5 minutes with...
Youth for Development volunteer Camilla Alfred
Right now Camilla Alfred is playing a vital role in strengthening disabled people’s organisations in Georgetown, Guyana. Here she describes what she loves about her job and how both she and the wide range of people she works with are benefiting from it.
Tell me about your job in Guyana.
I’m a disability capacity builder - I’m supporting a number of disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) to achieve the goals they set out to achieve. I’m also helping them to establish a rights-based disability movement and to move away from the ‘charity’ idea of disability. I’m based at the VSO office because the DPOs are too small to host me full time. That works really well because I can be independent; I can visit all the DPOs and not belong to any one of them.
What’s the best thing about your job?
What I really love about my job is that every day is really varied. Most days I go out and visit one or two DPOs or specific people within the DPOs. When I first arrived I was told not to expect to achieve anything in the first two months, just get to know people and meet them on a social level. And that was really great. Since then I’ve worked on lots of different things. For the past few months I’ve been working on forming the Disabled Person’s Council, which is a council of DPOs. The council will give the DPOs a more solid foundation to work from.
What has been your greatest achievement so far?
My greatest achievement in Guyana has been getting the Disabled People’s Council going. When we started talking about it, there were a lot of people who were very negative and thought it would fail. I really had to support the group to be positive. A number of people who were against it to start with have actually come on board, and that’s a big achievement.
How has volunteering contributed to your professional development?
My professional development has come along massively. I know the practical side of disability really well but the terminology for the technical legislative side is new to me so I’ve learnt a lot there. I did my degree in development studies and international relations so it’s been really good to see development in practise. Working with the DPOs has been great because I learn more from them than I’m able to teach them most of the time. They’ve got such a wide range of knowledge and skills and I’m learning from them constantly.
What new skills will you take back with you to the UK?
I’ve learnt a lot about disability rights and I hope I can use this positively to find a job when I get home. I’ve got a much better understanding of organisational development and structures – that’s something valuable I’ll take back. Project management, different ways of motivating people, negotiating, seeing the bigger picture and helping others to see it too. In terms of personal benefits, I’ve learnt to take life a bit more slowly and enjoy my own time and my own space.
Tell me about the highs and lows of life in Guyana.
One high is that I really love the work I’m doing. I feel like I’m so fortunate to have worked with so many different people. As for lows, when I first arrived I panicked as I thought I was the only volunteer under 50 in Georgetown. But I quickly learnt that I could be friends with a wide range of ages, so actually another high came out of it. Meera is my best friend in Guyana and she’s the oldest volunteer. It’s not so much about ages; it’s about personalities and experiences.
