This September 4th year students from the Faculty of Environment’s International Development program embark on an eight month journey of a lifetime.
INDEVOURS from left to right: Stephanie Higgs, Alyssa Hurst, Adam Chagani, Keith Mai, Kyla McKee.
Thanks to a partnership with World University Service of Canada, the International Development program offers its students (who refer to themselves as INDEVOURS) eight months of hands-on, real-world development experience for course credit in a country with development and environmental challenges. As part of their effort to share their experiences, five students have agreed to blog for the University of Waterloo and discuss the development challenges they witness.
Read the International Development Blog
To learn a bit more about the students we caught up with them and found out a bit more about where they are going and what the best piece of advice they have received about their future temporary home. We also learned about their goals as development students abroad and their biggest apprehensions about moving to a new country.
Name: Stephanie Higgs
Age: 21
Country Visiting: Vietnam
Best piece of advice you’ve been given about Vietnam: The best advice I've received is to slow down and enjoy it. To explore the city, talk to people, and learn as much Vietnamese as possible because that is what will help me gain additional work experience and be more useful to my organization.
Biggest concern about Vietnam: My biggest fear isn't about the country, but the experience. I worry that going to a city where I don't know anyone will limit my opportunities, either from shyness, or because I don't meet anyone. I worry that being alone will make me feel more homesick.
Largest development goal: What I hope to personally accomplish would be to contribute to the field of research that studies the experiences of women with regards to development topics, especially as they pertain to international public policy. Globally, I think the root for development begins with education and I don't believe that anything sustainable can be accomplished without education.
Name: Adam Chagani
Age: 20
Country Visiting: Ghana
Best piece of advice you’ve been given about Ghana The best advice that I have been given is to, “be a sponge.” Don’t go into the country with the attitude that you know everything and that you must impose your ideals. On the contrary, you should go in with an open mind to learn from the people, their values and culture, understand their issues, work as part of the team, and soak in the whole experience.
Biggest concern about Ghana: The biggest adjustment that I will have is to have patient in getting things done at their pace. Peers have warned me about ‘African timing’ and how people value personal relationships more than the value we westerners hold to time.
Largest development goal: With a population of 25 million, Ghana’s development goals include education, gender equality, health, environmental sustainability, water and sanitation. An increasingly growing urban population and a lack of current infrastructure in the sanitary sector has put pressure on the Ghanaian government to ensure that water and sanitation is a priority in its development objectives.
Name: Kyla McKee
Age: 21
Country Visiting: Botswana
Best piece of advice you’ve been given about Botswana: They don't sell chocolate chips in Botswana, so bring some and bake with them to make friends at the office!
Biggest concern about Botswana: Feeling isolated as one of only a few foreigners in town.
Largest development goal: Indigenous rights - the organization I'll be working with works to create alternative livelihoods for San people in Botswana.
Name: Alyssa Lyn Hurst
Age: 21
Country Visiting: Vietnam
Best piece of advice you’ve been given about Vietnam: The best advice I received about working in Vietnam is to take a chance on everything and to say “yes.” My predecessors recommended giving everything a chance and to not close any doors. For example, if asked to teach English during a lunch break, do it, and see what I can learn from the experience.
Biggest concern about Vietnam: There are two things that I am most fearful of during my time in Vietnam. First, I am worried that I will have a hard time picking up the Vietnamese language. Second, I am fearful of contracting some illness carried by mosquitoes such as Malaria or dengue- fever.
Largest development goal: After pondering this question for more than 20 minutes, I think my biggest goal for development is to see a world that is more united when it comes to climate change and helping the world’s poorest. I would love to see a world with more giving and less greed.
Name: Keith Mai
Age: 20
Country Visiting: Peru
Best piece of advice you’ve been given about Peru: Don't be afraid to try new things!
Biggest concern about Peru: Crime, especially theft.
Biggest development goal: I hope to see the end of the terms that divide up our world. North and South, developed and developing, First World and Third World.
Originally posted at uwaterloo.ca/environment.