Skillshare International

 Steve Quashie is a Football Development Coach at QPR FC. Since 2005 he has planned and delivered four Coaching for Hope courses for young people and local coaches in Southern and West Africa. Coaching in an African context presents new challenges for coaches from the UK. Steve recalls, “The biggest difference was that in Africa, the participants spoke several different languages. There were other challenges in terms of the equipment, facilities and conditions. We had to adapt teaching methods, learning processes and game related practical activities.”

Find out more about our Coaching for Hope programme.   

Lydia Stone completed her development worker placement in May 2010. She volunteered in Tanzania as a clinical psychologist at Mirembe Mental Health Hospital in Dodoma. Since then, Lydia has worked with us to secure project funding from Bupa. She has also contributed to our special study module on global health and development at Leicester University's medical school as an external evaluator and has done a Q&A session about international volunteering at Greenbelt festival. Lydia recalls: "It was an exciting time for mental health services in Tanzania and I was thrilled to be a part of it."

Bernard Greaves' connection to Skillshare International goes back more than 20 years. He was Head of Fundraising and Publicity, and Acting and Deputy General Secretary at IVS, the organisation from which Skillshare was born in 1990 (read more about our history here).

An influential Liberal Democrat, Bernard's commitments include voluntary roles in the fields of liberal politics, gay rights, community development and campaigning. Bernard put us in contact with the Rotary Club of Leicester in 2010 and thanks to him we have been able to meet with the Rotarians to tell them about our work and talk about possible ways we could work together in the future.

Fran Scott was a development worker with Skillshare International in Swaziland in 2006-7.  We placed her with the Ministry of Social Health and Welfare where she focused on building health management capacity across the country.  Speaking at the UK government's White Paper consultation event in Birmingham in 2009, Fran shared her experience of delivering quality health services in a context of scarcity, and about the role of international volunteers in supporting communities and local organisations to find long-term solutions.  On a panel with a DFID minister, Fran took questions from the public audience and then joined small discussion groups to debate the content of the White Paper.

Wendy Tabuteau has stayed very closely connected to Skillshare International since her placement in Botswana in 1994. As a Skillshare International development worker, Wendy volunteered at the Omang Youth Business Centre in Botwana for two and a half years and was also a member of our programme advisory committee in Botswana during 1993-4. Wendy joined Skillshare International's Board of Trustees in 1997 and became Chair in 2001, a post she held until October 2012. She is now Director of The Promise, a charity working with disabled children in Russia.

Skillshare International development worker Wairimu Gachungi is deeply committted to building a better understanding of issues related to the spread of HIV.  As the HIV and AIDS Mainstreaming Officer with Kang Brigade Development Trust in Botswana from 2007 until early 2010, Wairimu developed a wealth of knowledge about HIV and its impact on communities.  When she visited the UK in 2009, Wairimu shared some of her experience with an audience of professionals and volunteers working in health and development.  Read more...

Meet more Skillshare International alumni...

• Caragh shared her occupational therapy skills with students in Tanzania. Read her story... 
• Emma shared life-saving skills as a midwife in Tanzania.
• Adam campaigned for disability rights in Lesotho. Read his story...
• Mark shared his IT skills with a women's shelter in Botswana. Read his story...
• Sarojakshan shared his technology skills with fishing communities in Mozambique. Read his story...
• Michael shared his fundraising skills with farming communities in Tanzania. Read his story...
• Sarah provided training and support to help rural communities in India establish successful businesses. Read her story... 

 Find out more about how you can support Skillshare International's work in Africa and Asia.