A Normal Work Week

I am sure many of you are wondering other than hiking and visiting beautiful places what have I been spending all my time doing. Here is a look into the life of Julie as a YAV each week!

On Mondays all the YAVs and our Scottish volunteer Iona meet with our site coordinator Lynn. We talk about highs and lows of the week, what we have been doing over the weekend and we check in with her to make sure that everything is going well. On some Mondays we meet separately, one on one, and other Mondays we meet as a group and usually get to listen to another person or speaker come in and tell us about their organization. Last week we had the pleasure of visiting Eleanor at Wevolution. Wevolution is an amazing organization that helps groups of women become self reliant and allows them the space and training to become a group, think of an income generating idea to do each week, and give them the skills to make that creation happen. These women are then able to have a social circle, somewhere and something specific to do one day each week, and they learn to save money and be accountable. Wevolution took their model from self-help groups from India and are trying to spread the model across Glasgow. It was really great to hear from Eleanor and to see their work space and how they were inspired. Here is a link to check out if you are interested: WEvolution

On Tuesdays I spend my morning with a mum and tots group. Each week we set out toys for them to play with, we do an arts and crafts time, a run around time with hulahoops and balls, and a singing time. It is amazing how many little kids songs I have learned in the last 4 weeks. I wasn't aware there were so many, but Little Green Frog is probably my favorite. Maybe if everyone is lucky I will do a video blog of me singing it! In the afternoon on Tuesdays I have a meeting with my supervisor John to talk about my work placement and how things are going and then at 3pm I help out with the children's choir. The Children's choir is run through a program called Givin' It Laldie, which comes from "Gie it Laldie", which means to do something with gusto in the context of music. The organization has 8 different musical groups all designed to give people music to build confidence. The children's choir helps bridge the sectarianism between two of the primary schools in the Gorbals area. For the first half of the school year they practice at the non-denominational primary school and the other half the year they practice at the catholic primary school. The kids are encouraged to make friends with people from the other school. Here is a link for more information about the choir: Gorbals children's choir

On Wednesdays I get to work in the community cafe that is located in the church. We serve soup, tea, coffee, sandwiches, and treats. It is a great time to talk with the customers sitting in the cafe and learn about their lives. There are a lot of regulars and it is a great time to learn about the community.

Thursdays are a crazy day with Bridging the Gaps Drop In in the morning and first part of the afternoon and then in the afternoon I go to the Bridging the Gap Transition in the Schools and then in the evening I help with a drama group in the church. The Drop In is at a community center in the Gorbals area and it is a place for people to come and meet other people, play games and do different activities, and get a meal. There are activities for both the children and the adults. I work with the kids team and a lot of the parents on Tuesday also come to the Drop in on Thursday.

The school transition works with primary 7s who will enter into secondary school the next fall. The kids will go from a small primary school to the largest catholic secondary school in Europe so it can be very overwhelming. The program that Bridging the Gap runs takes secondary 4s and pairs them with primary 7s to make the transition easier. The drama club at night is just 10 kids and we are working towards a show every 3 weeks. We do mime exercises with them and little scenes each week.

On Fridays I get the morning off and then in the afternoon there is another mum and tots group. I love all the work I am doing and all the new people I am meeting. It is never a dull moment in the Gorbals area!

Blessings,
Julie