VSO 50th Anniversary Conference

On May 19 1958 the first VSO volunteers (thirteen 18-year-old men) left the UK to give a year's voluntary service in developing countries: Nigeria, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Sarawak and, barely a year after independence, Ghana. Since then over 30,000 VSO volunteers have worked in over 70 countries. Each country holds a conference for all its volunteers and staff every two years. Last week VSO Ghana held its 50th Anniversary Conference.

I was a member of the organising committee. The group consisted of representatives from the regions where VSO operates. We had a planning meeting in Accra in late May and talked about content, venue and entertainment. We had access to the notes and feedback from previous conferences. We were very conscious of the need to balance a thought provoking work agenda with opportunities to relax and socialise with other volunteers. As few volunteers stay in country more than two years most people will only attend one conference. While we all travel and meet other volunteers from time to time opportunities like this are almost non-existent.

We were very pleased with the conference. Dr Nicholas Westcott CMG, the British High Commissioner in Accra and Pauline Seenan from the Department for International Development both attended the opening ceremony. GTV and TV3 covered the speeches. We looked at the role of VSO, fifty years after its inception, how to ensure its continuing relevance and the preparation of funding proposals. Feedback on the various sessions was very positive. I spent a lot of time behind my lap top during the Powerpoint presentations. The staff at the New Coco Beach Resort were very helpful and provided everything we requested. We had a very good cultural evening with dancing, singing and sketches from the main national groups within VSO. The Filipino dancing was voted the best but there was a special mention for Eddie Doyle as Father Jack. On the final evening we arranged for a local group of drummers and dancers to perform by the pool.

I was touched by the number of volunteers who thanked the committee members for the work they had done. For me, the only disappointment was our failure to get 50 volunteers into a tro tro. We managed 33. At least we have given the committee of 2010 a target to beat.