April 18th, 2012 by Guest Blogger
At the moment I am planning my elective placement to Dar es salaam as part of my Midwifery course. I am so excited to have this amazing opportunity but nervous that I now have less than six months to fund the trip!
I decided that I would hold a clothes party. I had been to one before that a friend held where people take along clothes and then other people rummage around and go home with other people’s clothes.
Dig out old clothes, shoes, handbags - anything you don't want to raise funds for your elective!
I thought this was fantastic so I emailed friends and spoke to family and asked them would they be willing to donate any unwanted clothes, bags, shoes etc and I would charge a pound an item for clothing and then a donation of their choice for the rest. It became such a huge event that friends of friends were ringing saying they had clothes for me and would they be able to come. This got me thinking that there was no way I could fit everyone into my home. So I asked the local bowling club if I could borrow there club house for the evening. It had a bar so we had a great night. As it was to raise money they let me have the venue for FREE!!! Fantastic start I thought.
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April 17th, 2012 by Cat (Sales and Marketing Assistant)
Very often students and their parents (OK, more often the parents!) contact us with concerns about safety and security in the countries we work in. We know that venturing to lands unknown can be daunting and often you just don’t know what to expect. That’s why we’re here to give you all the info, advice and guidance you need before you set off and while you’re away!
A stunning view on the Ghandruk trek, Nepal
Safety and security is of course a key priority for us too, which is why all of our destinations are in countries considered to be politically and economically stable by the Foreign Commonwealth Office.
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April 12th, 2012 by Guest Blogger
Look out, Aberdeen!
Work The World is coming to visit!
The info session will take place on 26 April 2012.
Robert Gordon University will be hosting an informational session for students interested in expanding their horizons with an overseas placement.
We will be gathering at the School of Health Sciences (at the Garthdee Campus) in Room H405 from 5-7 pm on 26 April, 2012 for a pizza, wine, and information session. We will be giving presentations about overseas placement opportunities and providing some refreshments so come and say hello! There will be plenty of time for asking questions and hopefully we will have some past Work the World students attending to give you a real insight into working in a developing country.
Pop by our FaceBook Event Page to let us know if you’re coming and ask any burning questions you have before the session.
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April 6th, 2012 by Cat (Sales and Marketing Assistant)
It’s a fact of life; everyone likes to ‘big themselves up’ from time to time! And while we can go on until we’re blue in the face about why you should choose to do your overseas placement with Work the World, the best people to ask are those who did choose us and are on placement right now.
This week we asked students in each of our destinations “why did you choose to do your elective placement with Work the World?” Here are some of the responses…
Students on placement in Mendoza, Argentina
In Argentina the leading answer was the opportunity for students to brush up on their Spanish with our fantastic week-long Intensive Spanish Course. Amanda Woods, a medical student from Alabama said “interacting with patients in a Spanish speaking company is definitely the best way to improve my Spanish…the programme has everything I was looking for.” Amanda also found us to be one of the only companies she researched offering placements in South America and to include the placement, accommodation, food and in-country support in the total cost.
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April 5th, 2012 by Guest Blogger
With only two and a half months left until my nursing elective in Takoradi, Ghana, I have been coming up with different ideas to raise money for medical supplies. I have come up with three different ways that will hopefully be a success!
- Music Benefit
- Supply Donation Box at the Ohio State Medical Center
- Italian Bake Sale
On May 14th, 2012, I will be having a benefit at the bar that I am a server at. I arranged for a musician from Ghana to sing at the benefit. I have invited family, friends, and patrons to come out and support the cause for a cover of $5. I will also leave a jar for any extra donations people would like to make. Additionally, I will be donating all of the tips that I make for the night.
Megan will be baking up some Italian treats to raise money for her placement
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April 3rd, 2012 by Guest Blogger
In Nepal, I found I these items the most useful, least useful, or couldn’t have done without:
Essentials
A torch of some variety (for the scheduled power cuts that will catch you unawares!)
Sun cream (it sure is sunny)
Getting messy at the Holi festival of colours!
Lots of warm clothing (in winter)
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March 29th, 2012 by Cat (Sales and Marketing Assistant)
Every week we send a key question about placements, destination or Work the World houses to the staff teams in each destination. They then ask the students currently on placement for their thoughts. It’s a great way for students to hear firsthand stories and read current feedback about their destination, as well as providing a good comparison for those still unsure of which Work the World programme to choose.
Preparing for an overseas placement might be a little daunting and you will probably find yourself trying to imagine what it will be like. You might wonder if you will see similarities between the environments you’re used to and the ones you’re going to. What will the noises, smells, sounds and people be like? This week we asked the students in the Work the World houses “is your placement what you expected or full of surprises?”
Dannika Buckley who is doing her medical placement at a paediatric hospital in Mendoza, Argentina said, “The biggest surprise is that they use a lot of similar charts to those used in England. I have also been surprised at how willing the doctors are to teach me.” Well it is often commented on that the staff our students work with in Argentina are incredibly warm and friendly!
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March 27th, 2012 by Guest Blogger
I’m a student midwife at Staffordshire University, I’m off to Ghana in 6 months, and have started fundraising (help!). It’s tough fitting everything in at the moment! I’ve tried a few different angles on the fundraising, and they all take a bit of time. If I’m not working on an assignment, I’m writing a blog post, organising a fundraising activity, or writing a letter asking for sponsorship. It’s been overwhelming, and I’ve had times where I can’t see how I’m going to manage to do everything without compromising my studies.
Caroline and Jenny (and cakes!) raising money for their electives.
When I started to panic, I sat down and did a timeline, I put all the fundraising activities in different months, and put the steps needed to organise things into different days. I never get a day off, but I’m only doing one thing per day, whether it’s writing a couple of letters or a blog post, or a presentation. It makes it look manageable and I’ve promised myself never to think about the total amount I need to raise, but only to look at the amount I’ve raised so far!
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