Young volunteers from Bangladesh need your support
Nine enthusiastic young volunteers from Bangladesh are looking for spare rooms and interested hosts in Hounslow Borough and the surrounding area, when they come to volunteer, with a range of local community organisations, for three months from late September.
As part of the ground-breaking Global Xchange programme, the young people aged 18-25 will be teaming up with British volunteers to give over 6000 hours of voluntary time to the local community. The volunteers are urgently seeking people with one room to spare for any period between two and ten weeks.
Organised by international development charity VSO and the British Council, Global Xchange aims to build respect and understanding between communities and across religious and ethnic divides. This is the fourth Global Xchange in the area and previous hosts are keen to encourage more people to get involved.
Jan Hewlitt hosted two volunteers on the Hounslow / Kazakhstan exchange earlier this year. She says: “My kids have left home now and I have a spare room. I am interested in the former Soviet Union and that part of the world. I was interested in having people to stay – it’s a very different way of getting to know people – more relaxed. It was a really lovely opportunity to get to know others from different countries, in a very nice informal way.
“Dee and Marsha were very cheerful, pleasant and very considerate girls, they were good company and good fun. They kept their room clean and we managed to respect each other’s space and privacy. They taught me some Russian and I learnt a few great Kazakh recipes. They made some excellent ‘borscht’, the national soup dish, for my friends at our Christmas party.”
“I would recommend hosting volunteers if you like to meet people from other countries – it’s a very enriching experience.”
Global Xchange Hounslow Bangladesh is the fourth exchange in the borough following on from the success of previous programmes, which saw young volunteers from Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan live and work in the borough.
Mr and Mrs Mafe originally from Nigeria have lived in Hounslow for 40 years and have hosted Global Xchange volunteers for all previous three programmes.
“It’s a pleasure having company around the house, understanding new ways of life and being able to help people”
Sarah Greaves, Global Xchange programme supervisor, said: “I welcome people to get in contact if they are interested to find out more about the programme. Hosts are offered a weekly allowance to contribute towards accommodation and food costs and will be supported by two programme supervisors. It’s a great chance to learn about Bangladesh and to offer very unique support to this successful and innovative community project.”
Could your organisation benefit from a cross cultural pair of volunteers? GX are looking for 10 week voluntary work placements from September to December, which enable the volunteers to make a positive and practical contribution to community initiatives. The whole team of volunteers are also interested to respond to ‘one off’ requests to support or develop specific events or activities that would benefit from the help of 18 willing volunteers!
August 3, 2007
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