CUSO-VSO West

I met Lesley in Brandon, Manitoba. She talked about her volunteer work before she went to Ghana and her desire to travel. In Ghana she worked in the Wa Municipal office on quality control and assessments of the education system. The food she liked and more. She now works in Westman immigrant services in settlement services on the language entry program.

Thanks for billeting me in Brandon!

Volunteer for a better world! Join CUSO-VSO, share skills and volunteer in 43 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Volunteers, donate, share skills.

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Solly Sader immigrated to Canada from South Africa and met in Saskatoon at University. They served together in Bruni teaching Biology. Listen to their inspiring stories. The locals called them BrunicocoMauchi- I think it translates to red faced foreigners?

It was great meeting you in Saskatoon at the RV reunion.

Volunteer for a better world! Join CUSO-VSO, share skills and volunteer in 43 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Volunteers, donate, share skills.

www.cuso-vso.org

Peter now is studying Fisheries and Agriculture in Nanaimo. In Ghana he taught agriculture in a rural youth training program and in Indonesia he worked as an agriculture teacher on water and fisheries project.

John thanks for your many years of service. You made a great curry for the potluck! Much appreciated.

Volunteer for a better world! Join CUSO-VSO, share skills and volunteer in 43 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Volunteers, donate, share skills.

www.cuso-vso.org

Glenora and her husband Don Slimmons served in Barbados. Glenora helped put together a 4H club and taught home economics. The challenge was communications between estate and small farmers.

Talk about capacity building, Glenora just found out that one of her great students, Hansley Ben is now the Minister of Agriculture! Also 2 years ago Juliet Cabarbuku became the Deputy Minister of Sport, also another student.

Glenora lives in Brandon, Manitoba.

Volunteer for a better world! Join CUSO-VSO, share skills and volunteer in 43 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Volunteers, donate, share skills.

www.cuso-vso.org

Geoff Rippat went to Bolivia with his wife and 2 children. He worked on about 30 projects ranging from simple to large ones. Monitoring and evaluation which is essential in measuring goals. He is a social worker. He now works in Winnipeg with SAITAS , a volunteer matching program focused on Poverty and Economic Development.

Volunteer for a better world! Join CUSO-VSO, share skills and volunteer in 43 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Volunteers, donate, share skills.

www.cuso-vso.org

In the second half of our conversation, Dr. Bartle continued to tell me about his international experiences that first started with his service with CUSO in Ghana in 1965. His work around the world has cemented his belief that international development is still relevant today, and we need to continue our efforts- the problem is not the work we are doing, but how we are doing the work.

He decided to share his academic and international development expertise with the rest of the world by writing training documents for those interested in international development/ starting their career in international development. These documents are all available online, free of charge, at www.scn.org/cmp .

Thank you again Dr. Bartle for sharing your experiences and expertise with us. We look forward to seeing you and all our returned volunteers at the 50th Anniversary kickoff at UBC on December 4th and 5th 2010.

Volunteer for a better world! Join CUSO-VSO, share skills and volunteer in 43 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Volunteers, donate, share skills.

www.cuso-vso.org

*Part 1

Dr. Phil Bartle is an esteemed international development worker and academic who began his international development career in 1965, the year he first went abroad with CUSO. After rgaduating from UBC with a degree in Economics he chose to volunteer in Ghana over joining the Royal Canadian Air Force.

During our conversation he shared with me the many ways in which his service in Ghana shaped the rest of his life academically, professionally and personally. After his first experience in Ghana, Dr. bartle came back and studied economic and anthropology, and then went back to the University of Ghana to complete his PhD. Since then, he worked as an academic in Canada and served with CIDA and the United Nations in several countries including Ethiopia, Uganda, Pakistan, Sommalia and Mozambique. Other insights he shared include how his personal values changed after his intial service in Ghana, and how he advises Canadians to volunteer abroad because not only does the experience open your mind, but it makes you love your country more.

Dr. Bartle, thank you for sharing your story with us and for continuing your international service over the eyars.

Volunteer for a better world! Join CUSO-VSO, share skills and volunteer in 43 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Volunteers, donate, share skills.

www.cuso-vso.org

We met John in Nanaimo where he is studying green building and renewable energy. John served in Kabali with the District of Kabali as an IT specialist.

Volunteer for a better world! Join CUSO-VSO, share skills and volunteer in 43 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Volunteers, donate, share skills.

www.cuso-vso.org

Barbara Kerfoot worked in Adult Literacy in India and lived in New Delhi. She married Dan Hooper, another RV from Nigeria. She was also the first Regional Coordinator in the Atlantic. I met her at the Parksville Library where she continues to work in literacy.

Volunteer for a better world! Join CUSO-VSO, share skills and volunteer in 43 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Volunteers, donate, share skills.

www.cuso-vso.org

Gordon Hart studied Biology and Environmental sciences in Winnipeg then went to University of Toronto to study Botany. He worked with documenting the indigenous and local knowledge of plants and new ways of using them in Cochabamba. He also worked at teh CUSO office in Winnipeg.

Thanks Gordon!

Volunteer for a better world! Join CUSO-VSO, share skills and volunteer in 43 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Volunteers, donate, share skills.

www.cuso-vso.org