Finding my Groove as an E-Volunteer

Having just finished my fifth week as an Academic E-Volunteer for Center d’Étude et Coopération Internationale (CECI), I feel as though I have finally found my groove. At the beginning of my mandate, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, I found it difficult to navigate the remote workspace, as I’m sure many can relate to, and I had a hard time finding the right balance between work and play as I am completing my mandate from my home. However, with the help of the CECI Volunteer Coordinators in both Canada and on the ground in Nepal, I finally feel as though I am immersed in the E-Volunteer experience, and that I am doing work I can feel truly proud of. The advice and guidance they have provided throughout this experience has been invaluable.

I am currently working with the Federation of Woman Entrepreneurs’ Associations of Nepal (FWEAN), a close local-partner of CECI, whose main focus is empowering Nepalese women to begin their entrepreneurial journey by providing financial literacy education, by working toward poverty alleviation, and by helping women participate at all levels of the socio economic sector. My official volunteer title is Communication Officer, which means I largely work with the FWEAN Communications Team in the various projects they have undertaken. I have been given a variety of tasks to complete throughout my mandate, and I would be happy to share just a few of them here to provide you with an idea of ​​what my mandate entails! One of my tasks involves reviewing and editing the digital content the team develops to be posted on their social media accounts, ensuring it is clearly written, appealing, and fits with the FWEAN Communications Strategy which I am currently helping to develop as well. As technology can be limited at times in the more rural provinces of Nepal, it is critical that we reach women entrepreneurs by means other than what a typical Westerner like myself would think of: forms of communication which almost always need high bandwidth internet to function, and require the user to be fully digitally literate. And, because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is not advisable to meet in-person, which has made this task equally challenging and interesting.

One obstacle that I’ve encountered thus far is working around the time difference between Nepal and where I am located, in British Columbia, Canada, which means we occasionally have to schedule video conferences at irregular hours. However, this means my schedule at the day-to-day level is fairly flexible as I am principally working on my own time, which has helped me acquire organization and time-management skills that I would not have otherwise.

In spite of the challenge time zones pose, through the communications I have with FWEAN, I feel as though I am learning quite a lot about the culture and customs of Nepal, and I also feel strongly that this experience is enriching my education as a student specializing in Human Rights due to the particular focus of the organization on empowering women. I am able to put much of what I have learned through my program into practice, by integrating conflict and human rights concepts and methods into the work that I do and messaging I help produce. Thus far, I am very thankful to CECI for offering me this opportunity, and I cannot wait to visit Nepal one day!