Youth Xchange: Current Teams - Derry/Londonderry(UK) / Ampara (Sri Lanka)
SRI LANKA: The Sri Lanka phase of the exchange will link YX to VSO Sri Lanka’s Participation and Governance
programme, and there will be a focus on peace building, conflict transformation and social cohesion. The programme will consider young people’s role and participation in this process. Sri Lanka is emerging from the effects of a 30 year long civil war which has left several areas of the country highly disadvantaged. The Eastern province in particular was ravaged by the war and also very badly affected by the Tsunami of December 2004.
We have selected the Ampara district for the YX programme with the specific aim of working with all three ethnic groups who live there – Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim. What is urgently needed amongst communities in Sri Lanka today is for people to work together towards peace-building and conflict transformation at all levels.
The programme is designed to work with NGOs; host homes and Sri Lankan volunteers who represent all three ethnic groups in Ampara with the objective of facilitating inter-ethnic dialogue and joint action between the three ethnic groups within the community.
The work of the volunteers will contribute to environmental sustainability through tree planting campaigns and awareness raising of issues such as organic farming and waste recycling. Supporting the participation of three different ethnic groups in community activities will encourage cross-community dialogue and increase access to, and take up of services, while raising awareness of issues such as gender equality.
VSO Sri Lanka will be working with Peace and Community Action (PCA) as the implementing partner for the YX programme. PCA has been a partner with our Participation and Governance programme for eight years and we have a developed a strong partnership with them. PCA will identify suitable NGOs with whom they work in the Ampara District for the volunteer placements.
DERRY/LONDONDERRY: This will be our first Global Xchange Programme in Derry, which brings lots of exciting new opportunities. The programme will be delivered with our partner organisation in Derry, SEEDS (Solidarity Equality Education Diversity Support). SEEDS promotes and celebrates diversity and works across the community of Derry to bring people together and encourage dialogue.
SEEDS supports people who have newly arrived in Derry to integrate into the community and establish themselves. SEEDS runs the “One World Centre”, a multicultural centre which provides a range of services for the community. It serves as a social space where people can meet and exchange information and break down cultural and linguistic barriers. SEEDS provides information on accommodation, education and training, social and cultural activities, English classes and translation services.
Volunteers will be placed in placements across Derry, that will be selected from SEEDS’ existing network and will be in a range of organisations.
An update from the team:
The V Awards were scheduled to take place in Colombo on Monday 5 December, and the entire GX Team were invited to attend, so we all packed our backpacks and piled onto a bus on the Sunday. The Sri Lankan volunteers needed to go to the embassy in Colombo anyway to apply for their UK visas and it was International Volunteers Day on the Monday as well, so we were able to kill various birds with one stone.
The journey from Ampara to Colombo was rather eventful; we had our fingers crossed for an 8 hour journey, but a few flat tyres and the usual wrong turns soon put a stop to that. We arrived at our destination at least 13 hours later and put our disheveled heads down for a few hours before arising again for a day of sightseeing and shopping in Colombo.
We stopped off first at the VSO office to meet the team, share experiences and cut a cake in honour of International Volunteers Day. This was followed up by a feverish couple of hours spent shopping before we all dolled ourselves up for the Volunteer Awards in the evening.
The V Awards aim to ‘honour individuals who make extraordinary and selfless contributions to society’ and ‘recognize and reward the most outstanding volunteer contributions at a national level.’ Volunteers from all different sectors are recognized, and it is the aim of the awards to encourage others to take part in volunteerism and raise awareness of the many important causes needing attention all over Sri Lanka. It was an extremely vibrant and inspiring event, and it was very interesting for us as volunteers to see the huge range of projects being worked on throughout the country by selfless individuals trying to make a difference. The theme of the evening was ‘shining a light on those who serve in silence,’ and I think everyone was touched by the stories we heard from the volunteers working in all different areas.
Another eventful bus journey on the way back which included wild elephant sightings and an impromptu game of roadside football when the bus broke down made the Colombo trip even more memorable, and the awards ceremony will surely act as a reminder for everyone of the reason we have taken part on this GX adventure and decided to take some time to work as volunteers in Sri Lanka as well as our own communities. The few days away also gave us a chance to reflect on our own volunteer placements and our aims and ambitions, and I think it is something we will all remember for a long time.
