Global Citizen Corps Scotland

Sarah manages Global Citizen Corps and is currently working on developing and promoting the program in Scotland.

How long have you worked here?

I started in August 2008 which was just after the project received funding.  My first job was to partner here with a youth worker, Gary.  He started in September.

What’s a typical day like?

I start off a normal day checking my emails.  There is a mixture of enquires normally from other charities asking about what we do, volunteers looking for assistance and other staff talking about planning work together.  If we are planning an event I check to see if anyone new has registered.  Gary contacts all potential participants and I follow up with volunteers.  This includes arranging training and checking references.  In the lead up to a training summit lots of time is also spent planning workshops, looking at what has been done in the USA and by other agencies. At the moment I am approaching lots of guest speakers. We are also trying to strengthen links between Mercy Corps different youth work projects so I might be in conversations with other staff about that.  Just now I'm also working on a funding proposal to increase the GCC around the UK.  The proposal involves approaching other NGOs to see if they would like to join us, planning what we would do and working out how much it would cost.  Most days are a good mixture of different things in the office and if I'm lucky a school workshop!

What are some of the perks of your job?  And some of the challenges?

That it is a nice mix of work.  I like the geeky budgeting and planning but I also love working with young people. I'm passionate about taking action for development rather than just giving money so it is really nice to be part of such a proactive organization.

We also eat a lot of cake in this office!

The most challenging part recently has been recruiting participants for our youth training summit.  We have really good feedback from school visits but it seems folk don't want to give up their weekends.  This has made us look at changing how we work and doing more lengthy school visits and less summit training.  We will encourage all we work with to register online and take action on the issues of global poverty and hunger.

It can also be a challenge to get people to understand why our work is important and to convince adults that individual actions have an impact.

What is your educational and work background?

I went to school in Edinburgh; I had always done voluntary work with community groups and NGOs. Anyway I went to art school in Dundee. When I finished I worked as a youth worker and tried to get into gallery education.  I was really interested in the issues that artists explored.  Getting a job full time was very hard so I went back to university and did a Masters in Art and Education looking at how artists responded to the HIV pandemic.  I did a couple internships for experience including a few fun months in Australia! On returning to the UK I found a job with a NGO called VETAID.  The job was called Raising Global Awareness through the Arts! I started part time then applied for more funding, started projects with little kids, teen and adults and became full time.  After 3 years I was also in a management role (not much fun). After 41/2 years I decided it was time for a change and applied to Mercy Corps.

Where are you from? 

Peebles, a Scottish town near the border with England

I studied my masters in England but I have mostly stayed close to home. Although I did travel with VETAID to projects in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique.

What led you to choose this career?

I think I was very influenced by my parents’ sense of justice.  My mum is passionate about Global issues, and my dad about local.  I try and always look at both in my workshops and how they connect.

Since I was a kid at church I have always volunteered which I think also exposed me to different charities.

What is your motivation for this type of work?

As above, I think I grew up being led to believe we can all make a difference and peer education is such an inspiring way to do this. It is inspiring to learn from one another and see the combined impact.

What skills do you need to work in International Development?  Any ones that surprised you or you didn’t learn in school?

I think you have to be resilient.  It can be really overwhelming, all the problems in the world.  You have to see the little achievements within the big picture.  I'm surprised what I learned at art school has been so useful! It has made me question the way I teach and look at more creative options. What I didn't learn enough was team work, negotiating, and compromising. Listening and learning from others is so important. I think a key thing is being open and not thinking we know best, we have to respect cultural differences.  Is it really us that are developed?! We seem to be in a bit of a mess!

Any advice for students considering a career in this field?  Activities, experiences, courses of study…

I'd say try and get as much of a mixture of experience as possible.  I worked with pre school to adults with dementia and it was a great training for being adaptable with your messaging and approach.  Unfortunately much experience is only gained through voluntary work but I think you can almost seek out transferable skills in any job!