BWV Fall 2014 Newsletter

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Borderless World Volunteers Fall 2014 Newslette

Grassroots JournalFusce mollistempus felis.

We assist in empowering youth to lead and

be part of group ventures directed towards

the implementation of development projects

at the most basic level.

We provide a channel through which

students can cause specific, measurable,

and long-lasting impact in the communities

in which they work.

Our Mandate Developing tomorrows

leaders in development

The Grassroots Journal proudly published its secondissue in April 2014! Grassroots is a journal founded byBWV that immerses its readers in the complexities ofdevelopment studies, as seen through the lens of

undergraduates in the field. As an open access journal,it provides an interdisciplinary forum for research andreflection on global development issues, as well as onrecent innovations in development policy and practice.Grassroots publishes student academic articles,informative pieces on innovations in the field ofdevelopment, and analytical pieces on developmentissues, controversies, and policy debates.

www.thegrassrootsjournal.org

2014-2015 Executive Committee

Take a look

back at what

weve done

so far in

2014!


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2014 International Food Festival February 6th2014

The 3rdannual International Food Festival (IFF) was proudly held on February,selling

out for its second year in a row! IFF is an annual event hosted by BWV, and serves asthe organizations largest fundraiser of the year. In addition to raising funds to send

university students abroad for work on overseas projects, the international food festival

is also a way to celebrate the cultural diversity of the city we call our second home. In its

third year running, there were over 400 attendees, 12 performing groups, and 10 foodvendors including student cultural clubs at McGill. The traditional dance performed by

the Ukrainian Students Society and performer Shivani Bhats traditional Indian dance

were just two spectacles the audience was engaged in. Attendees took a pleasant trip

around the world with their taste buds, from enjoying vegetarian entrees such as

pierogi, falafels, and biryani to rich desserts of mochi, idlis, and cupcakes. It was an

evening of cultural diversity where boundaries were crossed and the student bodycame together to experience a variety of cultural backgrounds through food, music, and

dance. With a total of $2700raised for Borderless World Volunteers last year, McGillstudents were able to pilot their own overseas project in countries such as Ghana. With

bigger ideas ready to be implemented, we hope this academic years international food

festival is just as, if not more, successful to progress with student initiatives abroad.

Look our for this years festival in February 2015!

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2014 Global Development Forum February 21st2014

The Global Development Forum is an annual student-run conference, which invites

professionals, professors and students from Montreal and beyond to speak about issues

pertaining to development. It is a great opportunity for student networking and to learn

about development topics. Last year, our event, Take Charge: Corporations and

Development attracted more than 150 attendees, and featured speakers from both

academia and the corporate field. Conference speakers included Holly Korda, Principal

of Health Systems Research Associates, Peter Johnson, Senior Manager of

Environmental Risk for TD Bank Group, and Martin Krayer von Krauss, Sustainability

Manager for the McGill Office of Sustainability! We look forward to seeing you at thisyears Global Development Forum, The Future is Now: A Conference on

Sustainability, taking place inJanuary 2015. The event is ticketed at $10and includes

dinner. It is open to the public. Looking forward to seeing you there!

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Our International Projects

This past summer Borderless World Volunteers sent three volunteers to Kpando, Ghana to

collaborate with a local NGO called UNiTED. Volunteers Kathleen and Andrew decided to spearhead a

HIV campaign in the nearby fishing community of Torkor, where they printed and distributed informative

pamphlets to the community. With the help of a graphic designer from Accra, Ghana, they were able to

create informational pamphlets that were not only translated into the local language of Ewe, but also

included plenty of illustrations so that language would not be a barrier to those who were seekinginformation of HIV transmission and symptoms. With the help of their translator, Minua, they conducted an

informational talk in Torkor, which attracted around 150individuals. Due to the demand of the locals, thevolunteers then conducted more informational talks in other villages and towns as well as to taxi driver

who congregated at taxi stands in the various communities. As the threat of Ebola began to spread through

West Africa, the volunteers paired their HIV/AIDS education with Ebola awareness campaigns.

Marion worked on social map project, drawing a physical map of a village near Kpando, where she

was staying, and compiling useful information about organizations and institutions that existed in this

village. She created a folder with all the data gathered, the physical map and some pictures of the small

town. The aim of this project was to have access to information more easily and thus help promoting

development in this fishermens village. At the same time, Marion had the opportunity to bond with the

local community. She passed on her project to other volunteers who started mapping the whole districtaround Kpando.

Andrew, Marion and Kathleen spent a lot of time volunteering at HardtHaven Childrens Home

along with other volunteers. They planned lesson plans as well as tutored the children in math, science

English, citizenship and religious moral education, health education, creative arts and special topics such

as Human Rights and hygiene. Additionally, Andrew and Kathleen organized Special Olympics weeks

created a game of charades enacting basic human rights on Human Rights day, and English games such a

scattegories for English day.

Ghana

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El Salvador

UgandaThis summer, we volunteered for 6 weeks in Uganda for an

organization called Branches of Life international (BOLI).

BOLIs mission is to take children off the street, rehabilitatethem, and fund for their schooling. Before our departure, we

fundraised and were able to bring school, soccer, and

medical supplies for the NGO. During our stay in Uganda, we

had the opportunity to teach at two schools, medically treat

street children in the ghettos of the capital, and visit some of

Ugandas national landmarks. We stayed with the family of

the NGOs head and were truly immersed into the Ugandan

lifestyle. For instance, we cooked Ugandan meals with the

leaders wife, took bucket showers and fetched water from

the collective springs. We were even able to learn a few

expressions in Luganda.

Teaching at the schools where some children from

BOLI were placed was the highlight of both of our

experiences. Lucky for us, the children completely welcome

us and were as excited as us to get to know and learn from

each other. Our experience in Uganda was memorable and

we both hope to keep contact with the school and kids that w

taught.

The founding of the Permaculture Institute of

El Salvador (IPES) in September 2002, was

the culmination of 5 years of slow and steady

work to plant permaculture in the country.

Our goals were to learn about permaculture,

develop a greater appreciation for rural El

Salvadoran life, learn Spanish, and have an

adventure we would remember for the rest

of our lives. We achieved these goals by

working daily on the farm and

communicating with the farmers on the land.

I had a blast living, learning, and

communicating with an entirely differentcommunity than Im used to. During this trip, I

was exposed to a completely new reality, one

with different customs, goals, and

expectations. I realize that the Western world

view is extremely limited in some respects,

and is no more justified or correct than any

other. Nico Buxbaum

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Nicaragua

This summer we went to Granada, Nicaragua and volunteered with an NGO called La

Esperanza Granada. La Esperanza is an NGO that focuses on childrens education in poverty

stricken areas. As volunteers, some of us worked with primary school children acting as

assistant teachers and offering one-on-one tutoring while others taught the older children

English. Going into the country we were not sure what to expect, and upon teaching at the

schools for the first time we were a bit taken aback by the lax attitude towards education, not

just from the students, but from the teachers as well. We resolved to try and get the students

more engaged in their learning, trying out more creative and interactive forms of teaching

whenever we could. Several of the children we worked with also struggled with some form of

learning disability, which made teaching all the more challenging. We had to lower our goals

and expectations; we could not expect to teach a child the entire alphabet, as simple as that

may seem. It was difficult and trying at times, especially when we could not see actualprogress. There were times when we had to teach the same thing ten times over. However,

we couldnt let that discourage us; progress would not always be evident, but in order to see

the impact we were making we merely had to broaden our own perspectives. As time passed,

there were less children saying no puedo, there were more children eager to have you

teach them. Moreover, given the somewhat lack of attention given to children by the teachers,

the volunteers at La Esperanza played a crucial role in giving children individual attention

and ensuring that the children were actually learning. Working with the children, getting to

know their strengths and weakness on an individual level, being given the freedom to tailor

your own classes and tutoring sessions, all ensured that our experience not only helped the

children, but truly gave us the opportunity to grow and learn.

Fall 2014 Newslette

BWV Fall 2014 Newsletter

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