Having worked in India for a year through VSO until July 2011, last week I attended a VSO RV Weekend at VSO's training centre Harborne Hall, Birmingham. The aims of the weekend are to allow those who have worked overseas through VSO for long periods of time to give feedback to the organisation, and to get advice on resettling back into the UK and planning for the future. Having lived in a lot of different places over the years I am used to moving and adapting, and have clear plans for the near future (I'm moving to Bath this month to do an MSc Business and Community) - therefore I did not feel I needed resettlement advice as much as some people did (living and working in a developing country often seems to cause people to rethink their life plans in the West). I did however appreciate the opportunity to give feedback (for the most part positive) to VSO UK, including directly to VSO Director Brian Rockliffe - about how the VSO India office and VSO UK support team operated during my year with them. Another reason I was keen to attend the RV weekend was to meet others who had been doing different jobs all over the world, and to hear about their experiences. We had fun doing a pub quiz (including a round on VSO), a debate on whether foreigners can really achieve anything through overseas development work, and generally sharing our stories and plans for the future.
For anyone thinking of attending a RV Weekend after their time overseas with VSO, I would recommend it, if only to reconnect with people in similar circumstances or with similar outlooks.
While still in Delhi, having been interested in doing a postgraduate course for several years now, I applied for the MSc Business and Community course at the University of Bath - since from my (extensive) research I decided this was the best course for me, and the one with the best reputation for social enterprise research and industry links. Many people tend to undertake International Development courses after working in developing countries, but for me I wanted to do something more focussed to my specific interests (i.e. fair trade/ethical business practice). I'm hoping the year of study will enable me to develop concrete business, management and entrepreneurship skills, in a context of social enterprise and community focus.
On another note, my article as mentioned in a previous blog post on my trip to Avani natural handicrafts project in the Himlalayan hills is now online on the Ethical Fashion Forum The SOURCE website.
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