South Americans happy to volunteer
By Gillian Wylie

Ximena Moscoso, Victor Hernandez and Ana Aravena, the voluntary workers spening time in Orkney.

Orkney might not be the most obvious destination for a voluntary worker from South America, so it came as a surprise to hear that there are no less than three volunteers from South America working in the county.

All three, Victor Hernandez, Ana Aravena and Ximena Moscoso come from widely differing backgrounds and have come to Orkney for a variety of reasons, but each seems to have found their feet quickly, and all seem to be enjoying the experience.

All consented to be interviewed for The Orcadian to highlight the work of international volunteers in this year designated as International Year of Volunteers.

Twenty-eight-year-old Victor Hernandez is a veterinary surgeon. He qualified from the Austral of Chile University five years ago and spent a further two years doing a postgraduate thesis on Newcastle Disease in poultry. He comes from Traiguen in the south of Chile. He has been living and working in Orkney for three months now, and will return to his native Chile in August.

Victor came to be a volunteer in Orkney through the AFS, the American Field Service, which he said found places for professional people. "I work for the council in my country, and I work here in the council - in the environmental health department - for three days." He also does two days a week at Scottish Natural Heritage.

He explained that the work he was carrying out in Orkney was not too different from the work he did in Chile. "A vet's job is different in Chile - it's different from here. In my country the animal is important like here, but the environment is also. The work I do in the council in Chile is very similar to council work here - environment work."

He added that the job he did in Chile was very similar to that which Val Cameron, principal environmental health officer with Orkney Islands Council, does.

"When I get back to my country it is interesting to compare with here. The work is similar in some ways - and in some things different."

He added: "There is a huge difference, obviously, in the language, in other respects the people are the same - they have same problems."

He continued: "In SNH I work two days a week. It is very interesting for me because I have a postgraduate in Environment Territorial Planification (Planning).

"Because in my country, I need to make maps for conservation," he explained.

"For example when we have bird nest in a conservation area we have to do plans of the buildings because it is very bad for the bird."

He said that he was enjoying working in Orkney. "Yes, I like the people, they are very friendly. I live with Neil McHarg, it's very interesting for me."

When working hours permit, he does go out on calls with Mr McHarg, he added.

But it's not all work. Victor believes that it's important to mix and take part in local activities - and he enjoys singing. "I sing in the festival chorus - because I sing a lot. I sing first bass." He laughed: "I appear in the photograph in the programme."

So, why did he volunteer in the first place?

"Because I wanted a different experience in a different country," he replies.

"I like the UK because it is interesting country. It is a large island and it has a different culture. My culture is Spanish, the English culture is very different."

And what will he do when he returns to Chile?

"I will return to my work at the moment and transmit all the new experience and maybe improve some of these. For me it has been very useful."

Will he come back to Orkney?

"Yes, maybe on holidays - perhaps other parts of the UK. It will be easier for me to find my way now."

So what did he think were the benefits of doing voluntary work abroad?

The experience of volunteering in a foreign country is valuable to all concerned, he thought. "It is interesting for Orkney people to have people from other places. They say "Oh you live in a hot country" - but no, in my country it is cold and grey and different. People know about Chile now - it's an interaction for me and them. Its a two way thing."

Twenty-seven-year-old Ximena (pronounced "Himena") Moscoso is from Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador where she worked in the credit department of a bank. She left the Universidad del Azuay in 1999 with a degree in Business Management, and having worked in banking for a total of eight years decided it was time for a change. Like both Victor and Ana she volunteered through the American Field Service.

"I always wanted to be a teacher, and I'm not learning anymore, and I also thought I'd like to learn English. So I thought it would be nice."

Coming to work in Orkney, where she spends two days at St Colm's and two at the Strynd Playgroup, certainly is a big change for her. Like Victor, she stays with a local family, this time in Harray. "It's really nice to stay there."

So how did she find Orkney? "At the beginning it was not so easy for me. I was used to living in a big city. But now I'm happy here. I love the people. I love working with children and with the people here in St Colm's. I enjoy the quietness of Orkney."

"I think this is a good experience," she added.

She too is enjoying the mutual benefits of working in a foreign country and has shared some of her experiences in Ecuador with local people.

Ana Aravena, like Victor, is from Chile - this time a small town called Molina, which, she explained, is two hours out of the capital Santiago where most of her family live. Having trained to be a chef in 1985-86, and worked in catering ever since, she volunteered to come to Orkney, in the first place, to improve her English. "My contact was my English teacher in Chile who was a volunteer.

"I wanted to learn English which I had studied for one year. It's helpful to learn a language if you live in the country."

She added that although she had originally come to Orkney to improve her English, she was finding other benefits. "The people are nice and friendly," she explained. "The English is important but there are other things too. The experience is interesting, I have very good friends here, and I enjoy staying here very much. And it is nice to do something different."

Along with Ximena, Ana spends two days a week working at St Colm's. She also spends two days at the Gilbertson Day Centre, which she adds she especially enjoys. "I live with old people too. I have a very big family at home - maybe 90 or more."

"It makes sending postcards interesting!" she laughed. "I love old people."

The food here, she added, had been a revelation: "You get better meals here."

Ana says that in particular she loves rhubarb, which she had never tasted until she came to Orkney.

She added that having worked for the past 15 years in hotels and restaurants catering for large wedding parties, improving her English might open up opportunities for her in the tourist industry.

"There are a lot of tourists from North America and a lot of French people they come to the wine. They work for six months in Chile and then six months in France. The companies are international companies."

But she's not really sure what she'll do when she returns: "When I go back to my country I don't know, I don't have any real plans."

Meanwhile she is making the most of her time here. At 35 she is little older than the other volunteers. "You are supposed to be between 18 and 30," she explained. This trip, she said, was a birthday present from her English tutor friend.

"It's a very sweet birthday present," she smiled.