Gaynor's story
Gaynor used her skills overseas
Sixty-year old Gaynor Daniel has recently returned from a five-month international placement in Zimbabwe. She is an Anglican curate and has previously worked as a nursery nurse and social work assistant.
Arriving in a developing country for the first time can be daunting so Oasis runs orientation training.
“The training course was fantastic – I wouldn’t have survived my time in Zimbabwe without it. I learned about the culture, the things I would see out there, the poverty and sickness I would encounter, and about the beauty of the country and its people.”
Much of Gaynor’s time was spent teaching the girls English. But with limited materials she had to be resourceful in delivering the curriculum.
She also got involved in the pastoral care of the girls,
”I could see these girls needed to be loved, and to have the opportunity to be children. It was so exciting to be able to share in that”, she says. “There was one little girl whose mother had died. She couldn’t walk and the doctors had told the staff there was something wrong with her legs. But within just a few weeks of spending time with her, she was beginning to stand on me. One day towards the end of my stay there was a knock at the playroom door, and in she walked on her own! If you can see change like that in such a short time, imagine the potential for lives to change there in the long term”.
Now back in the UK, Gaynor says her outlook on life has changed forever,
“I’ve lost an innocent and unrealistic outlook about how things are in the world. Perhaps I was meant to take this journey to come back and follow it up. I can do so much to support and raise funds for them now that I’m here.”
The International Placements Programme is currently on hold. Please check back in September for new opportunities.