Volunteering ADVENTURES

Words: Lucy Sanderson Photography: Danny Evans

CONVERSATION STARTERS: PARTNERS

Gibbon partners sing together when they are separated to keep them from straying too far from home.

Some years ago, Phil had the opportunity to take a trip with Jersey Overseas Aid, the island’s publicly funded relief and development agency, in order to volunteer in a country far from home. With a team of like-minded, altruistic individuals, Phil was able to see first hand how important overseas aid and ‘boots on the ground’ charity work can be; furthermore, how gratifying it is to help others. Volunteering and being of service is really good for the soul. Travelling to other countries to experience cultures and lifestyles different to our own brings a whole other level of adventure and spiritual growth.

Phil and his many partners at Kafunjo have already helped create a school with classrooms and a clinic, which is currently under construction. The original plan to provide basic education and healthcare (starting in 2013) has grown to something much bigger; Kafunjo now takes care of 150 children who live on site and 400 who go for day-care and educational purposes.

Since his JOA experience, Phil has banded together with other philanthropic folk in Jersey and off-island, and now volunteers for a charity based in Uganda, The Kafunjo Project. Whilst this initiative is not a Jersey Overseas Aid project, Phil’s journey certainly began with them and has led him to become part of a community both in Jersey and Africa.

“The purpose is to build on what we have already. Many of the children at Kafunjo cant afford to go on to further education after the age of 16, so we are building a vocational ‘green school’ on site. Children will be able to learn things like textiles, woodwork and other tangible skills that they can hopefully use to build careers and earn money.”

Phil and his many partners at Kafunjo have already helped create a school with classrooms and a clinic, which is currently under construction. The original plan to provide basic education and healthcare (starting in 2013) has grown to something much bigger; Kafunjo now takes care of 150 children who live on site and 400 who go for daycare and educational purposes. In order to fund the costs for materials and travel, the volunteers raise money in their respective communities ‘back home’. For example, Phil, Debbie and Julie (left) spend their weekends undertaking hard graft, gardening and clearing, cleaning and anything else in the remit of ‘odd jobs’ around the house for donations. They have raised thousands over the course of the last year and are now off to Uganda to get their hands dirty, building the green school. There are lots of local businesses who partner up with initiatives like this too and as a quick shout out, Phil wanted to say thank you to some of them so… Easygrass, Environmental Garden Services, GBN Growers Ltd and Mailmate.

Whilst Phil and some of the team are setting off for Uganda, the deadline has now passed to apply for one of JOA’s 2023 volunteering trips. However, there are some very interesting opportunities on their brand new website, which include professional and personal bursaries as well as grants for local charities working abroad. JOA will also soon be opening up applications for its Programme Associate placement and for the Jersey sponsored UN Junior Professional Officer role. Most recently of course, Jersey Overseas Aid played a huge part in the Ukrainian Appeal, and delivery of much needed essentials to those impacted by the war via its partners on the ground in Ukraine. In fact, you can see how Jersey’s money has been used on JOA’s website, so be sure to check it out.

You can read more about The Kafunjo Project at www. kafunjo.org and you can email Phil if you’d like to find out how to get involved… the more the merrier as they say, many hands make light work.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Jersey Overseas Aid, how you can get involved or about how JOA is translating the generosity, skills and compassion of the people of Jersey into effective assistance for the world’s most vulnerable people, take a look at their website www.joa.je.