‘Adaptability the key’

Press, 25 February 1988, Page 5

‘Adaptability the key’

By

DEBORAH McPHERSON

Adaptability is the key to survive the challenges of life as a volunteer worker in a developing country, says a Christchurch woman who is preparing for her third term as a Volunteer Service Abroad worker.

Ms Hilary Smith, aged 28, who teaches English as a second language, is about to become V.S.A.’s first volunteer to work in Laos under the joint sponsorship of the United Nations. She is already a veteran, having taught at secondary schools in Tonga and Papua New Guinea. V.S.A. volunteers needed to be adaptable, and enjoy challenges, because the work could turn out different from their expectations, said Ms Smith.

“You might think you were to teach mathematics, but when you get there, you find you are teaching French,” said Ms Smith.

A quest for adventure and travel first prompted Ms Smith’s interest in becoming a V.S.A. volunteer in 1981, fresh from completing a degree in

psychology. At that time V.S.A. was desperate for teachers, and so she learnt quickly how to teach English as a second language. She first taught in Tonga from 1981 to 1982, and later in Papua New Guinea from 1984 to 1985. Ms Smith has since completed a diploma in teaching English as a second language at Victoria University. During her first two terms as a volunteer any romantic notions she might have had that V.S.A. work was an idyllic

and easy way of travelling the world were soon dispelled by the reality of hard work and challenging working conditions. A shortage of teaching resources was common in the poorer countries, and although there was money for new equipment, it often did not extend to the maintenance of existing equipment, so that volunteers needed to be resourceful. “In Papua New Guinea they had a new video for the classroom but not enough chairs for the pupils,” said Ms Smith. The prospect of poor pay and the possibility of catching malaria, in spite of malaria pills, have not dimmed her enthusiasm to experience other cultures and learn foreign languages. A love of hot weather and Asian food were also incentives for Ms Smith to take up the post she was offered in Laos, where she is looking forward to teaching adults for the first time. Travel and adventure seem destined to keep Ms Smith company for a while. She says she doubts she will be able to “settle down to a normal life.”