Pre-Namibia Post

Just trying out this blogging thing! Really hope I can maintain it for an entire year, I haven't even written in a journal before, but I think it will be a great reminder of what the year was about when its complete. And a fabulous way to keep in touch with everyone in civilization, uh, I mean Canada.
I will be living and volunteering in Outjo District in Namibia for 1 year with Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) as a Pharmacist working for the Ministry of Health. Volunteer Service Overseas is a great organization that believes in empowering the local people by sending volunteers all over the world to help share their skills. This enables the locals to learn and use these new-found skills to help themselves.
Pre-departure, I attended the Preparing For Change (PFC) and Skills for Working in Development (SKWID) courses and was very impressed with how much I learned, in and outside of the classroom. The people I met were cool and interesting and it was great to learn about everyone's perspectives and experiences. The first course -PFC dealt with how to live and cope in a developing country i.e. having low expectations is key! The second course -SKWID taught me a lot about participation and facilitation methods (ways to encourage locals to play the lead role in making changes), especially in a developing context.
I am definitely excited about going overseas!