Bond Annual Conference: A ‘Millennial’s’ Perspective

Last week I attended the Bond Annual Conference for the second year as one of Bond's Social Media Volunteers. The difference being that this year I was attending as a final year International Development Student. The previous year, I was a young professional on placement with one of Bond's member charities, living and working in …

5 Things I wish I did on Placement

Before beginning my placement I had vowed to myself that I would make a start on my dissertation during the year to get ahead of the game for final year. Little did I know there would be not much time for that. Instead, I learnt a lot of things during placement that I am still using …

Sisterhood: Sisters Helping a Sister

Sisters Helping a Sister Our last project visit was in Gulu in the North of Uganda. Gulu is an interesting place, a-wash with International Non Governmental Organisations (INGOs) left right and centre as a result of the recent war and displacement. We were visiting a local organisation called Volunteer Action Network (Vac-Net) , a women’s empowerment organisation …

Words Change The World

At some point, I'm sure that you have taken part in a spelling competition of some capacity. The spelling bee competition is a concept that originated in the United States, usually done in schools, with those taking part being asked to individually spell a broad set of words. Enjuba Spelling Bee introduced the concept of the spelling …

Arriving in Entebbe

On Wednesday afternoon I set off for Heathrow with my mahoosive rucksack! I had an overnight flight to Entebbe with a 2 hour layover in Dubai at 3 in the morning. I met with Marina at Dubai and we then had a 5 hour flight to Entebbe. The flights were not as bad as I …

Building Global Partnerships – Uganda

Myself and another volunteer will be visiting organisations based in Uganda this summer that are partnered with GlobalGiving as part of the Evaluation Programme. GlobalGiving is the first and largest crowdfunding platform that connects non-profits, companies and donors. GlobalGiving itself is also a charity that provides partner organisations who are members on the platform with access …

What makes a great NGO?

I have just completed the second training weekend with GlobalGiving for the Evaluation Programme. This summer I will be travelling to Uganda to visit small charities that are partnered with GlobalGiving to provide an evaluation of their organisation and offer in-person practical support. Myself and the other volunteers receive 5 days of extensive training in …

A bit further afield than London…

As I have now completed the first training day for the GlobalGiving Evaluation Programme, let me tell you a little bit more about what I will actually be doing this summer! This will be an introduction to the beginning of my second journey! Moving to London was a big step, but I will be going somewhere …

Should you do a placement year?

I'll be honest. When I first ticked that box on UCAS for the four year (Sandwich) degree option, I was certain it was the right decision to make at the time. The year abroad option was actually what appealed to me most about International Development Studies at the University of Portsmouth, something that not many …

10 truths about taking the tubes

Now that I have been in London since September, I feel that I have experienced enough of the tubes to make a post about them. I am far off being able to classify myself as a Londoner, yet I am past the point of tourist. I am still hopelessly clueless if I am not on my …