The day of a volunteer in Uganda: Jade
June 5, 2015I have been in Gulu, Uganda for almost four months now as a Communications and Fundraising volunteer.
When I first arrived, the time seemed to pass in slow motion as I adjusted to my surroundings and new home, but now that I have found my grove, time has spun wildly out of control! As supporters, you have probably seen and read the results of the comms team’s work, but join me behind the scenes, for a typical day in the office…
8.30am: The doors are now open to the Gulu office! My commute time is practically nil, as I live on the same compound as the office. I walk over, mug of fresh coffee in one hand, red laptop in another, and my bag which essentially contains a notebook, scrap paper, and pens which don’t work.
A friendly open-plan office, I spend several minutes catching up with staff, discussing important events of the evening (ie: power cuts!) and scheduling future field visits, before knuckling down to work.
8.40am: First things, first. Emails. Due to the two hour time difference between Uganda and the UK, I will often receive emails from the previous day which I have not yet read and so, I get replying and action any requests or tasks. I also check African Revival’s Twitter account, managed by the wonderful Emily to re-tweet African Revival, and reply to messages.
9.00am:
I spend a good few days each month in the field, gathering photos, interviews, and case-studies. But the real work starts when I am back in the office. One of the first things I do when I return to Gulu is sorting and editing photos, before sharing them with the UK office so that the communications team have a constant supply of fresh new pictures to use.
10.00am: Next, I pop in my head-phones and begin the painstaking task of transcribing recorded interviews, and writing up the notes I have scribbled in the field. Once I have made sense of my appalling hand-writing, I can get to work using the content for whatever I am working on: a donor report, a news update for the website, or AR’s newsletter.
12.00am: 
By this time, the newspapers have usually been delivered to the office. We are always keen to stay abreast of relevant national and local news, and current affairs- particularly articles about education, gender issues, agriculture, literacy and sanitation. If I come across a good article, I will send it to the UK team, who will work it into the social media plan. Funding opportunities are also often advertised in newspapers, so I keep an eye out for any funding calls, which African Revival may be qualified to apply for.
12.20am: Later on in the morning, I get cracking on with some ad-hoc tasks which may have arisen, like doing research for funding proposals. Sometimes, it is hard not to get distracted when the findings are really interesting, and I often get carried with googling!
1pm: I normally skip breakfast, so by around 1pm, I am ravenous and ready for some lunch. My go-to dish? I whip up a home-made flatbread and eat it warm with an avocado and tomato salad. Have I mentioned that the avocadoes here are absolutely delicious?! If I am working in the field, the team will stop at a local eating spot once we have finished our work. My regular choice is beans and rice, simple but satisfying.
2pm: The afternoon is usually spent writing, or in the field. At the moment, I am working on writing up profiles of the schools we are working with, but confession: I have put this on the back-burner lately as more-pressing jobs have arisen.
If I am conducting a field visit, it is usually a full-day event, particularly as several hours are spent travelling; this is because we work where the need is greatest, and that is often within rural communities. If I have several days worth of work to do in one area, I sometimes stay overnight at a local hotel to make the most of my time. The first time I did this, I was a little apprehensive but now, I find staying away from Gulu on the odd occasion very peaceful, and quite relaxing!
During visits to our projects and partner schools, I mill around capturing activities and interviewing pupils, teachers, and parents.
I make sure I ask lots of questions, so that we have plenty of content which we can share with you all! As I have been here for several months, I am beginning to build up a good relationship with our stakeholders, and we greet each other warmly; I particularly love meeting the same pupils, and watching the children perform songs and dances. I have been known to get in on the action, and start singing and dancing along- very poorly I might add!
5.00pm- 6.00pm: By early evening, it’s time to wrap up work. If I have been out and about, I normally arrive back at the office dusty and tired. However, you know the kind of aches which are symptomatic of a productive day? That kind of tiredness always feels good. On the way home, I am normally quiet, as I process the things I have seen, and the things I heard. I ponder the people I have met, as I take out my camera and start looking back over the photos.
Most days end this way, but some days are also tinged with some sadness. Although I was raised in some of world’s poorest countries, I am still sometimes caught off-guard when I visit particularly poor or vulnerable communities. However, those moments also serve as a poignant reminder of why, as an organization, everyone works so hard to make African Revival’s programmes a success.
Once the working day is over, fellow volunteer Alex, and I head back to our home, pop on the kettle, and normally chat about our day before making plans for the evening ahead!
