CUSO-VSO- Umeeda Switlo

I met Lisa Whitehouse a year ago and she told me it was her lifetime goal to volunteers overseas.

She worked with the Government of British Columbia that partners with CUSO-VSO to ensure that we deliver the best possible skilled person to our projects. Government employees can apply to serve with us and return to a job with the BC Government. Lisa is the first volunteer to be sent in this partnership. There are however quite a few BC Government employees that have served with us in the past.

Greg Spira was also getting ready to take an assignment in Cameroon and interviewed Lisa.

Lisa is working with Children and disabilities, mostly administrative work.

I cant wait to hear from her!

Thanks Greg for the doing the interview so well.

Lisa- Right in green suit. Pictured with RV's in Victoria and Karen Petite from BC Government.

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

Paul was recruited in Manitoba by VSO. He served from 2005-2009 at Aurora State College of Technology from 2005-2008.

Hear about what this amazing man learned. Paul is a citizen of the world and is making a great difference today and in the future.

What do Polar Bears in the Arctic and the Philippines have in common besides Paul Watts?

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

I talked with Marian White and Judith David our education officer for CUPE.

Marian and Judith have both worked with CUSO for many years and have been involved with CUPE. Listen to the story of pay equity for our southern staff and the history of the Union in CUSO now CUSO-VSO

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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Marian came from Prince Edward Island. She studied at UPEI got in a degree in arts and Education. She was posted Wamba, Nigeria at Wamba Government teachers college.

She remembers her students teaching under a tree and writing in the sand with sticks.

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

Dan Garvey had retired from a career in Educational Administration in Alberta. With the help of family and friends he was able to serve in The Gambia for 6 months in 2009.  The Gambia in order to meet the ojectives of the Millenium Development Goals has almost 90% of primary aged children in schools. This has caused a real challenge on the infrastructures of schools. Overcrowding and lack of supplies and educators.

Dan challenged his Church to help in the region as well.

Dan cant thank his family more for giving him the support to fulfill his goal. He continues to support programs in The Gambia.

Thanks Dan.

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

Kelly worked with the Peace way foundation in Thailand also called Burma Issues. Her job? Help build capacity and a strategy for the Karen.

The Karen (Burmese: kayin lu myo:), self-titled Pwa Ka Nyaw Po, and also known in Thailand as the Kariang (or Yang, are some languages and many ethnic groups in Burma and Thailand. The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of 47 million people.^[1]

The Karen have fought for independence from Burma since 31 January 1949. Consequently, 31 January is recognized amongst the Karen as Karen Revolution Day.

Kelly now works with Service Canada on Homelessness Partnering Strategy. Welcome home Kelly!

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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'Kwehsay' Miku Chaiboosomjid works from Bangkok as  the Information and Campaign Coordinator with the Burma Issues/Peace Way Foundation. Burma Issues is a non-profit organisation, made up of young ethnic people from Eastern Burma who now dedicate their lives to educating and empowering the grassroots communities in Eastern Burma, documenting human rights abuses and acting as a bridge between the grassroots communities and the international community.

The organization has 3 main projects.

• Grassroots empowerment: educating and empowering communities in Burma's civil war zones. Providing education to both adults and children in concepts of civil participation, leadership, critical thinking, and cultural pride
• Information for action: documenting the human rights abuses through interviews, videos and photography
• Campaigns for peace: raising awareness amongst the international community about the situation

Initially through partnership with CUSO-VSO and VSO International, Burma Issues had access to learn skills on documenting human rights violation with video documentation and advocacy in the middle of year 2003. Later on VSO International enabled us to work with and cooperate with more ethnic human rights organization for human rights activities and to cooperate in the field of youth and women and youth empowerment and capacity building.

A brief biography of Kwehsay in his own words:

My name is Kwehsay and I was born in Karen State Burma. My village was destroyed by the Burmese Army in 1976. We had to live in the jungle. My father was killed by the Burmese Army three months before my mother gave birth to my youngest sister. I had no friends to play with and no school to go to and no health care when we got sick. I had no food some times and have to go the jungle to find edible food for our survival. My mother planned many times to kill herself and to kill us as she did not want to see her children starve to death and she did not want to see us alive after she died from starvation. As you are not in this kind of situation it will be difficult for you to relate.

I came to the Thai Burma border in 1983 to stay with my uncle for my education. Again the Burma Army attack and occupied the place and I have to move to Thailand and live in the refugee camp in April 1984. I live in the refugee camp for ten year.  No freedom.

I went back to my village area several times between 1990 and 1993 to visit my mother and I have seen that thing have not changed to the better situation. In 1994 I started working with Burma Issues as I believe in its ideology and concept in finding the solution of the conflict in Burma in a peaceful and non-violent way. I started working as the Human Rights information collector in my own village area and provide basic human rights training to the local villagers. When I work as the human rights information collector I did take photos and document my own house which has been burned down by the Burmese Army.

…

We believe in justice and peace and we hope you all stand with us.

We are calling for the respect of human rights

We do stand for justice

Stand with us.

More information about Kwehsay’s organization is available at www.burmaissues.org

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

Margo was at McGill University in the arts building when she saw a poster for CUSO. She had studied Theatre and Children's Theatre. She was assigned to a boys boarding school called the Government Science College.

60 Canadians were sent at the same time as Margo.

Margo tells me that this assignment was life changing. The people in her host town were direct, immediate and warm.

Margo is a storyteller and much more. It was wonderful meeting you. Margo took the pod casting course at University of Victoria. We look forward to her many stories. Stay tuned.

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

"Choosing our Destiny- Creating the Utopian World in the 21st Century" by Cyril Belshaw.

Dr. Belshaw continues to think of the world and the challenges we face with some very interesting ideas for solutions.

Thanks Dr. Belshaw for this interesting interview and thanks Darlene Gage for joining me.

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

From Ian Smillie's book - The Land of Lost Content

"CUSO's involvement with the Kampuchean refugees began almost by accident, as had its involvement in Thailand during the 1960's: as in other countries, too, CUSO's work in the 'Land of Smiles' originated with one ofthe men involved in the founding of CUSO: Dr. Cyril Belshaw. Director of the Regional Training Centre for the United Nations at The University of British Columbia in 1960, Belshaw was actively involved in the President's Committee for a Canadian Overseas Student Service. Thorough contacts with Lewis Perinbaum and Francis Leddy, he attended the first planning meeting in March 1961 to discuss the idea of a national organization. The following June, at the founding meeting in Montreal, Belshaw seconded the motion which led to the first draft constitution of CUSO. In 1965, however , he was in Thailand , working with the United Nations Technical assistance Board in Bangkok. Seeing the British and American volunteers at work, and aware of the country's manpower gas, he wrote to Ottawa, suggesting that CUSO investigate program possibilities."

Darlene Gage who has recently returned from service in Uganda joined me for this interview.

Dr. Belshaw won the Utopian World Championship in 2004. Photo from the booklet of the awards ceremony. It appears that Dr. Belshaw continues to think of International Development. This was an enlightening meeting.

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