‘Everyone thinks you are very selfless to volunteer, but I see it as selfish, really

LAST week, warnings of dire medical consequences came from Juba, the capital of South Sudan – Africa’s youngest country, which officially came into being on July 9 last year. Tens of thousands of new refugees crossing from Sudan into South Sudan are finding refugee camps full and unable to provide basic life-sustaining essentials.

As other international organisations fight on a day-to-day basis to help with a humanitarian crisis that is a legacy of 50 years of civil war culminating in the country’s partition from Sudan, UK-based Voluntary Service Overseas works to make long-term changes aimed at giving permanent civic, health and education structures so the government can sustainably look after its population.

Phil Heywood had had his eye on a placement with VSO ever since he first applied (and was turned down) to work with the charity as a young medic 45 years ago. The idea of passing on skills to colleagues in countries suffering poverty and all the associated health and infrastructure problems never left him. He went on to teach at Edinburgh University, spent 20 years as a GP in a north Leeds practice and later in the south of the city, then was for eight years professor of primary care at Leeds University before he eventually, at 64, embarked on what he calls “my third career”.

He’s now 68, and has worked first as a volunteer in Pnom Penh, Cambodia, then two shorter spells more recently in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. He has been supporting the Ministry of Health in improving training of nurses, developing a new teaching curriculum. There are few hospitals, few community clinics – and even fewer with a trained member of staff.

In 2010, there were only 83 registered nurses and 1,110 enrolled nurses in the whole of South Sudan – a country that’s roughly the size of France with a population of more than eight million, half of which is under 18. By 2015 the government hopes to have increased this to 417 registered nurses and 2,353 enrolled nurses.

After half a century of conflict, during which much of the population was displaced, rebuilding the country will be slow and international helpers like Prof Heywood are in demand. VSO is working with the government and currently has ten volunteers placed in South Sudan. It’s hoped there will be 70 there within 18 months, as and when people with the right skills come forward.

The country’s ability to feed its hungry and provide clean water, sanitation and health care is also hampered by the fact that supplies of oil, the source of 97 per cent of its wealth, have been halted until its relationship with its neighbour Sudan is “regularised”. All the health indicators in the country are appalling, including the worst rate of maternal mortality in the world. More than two women die in every 100 pregnancies. Literacy levels are terrible (possibly as high as 75 per cent), and a girl is more likely to die in childbirth than she is to complete primary education.

Most babies are never immunised, polio (eradicated 40 years ago in the north) still causes disability and death, and HIV/Aids affects possibly as many as 10 per cent of the population in the southern part of the country. In South Sudan children die of measles.

The VSO application process took nine months, says Prof Heywood. “It’s all done very carefully. They assess your skills including factors such as how you manage groups and respond to uncertainty. They then fit your skills to needs in the countries where volunteers are needed.”

His first placement was working with a non-government organisation involved with mother and child health in Cambodia. This included helping local clinicians and administrators to formulate a policy on the training of midwives including midwifery in the community, as part of an effort to reduce rates of both infant and maternal mortality.

“I think I brought a different perspective, and the idea that it is easy to work in a hospital in a city but the more difficult job is in the community, where often you are not part of a team. Highly skilled people should be thinking about working out in the community, and that would be better for the health of the wider population.”

After an initial long period he travelled back and forth to Cambodia four times a year for a month each time. He was subsequently asked to work with an NGO called Reproductive and Child Health Alliance in South Sudan. Living on his own in a small hut was mitigated by the presence of volunteers from other charities and NGOs nearby.

“My role was to feed ideas and know-how into development of nurse training programmes, training manuals, training packages and protocols on areas such as post-abortion care, as well as basic stuff like interrogating databases, training people in the running of meetings and taking minutes. While you are not there to do the work for people, it does help to be seen to be hands-on some of the time. Although the mantra of VSO is ‘give the skills, don’t do it yourself’, there is a trade-off that’s useful and it’s good to model behaviour... I think I have helped the profile of the NGO by being there.”

Phil’s home and partner (a GP who hopes to volunteer when she retires) are in Yorkshire. “She and my family have been very supportive. When I’m at home I’m on holiday, and when I’m away email and Skype mean staying in close touch is easy. The VSO allowance is enough to eat out now and then and buy all I needed to cook with. I know everyone thinks you must be a very selfless person to volunteer, but I see it as selfish, really. You go somewhere interesting you’ve never been to, you make great friends in a close-knit community and do work that is both fascinating and satisfying – although sometimes frustrating.

“You come away feeling you’ve made a bit of a difference. In South Sudan, a terribly fractured country where the health statistics are so bad, you feel grateful to have been given the chance to help.” He’s hoping to do further work with VSO.

Bob Campbell, an academic for 30 years who rose to become head of the department of educational studies at York University, took early retirement in 2006 with a view to volunteering with VSO. He did a two-year placement in Ethiopia before he too was sent to South Sudan, first to research potential volunteer placements in education and then to help in the setting up of a schools inspection system.

“Many schools were destroyed and not many built, and class sizes are huge. There are 3,500 primary schools and fewer than 200 secondary schools; teacher training needs to be structured properly and standardised. Places to train are a problem, as is the fact that some teachers are returning from the north where they spoke Arabic but the system of schooling in the south will use English.” After completing his initial missions, Bob will return to South Sudan at the end of the year to monitor progress.

“We know that the success of a country depends on education, and I’d urge people with skills in education – whether they’re on a career break, post-redundancy, or having taken early retirement – to consider making a contribution.”

VSO’s country director for South Sudan, Alice Castillejo, says the challenge is huge. “More than 55 years of conflict have denied several generations of South Sudanese basic education and literacy. This provides a frighteningly small pool of people that can become teachers and health workers and has held back the development of the training colleges needed to support this process.

“It is crucial that South Sudan’s education service gets the necessary increase in skilled education professionals and this will need a massive effort in re-training existing staff and inspiring new trainees. VSO will be working alongside local colleagues to provide mentoring and training to help them deliver education and healthcare, a basic need to build a strong South Sudan.”

VSO: 50 YEARS IN THE FIELD

VSO works in the world’s poorest countries, and is different from most organisations that fight poverty.

Instead of sending money or food, it brings people together to share skills and knowledge and bring about lasting change.

VSO volunteers work in whatever fields are necessary to address the forces that keep people in poverty – from education and health through helping people to learn the skills they need to make a living.

In doing so they invest in local people, so the impact endures long after their placement ends.

Volunteers are given a comprehensive package of support and training, and throughout placements in South Sudan security is monitored closely. www.vso.org.uk