Julie Wilson is an education adviser in Mahendranagar, in the far west of Nepal. She has been working with schools in the far west of Nepal to design a model classroom, which showcases teaching styles and ideas for lessons for other schools in the region to learn from. The work has been so successful there are plans to role out the strategy to the whole of Nepal.
What were you doing before you became a volunteer?
Before I came I had taught for about ten years in primary education. I was very privileged to see the different layers of education before I came here and that has stood me in really good stead. And that’s really where one of the projects that I’ve been working on came from. To start off at one layer, the most important layer – the school – and to try imprint these ideas on different layers throughout the education system.
What made you want to be a volunteer?
I really don’t know why I decided to become a volunteer. It wasn’t a case of waking one day and saying, ‘Ooh, I want to be a volunteer’. I like challenges. I like to learn new things. To be put in a situation that’s slightly out of my comfort zone is a nice situation to be in.
What sort of skills do you need to be a volunteer?
I think the biggest skill I’ve used being here is people skills. Communication skills. Putting people at their ease. Not showing what’s on my face because this is a completely different environment. There are things that I’m surprised by everyday… shocked by everyday. But still staying calm, greeting people, meeting people, putting them at their ease, that is far more useful than any professional skill I ever used back in England.
What are you doing in your placement?
One of the main things I’ve been doing in Nepal is setting up a ‘model classroom’ in a school called Siddhanath Higher Secondary School in Mahendranagar. The idea behind the class is to encourage active learning in pupils and good teaching practice with both the teacher involved and any other teacher who comes to observe the model class. It’s not so much about me showing people what and how to do things; it’s a case of volunteering my experience and them sharing theirs to show others what a good classroom might be.
What do you think of the support and training you received from VSO?
I think there are many special ways that VSO works. For me, the most important thing is when I first came out here I got six weeks of solid language training – no work, no twiddling my thumbs waiting for term to start. I just sat in a classroom and learned the language. And when the language class was finished, I was encouraged to go out and talk to people in Kathmandu and carry on learning. I can honestly say that’s been a wonderful experience. It means I can work alongside people in the language they are comfortable with.
From your experience, what do you think makes a good volunteer?
I think the volunteers who do well here are the ones who come with an attitude that they’re going to learn to fit in. They’re going to get to know people, have a bit of an adventure, try new things, and if they fail, try a bit harder tomorrow. I think it’s a lovely opportunity to go to a culture that’s different from your own, and to learn from that culture.
What have you learned as a volunteer?
More than anything, I have learned about myself and in terms of how it’s affected me – I have changed completely. My values are very different now, for example: while I will always love a nice haircut and a bit of pampering, I won’t hold it as one of the most important things. Now, the most important thing is somebody smiling at me. It’s just fantastic to be on a bicycle and have somebody come alongside, and say ‘Good morning’.
What are the memories you’ll take back to England with you?
The highs are kind of pinch yourself moments: whether it’s cycling around Kathmandu traffic on a bicycle, wearing a Kurta scarf; or whether it’s sat in an internet café in Mahendranagar and everyone around you talking Nepali and you understand what they are saying. In terms of work, the highs? Children’s faces. To maybe have one or two days where nothing’s gone right and you go home so low that you think what am I doing here. But the next day they’ll be doing something you did last week and it will be going just as good or maybe better - then I know why I’m here.
How have you develop professionally?
I think in terms of professional knowledge, professional skills, it’s re-inforced everything I’ve believed back in England and it’s given me a little bit more confidence that, yes, the things I believed in England are also quite true and relevant here so it’s given me a little bit more of an overview and a little bit more confidence. I can reflect and think ‘I do know one or two things that we could do to improve England’.
