Volunteers’ Stories
Linda Chapman, NEAD Volunteer
The staff are a fantastic bunch of people to work with.
, February 2006
I’m Linda: I’ve been volunteering at NEAD for approximately 5 years now, since I retired from teaching. Retirement can come as a bit of a shock: you emerge blinking from the world of work and discover that life really exists outside the classroom. At my school, I used to run the sixth form General Studies programme, where Sandy, Sarah Gann, Tonia Mihill and company were regular contributors, organising workshops on development issues, notably ‘aid, trade and debt’. So becoming a NEAD volunteer seemed a natural decision when I left.
I worked in the World Shop and, for two years, helped with NEAD’s Just Business project, assisting with a variety of jobs, such as putting news items on the website, compiling mailing lists and proofreading. We also spent time looking carefully at current exam syllabuses in Business Studies and Economics to see how the work of the project could tie in directly with the course content. Among other things, I have helped with Black History Month and face painting at the children’s summer festivals, where I had a great time making solemn infants look like Australian aborigines and Wodaabe warriors.
During 2005, I also took on the role of assisting with administering NEAD’s library of teaching resources. Having embarked on a degree in Fine Art at Norwich Art School in September ’05, I am now mainly focusing on keeping the library ticking over and fulfilling my role as Treasurer of the Fair Trade in Norfolk (FTiN) network, which I also got involved with through NEAD.
Working at NEAD has certainly sharpened my own awareness of development issues and I’ve learned new skills, particularly with computers; what’s more, the staff are a fantastic bunch of people to work with.
