I arrived in Uganda in June 2007 to work as a volunteer at the International Hospital School of Nursing (IHSON). As a registered nurse from the UK, I came to Uganda to work as a volunteer under the auspices of Voluntary Services Overseas. VSO is an international development organization that works to address poverty and inequality through sharing skills.

My decision to apply to VSO came about after undertaking a 2 month elective placement in Swaziland, Southern Africa. I was so inspired by the nurses and mesmerized by the beauty of the country I made a decision that when I had enough experience I would return to Africa for a longer period. Several years later, and after completion of a Diploma in Tropical Nursing at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, I was matched to a 2 year placement working as a nurse tutor based at IHSON.

Admittedly, when I first applied to VSO I did not imagine myself working within a private hospital within a city like Kampala. Like many prospective volunteers I had preconceived ideas of working in a remote rural area and with limited resources. However, after reading the school of nursing handbook and in particular the introduction, written by the then director of nursing and school founder, I was utterly inspired and decided then to accept the placement.

For my first year within IHSON I worked alongside 2 Ugandan nursing/midwifery tutors to deliver a diploma in nursing program. I was involved in teaching two cohorts of nursing students . Working with this small student body was an absolute pleasure and privilege; I was both inspired and humbled by their commitment and motivation to study and felt, on more occasions than I can recall, desperately proud to be associated with them.

In addition to my classroom based teaching I would also work with the students in a range of hospitals and within different clinical areas - this included working on the wards at the International Hospital itself. One of the great advantages of working outside of the nursing school and within the broader organization was the opportunity to meet the qualified nursing workforce and to work in collaboration with the nursing directorate team. During my first year volunteering I supported the directorate of nursing in implementing a CPR training program and launched the first advanced life support course for doctors and senior nursing staff. Aside from the content of the training it was great to experience nurses and doctors learning together in a way that is quite unconventional in Uganda. I believe that the progressive and dynamic environment of the organization made it much easier to implement such projects and found the organizational attitude to new ideas and ways of working very positive.

As well as my challenging and rewarding job I enjoyed an active and varied life within my two years in Kampala. For both years I lived in Muyenga, walking distance from the International Hospital and University. Living in Muyenga was an absolute pleasure, always felt very safe and provided good access to supermarkets, nice restaurants as well as the city centre.During my two year placement I was lucky enough to own a car which enabled me to travel with friends at weekends. As a relatively small country, it was possible to travel quite extensively within my time as a volunteer. Undoubtedly my favorite place in Uganda was the Queen Elizabeth National Park located in the South West of the country, which never failed to provide both beautiful scenery and wildlife.

My social circle within Uganda was made up of both colleagues from the hospital and other volunteers. I found it was easy to make friends owing to warmth and hospitality which is so inherent within Ugandan culture and, in particular, the International Hospital where new staff are always welcomed and made to feel part of the family.

Overall I had a very happy and fulfilling two years volunteering. The mantra of VSO is “sharing skills, changing lives” and I believe strongly that any international volunteering experience will always involving as much (if not more!) learning as teaching.