InterVol
The International Volunteering Project (InterVol) -
History
InterVol was set up in January 2004 by a group of students brought together by Andrew Bartley and Graham Allcott from the Student Development department at the University of Birmingham Guild of Students[1]. The project was formed by a group of students who, after hearing about Andrew and Graham's experiences volunteering abroad, decided that there was an excellent opportunity to organise such projects on a larger scale within the University. InterVol now focuses on sustainable development projects that aim to make a long term difference to developing communities.
In the summer of 2004 they led three highly successful volunteering projects to Bulgaria [2], Cambodia [3] and Uganda [4]. The volunteers were involved in areas as varied as AIDS awareness training, working in orphanages, teaching English, building a website and starting a paper recycling business.
In 2005 the projects roster was quickly increased to eight projects as the popularity and presence of the society increased dramatically. The new projects were based in Ecuador (conservation and social [5]), Ghana [6], Poland and South Africa [7].
In 2006 the society began to consolidate after fast growth in its first two years. Previous projects were maintained and fine-tuned while new projects in Thailand [8] and Nepal [9] were proposed. The project in Nepal was later cancelled due to the country's political instability in summer 2006.
In 2007 a new project to construct school buildings in rural Nepal commenced and was a resounding success [10]. InterVol's newest venture has been to expand into Kenya with two new projects based around community development and sports.
Current Projects
Current projects are Bulgaria [11], Cambodia [12], Ecuador Animal Conservation [13], Ecuador Rainforest Conserevation [14], Kenya Sports [15], Kenya Challenge Africa [16]), Nepal [17] and South Africa [18]. Around eighty volunteers will take part in projects this year.
InterVol is a founding member of the Student Volunteers Overseas Partnership (SVOP), comprised of UK university international volunteering societies [19].
Committee 2008-2009
President - Amy Ewers
VP Internal Affairs - Sukhneet Randawa
VP Projects - Mike Horrocks
VP Finance - Julia Goodall
Public Relations - Sam Howe and Kapil Savjani
Fundraising - Emma Bennett, Rachel Buckley and Alexandra Hiatt
Training - Charlotte Duffy
The current website is: http://students.bugs.bham.ac.uk/intervol