Fellows programme experiences wanted

[Guest]

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[pcarpenter66]

Hello,
I am interested in the Kiva Fellows programme and although I have read all the stuff on the site about it, I am hoping to find someone who has done it who would be prepared to spend a bit of time giving me their impressions of what they did.
A bit about me. I am 49 years old and I have worked in education for the last 20 years, mainly in primary and special needs teaching. I got interested in development when I came across an organisation called VSO which sends volunteers to work in developing countries for periods of up to 2 years. I worked in Nepal in a teacher training role from 2000 to 2003. From then on I have remained interested in development and looked for suitable ways of getting involved again.
The questions I have are fairly wide ranging. What were your general experiences? Is the fellows programme better suited to younger people? How important is the language issue? Was it easy to do the job you set out to do? What were the main barriers you had to overcome? Would you do it again?
If there is anyone out there who can spend a bit of time answering these questions I would be very grateful. Thanks.
Peter

[JohnAtKiva]

Hello Peter!  Have you checked out the Kiva Fellows blog?  There are lots of links on there that may be useful!

Here are a few:

Why would a 61 year old married father of two want to be a Kiva Fellow?
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2010/04/27/why-would-a-61-year-old-married-father-of-two-want-to-be-a-kiva-fellow/

Posts about Nepal and the general region:
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/category/countries/south-asia/nepal-south-asia-countries/

A little bit on language issues:
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2008/11/26/the-art-and-science-of-communication/
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/03/26/the-everyday-exotic/
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/06/22/language-connection/
http://www.kiva.org/fellows/faq#WhereDoFellowsGo_4

Hope that helps... and good luck!

John

[pcarpenter66]

Thanks very much John, I will have a look through those.