growth and how to overcome challenges. One of the great things is handing over these to the next volunteer, who can then put their mark on it. By the end of the summer, Nkosi’s Haven will have received constant help, from business students. By the time I finished my placement, I had completed an online marketing strategy, and a strategy report as well as templates that Gail could use for writing policies and updating compliance. How would you say, overall, the experience was? Did you feel you made an impact? Did you learn? Did the experience match your expectations? It’s hard to form expectations about volunteering abroad. I’d never been to South Africa, I didn’t have much context. But this meant I was kept on my toes the entire time. When you learn about business in the classroom, you aren’t always sure if you would be able to put it into practice, but this experience showed me that I was capable, and able to make decisions. There were ups and downs, but I’m so pleased I did it. Especially as it it feeds into my masters degree in International Management and Leadership, where we had to find an international project with a business problem and solve it, it was also about project management and self-reflection. This placement certainly ticked all those boxes. I had to present my plans to volunteer at Nkosi’s Haven to my lecturer to get it approved, which it was. I found the business placement a very humbling and worthwhile experience. It was the first chance I've had to put all my education and learning into real-life. Working with a charity, I think, is one of the best ways to focus your business skills, as at the start of your career, you want to know about each part of a working organisation. And charities you need to be able to help with all sorts of things, and be prepared to try anything. You can then start to focus more, when you know what specific area of business you want to pursue. How did you find your placement? I fundraised. I actually found that one of the most challenging parts but a really rewarding experience. It is hard to get money off of people, which then gave me the understanding of how hard it is for charities to raise essential donations. There is a big parallel between personal fundraising and organisational fundraising. It’s really challenging, but this possibly is where I learned the most about business and gave me so much experience about how money works and how people think about money. It’s something Vocational Impact really help with and they knew how to support me. Fundraising is a really good skill to add to your CV, that you are able to fundraise as it shows your communication skills, planning and persistence. Any employer would snap you up. It's a huge personal achievement Nkosi's Haven, Johannesburg So what's next? I wrap up my masters degree, and I’ve been offered a job in London. but I don’t think I’ll take that one. I think I’m going to accept a year place on a programme in New York, that starts in August.

In November 2018, Portsmouth University International Development student Satara spent 4 weeks at our project in Johannesburg, living and working at Nkosi’s Haven, a community that supports HIV/AIDS affected mothers and children. During the time at Nkosi’s Haven, Satara had a large role working and helping with the admin task in the office. I assisted with researching and writing letters for fundraising. I took part in the celebrations of World AIDS day. I learned from being in the heart of a working and active internationally renowned charity. I observed and learned about how tasks are completed and how often resources are split, when they are limited by funds. Satara had a great time working alongside Gail, the founder and director of Nkosi’s Haven. Gail took time out of her extremely busy day to make sure I knew what I was doing and if I had any questions. There were constantly little feet running in and out of the office, it was so sweet, some of them were extremely cheeky and were constantly looking for a biscuit on your desk or a sweet in your bag. I definitely learned to work independently and persevere. I was working to update the system in which they send enquiring funding letters. Their system was very out of date and needed to be made practical and modern. For a student studying International Development such as I am, it is very important to have an idea on how an internationally known organisation such as Nkosi’s Haven struggles with funding. Whilst I was there, they were deperate for funders and it gave me a great insight into the process that they had to go through to achive fund to stay afloat. I was also able to build confidence when talking to all levels of people internally, from the Founding Director, the on-site nurses, social workers, funders, and everyone in between, helping my communication skills and time management experience. Nkosi’s Haven provides a lot of opportunities to learn from the inside of an internationally known charity. It is full of friendships and love. The children show you the future of acceptance of HIV/AIDS, they showed me the determination despite their disease to achieve their dreams. I got to see the how the internal medical ward worked, sat in the office when meetings with partners and funders and even experienced events held by Nkosi’s Haven. To volunteer at Nkosi's Haven is to see the future of South Africa, inclusivity and diversity. I believe everyone should participate in volunteering, especially in South Africa. I also got to watch Gail, the founder of Nkosi’s Haven present the children’s peace prize held in Cape Town. Gail’s son was the first recipient of the prize and now years on she is still pursuing his dream and pushing his message on. Showing the world that AIDS should be prevented but also accepted. It was great work experience and really opened my mind to the rest of the world. I can use the experience to apply to practical examples when I start applying for work. I am continuing my work with Nkosi’s Haven as part of my year placement at Vocational Impact. I am helping them with their international development efforts, including assisting with crucial fundraising and engaging funders so Nkosi’s Haven can continue the amazing work they do by providing a safe Haven for those affected by HIV/AIDS.

Leeds University nurses share their experience working on the vocational impact placements in Ghana See below what to expect from this testimonial, and links to youtube to watch what these volunteers have to say about the Nursing Placement in Ghana with Vocational Impact. In summary you'll learn about the following topics: - What to expect from your first days in Ghana - Choosing the right volunteer abroad nurse medical elective for you - Top tips for student nurses before their nurse electives - Rural healthcare vs inner city hospital in Ghana FIRST DAYS IN GHANA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzAzdQvDu0s&t=2s - Leeds University Child Nurses share their International Elective experience - Learned about ‘Ghana Time’. - Food waiting on our arrival. - Started straight into the placement. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE VOCATIONAL IMPACT? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1p0RKXyJ0c&t=11s - Both wanted to go to Africa with a non-profit. The local touch. - We received the list from our university or advised placement providers. - We saw Vocational Impact speak at our university. They offered the personal touch. - We felt very supported before and during our placement. TIPS FOR FUTURE VOLUNTEERS NURSES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ17JioNqOc - 3 weeks wasn’t long enough. Stay as long as you can - Learn a bit of local TWI language. A little goes a long way - Try all the yummy food. It’s included. 3x a day and is locally prepared – - It is HOT. Take a hand fan. Pack s bed sheet. And get involved in the community HOSPITAL VS RURAL HEALTH CLINIC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAnn8E43CIE - Spent time in Intensive care and paediatric ward in Accra hospital - Hospital has more resources. The clinic in Senya is run by nurses - You need to prove yourself. Ask questions and show your interested WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE HOSPITAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPv7GzRw7v8 - Outpatients department at the start. Watching consultations. - Babies vitals and weights. Education for mums. Breastfeeding. - Outreach in the community for those who couldn’t make it to the clinic. - Spent a day at the lab, where they test for Malaria