I heard it through the grapevine

Sometimes information for volunteers comes like drips from a leaky tap, then suddenly the water pressure is turned up and we almost drown in the torrent. 
Two large files hold my downloads from the VSO website - country briefing, health and safety, equality and diversity, programme area plans and updates....  It's hard to take it all in, but I've gained an overall impression of Cameroon as a country with immense difficulties. 

One striking fact is that if I had been born and lived there, I'd probably be dead by now! Life expectancy is not much over 50.  And the infant mortality rate is pretty high - I can only imagine the impact of losing your babies, thank goodness it never happened to me.

VSO's training at Harborne Hall in Birmingham has been inspiring. Excellent co-trainers work hard over intensive weekends to open our eyes to cultural difference, learn new ways to facilitate groups and focus on genuine participation.  I've loved it, felt more inspired by this than any other training course, including my PGCE.

So much is gained by meeting other volunteers - a marvellous mix of ages, skills and experience.  People have different motivation but all want to make a difference.  Life isn't just about survival in our western european luxury, upgrading our phones and TVs seen as the measure of success.  These volunteers seek to do far more than that.  And it's clearly a life-changing experience, even for those, like me, who are only going for a short time.