Simon Webster

Name: Simon Webster
Age: 41
Home Town: Leeds, England

Simon joined Action for Children in Conflict as an English language teacher on a short placement in June 2008. Prior to this, Simon had been involved in fundraising in the UK for a number of different children's charities and had organised charity concerts under the umbrella of 'Kabaret Karma'.

Simon has been a teacher and teacher trainer for the last 18 years and worked in Spain, Japan, Malaysia, Edinburgh, Italy, Oman and Taiwan before settling in Leeds. He now teaches and coordinates language courses at the University of Leeds, where he enjoys the opportunity to work with international students on a daily basis. He is also committed to a number of volunteer organisations in the UK, principally those supporting refugees in the community.

Choosing AfCiC

I'd had the idea of volunteering somewhere in Africa for a while and I'd decided that Kenya would be an interesting place to focus on. After securing some time off from my normal job as an English lecturer at the University of Leeds, the next thing was to find the right organisation to volunteer with. This was no easy task. It seemed to me that there were a plethora of organisations which offered volunteering opportunities, but I was concerned about the quality of experience that I would have - especially as a number of the organisations seemed to be charging a fee just to refer volunteers on and were extremely vague about what would happen once I'd arrived. In the end, I contacted AfCiC as they were a UK-based charity and seemed to be professionally-run. My later experiences only served to reinforce that impression. I could see that the Kenya-based team had looked seriously at my application and carefully considered both what I may want as a volunteer and how I could make a positive contribution to the projects. When it was suggested that I could stay at the Interim Care Centre (ICC) and teach English to the children alongside the regular classroom teacher and support students in individual literacy sessions, I jumped at the opportunity.

Pre-Departure

I was very encouraged by the regular communication with both the UK office and the Kenyan side in the run up to leaving. Procedures were in place, such as the conducting of CRB checks, a lot of information was provided on how to prepare myself (jabs, what to take, etc.) and I felt that pains had been taken to describe the situation accurately and give me a real sense of what it would be like. In addition, I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the wider Kenyan culture and the basic Swahili phrases that I would later hear every day.

Staying at the Interim Care Centre

Once in Kenya, I quickly settled into life at the Interim Care Centre. The room was clean and comfortable, with water heated for me to wash every day. It's not luxury, but then it would seem out of place if it were. The staff at the centre looked after me very well, making sure that I had flasks of hot milk for tea and even though the volunteer rooms are right next to the main centre, you can get a bit of privacy when needed. I really enjoyed being based at the school - it's very lively and the children are extremely entertaining. I felt it gave me a good opportunity to be more in the thick of things and to get a better sense of how the project worked.

The centre itself is in a secure compound with great scenery and there are some fantastic walks you can do with hippos bathing in the small lakes nearby. It's also very close to the markets and easy walking distance from the town centre. I found it very convenient for a leisurely walk to the Internet cafes, the newspaper stands and to catch buses to other parts of the country.

My Role

The actual teaching was really enjoyable - very different from teaching University students and with its challenges, but great fun, nevertheless. What's more, I learnt a lot from the other staff through our daily meetings with the manager, teachers, counsellors, social workers and other staff. The staff's commitment to the children and their patience and understanding was really quite humbling. I also managed to learn something about the other projects - micro-financing, drama therapy and the legal work which AfCiC is involved in and, even in a short time, felt it had given me some insights into this kind of development work.

The Overall Experience

I was pleased that I had been able to make a contribution to the projects and there was a real role for me while I was there. I was also glad that, even though most of the other volunteers were younger than me, they had clearly all been chosen because they had strong professional skills to offer and it was a very inclusive environment on both the Kenyan and the British side. During my brief time there, we had some evenings out and meals together and there was the opportunity to travel to the national parks, lakes and mountains at the weekends. Volunteering with AfCiC also has its surprises - on my first day in the country, having arrived early in the morning, I spent the day helping with the distribution of 150 bed sets to extremely excited children. The most enduring memories, however, are of the children - whether playing football, making faces out of potatoes or writing their stories - and the warmth of the centre staff who make it a pleasure to stay on site and pass the time of day when the teaching is done.