I rushed from
Jeddah to attend
SKWID (Skills for Working in Development) Training in Ottawa. It was held from (Jan 8-Jan 11,2010). I was planning to return in Summer to avoid the bitter winter of Canada. In fact, I had to pay US $150 to reschedule my
itinerary. This training was in connection with my voluntary assignment in Gambia. Before taking the flight to Toronto, I was sure that, there will be a lot of empty seats and I'll be able to sleep throughout my 14hrs flight. I told myself (which fool would go to Toronto at this wintertime). To my surprise, the flight was full. So I was back to Toronto just before the New Year. I booked my train ticket to Ottawa for 8
th Morning, again, I told myself who would travel to Ottawa in this winter. And, again I was amazed to see that the train was almost full. I thought for the
SKWID training, I may be the only volunteer, again I told myself who will travel to Ottawa in this winter. My last PFC (Preparing for Change) training was in summer, and there were about 15 volunteers (from USA & Canada). From Ottawa Station, I went straight to the
CUSO VSO office as the first day training's schedule was from 3 to 9pm. Again, to my surprise, there were 30 volunteers for this 4-day
SKWID training (from Canada & USA). Since it was a very large group, we were divided into 2 groups, each under 2
CUSO VSO facilitators. The volunteers were going to countries like: Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mongolia, Rwanda, Indonesia, and Cambodia, Bangladesh (my placement is in Gambia). The training was meant to introduce us to the practical skills, attitudes, and methods that we can use in different roles we may have to undertake in our placement country.
Here are some of the volunteers who attended the
SKWID training.
These volunteers are bunch of nice fun-loving men and women from various disciplines. These talented people are very jovial, very courteous and above all highly dedicated for the humanitarian concerns.
Kanti Akhtar
