Hazel Hathway (Guyana 08/09) is now a Medical student at Cardiff University (where she has also run the Reggae Society and a refugee volunteer programme) and but before that she spent here Project Trust year teaching in Guyana. Here she shares with us all that she learnt from that year away – not just about Guyana’s culture and music but also about herself.
My parent’s tales of life in Africa had always seemed in stark contrast to the predictable and frequently monotonous village life of West Dorset. Long before my gap year, I had dreams of travelling the world and working as a doctor. I envisaged settling somewhere exotic. Somewhere I could surf everyday in my bikini. As I got older my dreams were modified to fit what I perceived to be realistic. I decided my dreams of adventure and working abroad could be fulfilled by joining the army as a doctor. I had interviews and work experience with the army and plans to apply for the medical cadetship.
Then came my Project Trust year in Guyana. Everything that was familiar to me disappeared in the course of 24 hours. My only sure expectation was that I would be a science teacher in a secondary school on the coast of Guyana, and that I wouldn’t be returning home for a year. I was an empty book ready to be written by the sights, sounds, people and culture of a unique country.
Project Trust had always encouraged us to fully immerse ourselves in the culture of the country. For better or worse I fully embraced this advice as only an excited, if somewhat naïve, 18 year old can do. For a year I became as Guyanese as a well spoken white middle class teenager from the rural England can become. My nights at the cheesy local disco were replaced with rum fuelled dancehall sessions until 6am. The sweet old dears pottering about the village were replaced with intimidating, gold chain wearing black men with a soft spot for the spice girls: a very Guyanese variety of Gangster. The ‘Good morning’ greetings were replaced by ‘yo whitie’ and the morning bird song became a man made bird song, aimed at attracting female attention – known as ‘sipping off’ to the Guyanese.
My experience over the year became perhaps the most important and a permanent part of my self-identity. My attitudes, behaviour and personality were shaped by my experiences. On return to the UK, I found it very difficult to reconcile these changes with the person I had been before as well as settling back into my old way. I found refuge in the reggae dancehall music which had been a huge part of my life in Guyana. The song below became a favourite as I felt it reflected our experience and helped remind me of the tough reality of life in the Caribbean every time I put on my nostalgic rose tinted glasses. It tells the story of a white man from Norway (I am also Norwegian!) coming to Jamaica and realising that life is not quite as idyllic as it seems in paradise. On return I was excited to find the Cardiff University Reggae Society which I joined and then ran. I joined Student Action for Refugees which gave me the opportunity to meet and befriend asylum seekers and refugees from all over the world as well as teach. I also became involved with Medsin, an organisation which campaigns on global health issues. In these ways I managed to integrate the influences of my gap year into building a new life in the UK.
At the same time I joined the University Officer Training Corps to see if the army was still for me. I quickly realised that the exotic military destinations of Iraq and Afghanistan no longer appealed. I fostered a far stronger dislike for the military elitism and unquestioning subservience and had become too much of a free-thinking hippy to wear any sort of uniform. I had returned with a fresh perspective, conviction in my ideals and the confidence and courage to live by them. I am now about to spend a year studying International health at Bristol University before going back to Cardiff University for the final two years of medical school. Once I have qualified my dream is to set up a health and well-being centre somewhere exotic…with a hospital boat thrown in for good measure…
– written by Hazel Hathway
Thomas Younger (Guyana, 08/09) writes about the many different ways his Project Trust year at Paramakatoi in Guyana has influcened his life years after – from teaching to trekking to thinking.
Thomas in Paramakatoi, Guyana
When asked to reflect on how my year away through Project Trust impacted upon me, I initially found it quite difficult to pin-point any single change that had taken place in myself during the course of that year spent working in Paramakatoi Secondary School, in the verdant North Pakaraimas of Guyana (2008/ 2009). I now realise that that is because of just how drastically the year reshaped my life, as I know it does for many.
It’s instructive for me to think back on how my parents almost had to push me on to the train to Glasgow for my selection course, even after my initial decision to give Project Trust a shot. In comparison with my younger brothers, who have always been outgoing, and, as twins, spirit one another on with an exuberance that has occasionally resulted in misjudged risks and even broken bones, I had always been more timid, with a tendency to err very much on the side of caution. This was compounded considerably by an incident in my early teens, when I was hit by a car as I was walking to school. The physical fallout from the accident quickly faded, but I carried the psychological scars a lot longer; I would still experience anxiety when crossing congested roads even as I prepared to leave for South America. In that regard, it surprises me that I ever committed myself to a move so radical as the one offered by PT in the first place.
During the time that I lived amongst the Patamona, one of the nine remaining tribes of indigenous people in Guyana, I was gradually infused more and more by their worldview. Whether we were sat together gaffing (chatting) drinking casiri (fermented cassava drink), making our way through the rainforest to a friend’s farm, or on a longer journey to one of the outlying villages, which could only be reached on foot in this remote region, I was learning so much more than I was even aware of at the time. Along with Sam, my partner, I covered much of the region on foot, sometimes walking for up to 9 or 10 hours through the jungle and across the savannah. Often overawed by the enormity of the forest, and frequently more than a little sweaty and foot-sore, we came to know this little-known corner of South America intimately, village by village, coming to feel a closeness with people whose lives had once seemed so far removed from our own in the UK. I was shown astonishing generosity by friends and strangers alike, who lived in ‘poverty’ yet acted with a richness of spirit rarely encountered in the wealthy West. All the while, my concept of ‘home’ underwent a subtle but lasting transformation, with the help of many indefatigable friends, as the novel grew familiar and dearer to me than I could have envisaged.
Life has seemed so much richer since I returned from Guyana. I discovered a new interest in languages; I now study Spanish alongside Philosophy at the University of Glasgow. The openness to the other that so impressed me in my Patamona friends is something I’ve endeavoured to nurture within myself in the years since my return; I recently returned from a second year abroad, this time living in the Amazonian region of Peru, as well as the country’s second largest city, Arequipa. Opting to do one of the university’s pre-arranged exchanges didn’t even occur to me; after all, it just seemed natural to go back and visit my Patamona friends before going on to live in another part of that vast forest that is the Amazon. I tried my hand at teaching once again, variously in a Catholic seminary in the rainforest-city of Iquitos and in the girls school Los Sagrados Corazones in Arequipa, a post I attained almost certainly on the strength of my past teaching experience with PT in Guyana. That early classroom experience in Paramakatoi ended up teaching me more than I was ever able to teach (though I hope my students left feeling they had learnt something as well!), particularly in terms of commitment, patience, spontaneity and the art of listening. Those days spent walking ‘the line’, which is what jungle trails are called in Patamona parlance, have exerted their own influence upon my activities during these past few years: most notably when, two summers ago, I spent close to a month following the Camino de Santiago almost 800km from France to Santiago, near the west coast of Spain, an undertaking that I was prepared for by the often arduous treks I had made along with Sam and our mates through the forests of the Pakaraimas. Being in nature teaches quiet confidence in an inimitable way.
Though I’m to turn 22 in a couple of days’ time, and so am recognizant of the fact that I am still very young and probably yet to unravel the greater part of the lessons drawn from that first year ‘away from home’ – an expression which has quite diminished meaning for me now – I still find that these words from James Hollis capture something of what I saw over the course of a year spent in Guyana and see with ever steadier clarity now:
“The world is more magical, less predictable, more autonomous, less controllable, more varied, less simple, more infinite, less knowable, more wonderfully troubling than we could have imagined being able to tolerate when we were young.”
But tolerate it we do, and isn’t the journey all the more incredible for it?
Thomas Younger
– Written by Thomas Younger
Global Citizenship: Naomi
A child from Naomi’s project in Umtata in South Africa
“The day I realised I’d taught a child to read was undoubtedly the highlight of my year. When I arrived in Thembelihle, she was a pre-schooler barely able to write or recognise letters, yet with hard work and a lot of encouragement she was reading books at lightning speed and loving her new-found skill. Reading enabled Nosibusiso to escape her everyday life and, just for a while, be whoever she wanted to be.”
Naomi was a volunteer in Umtata in South Africa where she worked in a children’s home called Thembelihle looking after and teaching 20 children aged between 5 and 18. Children are generally placed there by social services, coming from backgrounds of abuse or other trauma. The project struggles financially and is poorly resourced, which impacts on what the volunteers are able to do with the children and as such they have to be imaginative. Naomi was valued by her employer at Thembelihle for being incredibly positive and mature. She was an inspirational teacher who demonstrated a natural affinity with her students.
Naomi is currently working on a Global Citizenship project with a group of Year 6 children at Beaver Road Primary School in Manchester. Beaver Road Primary School is twinned with a township school in South Africa. Naomi has been asked to work with the students running three sessions on her knowledge and experiences of South Africa. The Headteacher at Beaver Road was keen to have someone who could really bring South Africa to life for the children. Naomi is going to introduce herself and her links to South Africa, explain the diversity of South Africa including language, culture and levels of wealth. Naomi is then going to focus on Xhosa culture and why it is so significant, linking it to Nelson Mandela. Naomi is keen to make it as interactive as possible, bringing in Xhosa traditional dress for the students to try on and traditional fabric prints. Another returned volunteer from South Africa, Becca Pattison, will be running African Dance workshops with the children.
Global Citizenship: Beth Clewes
Beth Clewes was a Project Trust volunteer at Trujillo
Beth Clewes was a Project Trust volunteer at Trujillo, a government supported aldea (children’s home) in Peru. Beth taught English and also organised activities for the children such as dancing, outings to the beach and cooking.
When Returned Volunteers come back home, I would recommend that they get involved with Project Trust school talks and Global Citizenship activities because they can be the one to plant an idea in a young person’s mind which will inspire them to go out and do it and if they are successful in doing so, it WILL change the student’s life! If a Returned Volunteer hadn’t come to my college in 2008 to talk so enthusiastically about her year out I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today – it’s about giving something back. Interaction with eager young people is so invigorating and encouraging, knowing that you told them about this opportunity – seeing their excitement and enthusiasm, being able to share in that with them is extremely rewarding. It also keeps your experiences very much alive as they ask you questions about your time away.
In March 2012, I did a talk in assembly for 200 Year 9 students at Weatherhead High School for International Women’s Day (8th March) about women in Peru. I began by introducing myself and told them briefly what I had done in my year in Peru in the Aldea Infantil. I then asked them if they knew where Peru was. I wanted to make the talk as interactive as possible and so I asked the students what they knew about women in Peru and then gave them some facts which illustrated the progression of women and where they stand within their society and culture today.
I gave examples of the kinds of work women do and expanded on each slide with examples from my own experiences. I told them about the Aldea (children’s home): a girl’s daily routine from a young age, the Tias (in house ‘mums’) and their many roles within the Aldea, my own caring role and then I spoke of Margarita, who was an inspirational lady. Margarita was in charge of food for the entire Aldea, she prepared the weeks ‘menu’ and then would not just oversee it or cook it/assist the Tias with the cooking, she would kill the goose/sheep etc. prepare it, cook it and serve it, I compared her roles to a Chef in the UK.
A few more pictures of women in Peru brought me to the end of my presentation where I asked ‘any questions’ and for what had been (at first) a somewhat reluctant audience, the students were keen to ask questions. I think the possibilities for schools are endless – Returned Volunteers know so much about the places that they’ve been and could talk/run workshops about absolutely anything. Talks can be adapted to meet the needs of school curriculums, I think it’s a fantastic idea and from experience I think that you always learn/remember more from someone who has actually gone out and done things and can bring with them tangible items to illustrate their talks as well as their enthusiasm which will inspire those who hear it.
Following Beth Clewes’ talk for International Women’s Day, Project Trust received an email from Lesley Bainbridge, Assistant Head at Weatherhead High School:
“At Weatherhead High School, we try hard to ensure that our students have a broad and balanced education with emphasis on them gaining the best qualifications they can. Balanced with this is the ambition for all students to aim high and be aware of the range of opportunities available to them in the world of work and life. As a result of this, we engage with local universities and employers to arrange Careers Fairs, visits, work experience and talks so that students are engaged and motivated to succeed. Part of this programme is the celebration of International Women’s Day through assemblies. For a week we arrange for inspirational women in education, training and employment to talk in assembly about their life and work. They are asked to talk about what they do, how they got into it, the qualifications required, what they like about what they do and who they have been inspired by. Beth Clewes form Project Trust came to talk to students about her experiences working with Project Trust. Her story was an inspiration to the students and staff! The students asked lots of questions and were really inspired by Beth and what she had to say. Many students have been keen to find out more about Project Trust and are considering ways to get involved and want to find out more about the positive things they can do in a gap year.
I would like to thank the staff at Project Trust for their support over the years. I would recommend Project Trust speakers to other schools. They listen to your request and do their best to support it. The quality of presentations is always excellent and inspiring.”
Chilean Culture and Christianity
Leona (second from the left) at her project Chol-Chol
“It was a real culture shock at first, and I won’t lie, I absolutely hated going to church!” says Leona who was working in Chile’s Chol-Chol project in 2010/11. The teaching project is at Colegio Anglicano William Wilson primary school which is placed in a small community with a strong faith in Christianity.
“It was always freezing,” she explains “and having to sing hymns, and listen to the sermons which seemed to go on forever. But I went, and sung the hymns, and made friends in the church. I also was known as the gringa who didn’t have a religion, so I had many people trying to coerce me into Christianity throughout the year… Isaac would often bring a bilingual bible to dinner and share versus with me! I left Chile with more knowledge of Christianity, and the Anglican spin on things but I still considered myself as agnostic.”
Leona’s time in Chile allowed her the opportunity to look into religion in a way she had not done so before. “I went out as a non-religious person,” she tells us “only learning a few bits and pieces from school about the main religions, but never really paying any attention”. However it wasn’t until her return home and her new adventure at University that Leona started using what she had learnt.
“When I came back to the UK I went through homesickness for Chile and, while I was at university, I stumbled upon the Christian Union. I went to a few events with them, such as a pub quiz in fresher’s week, and they were just the nicest people ever, and loved hearing about my time in Chile… I got on so much more with the Christians than any of the other freshers in my halls who just wanted to go out and drink. I just wasn’t ready for that after spending my year in this tiny community in which I didn’t excessively drink and I certainly didn’t go out partying 6 nights a week!”
“A Christian friend invited me to her church in Nottingham and I was surprised at how many people were there – especially students. Then one of the hymns I knew from Chile was sung in English, and it was such an amazing feeling! I was buzzing with life and I felt the Holy Spirit with me telling me that this was all real. After the service there was a lunch and I got talking to all these students who all had different stories about their faiths. People asked me about the church in Chile and I was surprised at how many young people there were there – coming from Chol-Chol where there was hardly any youth in the church”.
“At first I was meant to be going to Swaziland,” Leona tells us “but the project fell through so I was switched to Chile. Then I was meant to be in the Lautaro project, which isn’t as religious or intense as Chol-Chol, but I was swapped projects
Before I would have said that those were just coincidences, but now I see it as God behind each of those decisions and situations, and He made each of those happen so that I would be led to Him. I’m so happy with the way things have turned out and would like to take this opportunity to thank both Project Trust, and my partner Rachel Mack for an amazing year.”
– written by Heather Arnold
Nottingham’s student Bible study group – called 9:20
Project Trust Blog 