Anne Roberts took some time out from her busy life in the private sector to spend 6 weeks volunteering in Uganda with IDinsight. Having previously worked in Africa before, Anne was keen to explore more of the world’s most beautiful continent and use her accountancy skills to help people whilst she was there. We caught up with Anne upon her return to see how things went in Uganda.
1. Many accountants worry about the transferability of their skills when working in a new country and sector; did you find any specific experience from your past roles relevant to your volunteer experience?
I found my training as an external auditor helpful in identifying weaknesses in (or lack of) financial management and internal control systems. I also found my previous experience working in developing countries allowed me to adapt more easily to the local working and living environment.
2. How easy was it to adapt to living and working in a different culture?
As I had previously worked and lived in a few sub-Saharan African countries, I did not find it difficult to live or work in Uganda. English is widely spoken in Kampala, there are numerous restaurants and sports clubs, and the level of crime did not seem to be as high as in some other African cities.
3. What ‘do’s and dont’s’ would you give to anyone thinking of travelling and working in a less developed country?
Do try and find the time to travel around and see as much of the country as you can, do not expect much of an infrastructure and for things to happen fast. Some days you will have no internet access, no running water and no electricity and there is not much you can do about it.
4. What would be your advice to other accountants considering volunteering in the sector?
Pick a country that you would like to visit and that you are likely to feel comfortable living in.
5. What was your job role?
The main part of my role was to assess the current financial management and internal control systems in all of the NGO's entities globally, identify any weaknesses or missing aspects, and provide guidance on remedial action required to improve the current systems.
6. What skills did you gain? (i.e. working with limited resources etc.)
Starting something almost from scratch with very little input, given the financial management system in place was almost non-existent due to the NGO having been newly established, improved my project initiation and project management skills.
7. How do the AfID programmes benefit the charities it supports?
AfID matches the charities they support with qualified and experienced finance professionals. As a finance professional I would not have known how to go about finding a volunteer position directly with a charity.
8. What was your favourite moment of your volunteer experience?
My favourite work moment was when after weeks of trying to gather information, I eventually understood enough to write a meaningful report with recommendations on how to address weaknesses in the existing financial management and internal control system. My favourite play moment was seeing the mountain gorillas in Bwindi.
Anne (SAICA)
The Partner
IDinsight
Kampala
IDinsight was founded on the premise that rigorous field experiments can be a powerful tool to directly inform and improve decisions in the social sector, benefiting millions of lives and optimizing the impact of billions of dollars each year. The founding team united around their commitment to serve and a shared desire to make rigorous impact measurement methods useful and accessible for social sector leaders in developing countries.
Their work has gone global and they support organisations across the developing world in order to help them make the most of their funding by using more in-depth studies to evaluate the best possible ways in which that funding should be spent. This has led them to work with governments, NGOs, social enterprises and charity foundations in 5 countries across Asia and Africa.
In Uganda they have teamed up with the Ministry of Health to bring the most efficient and effecive solutions to those who need it most. In many parts of the world healthcare is not universally accessible - even when the funding is available for governments to provide this service, often the implementation of these services fails to reach the marginalised and impoverished. Frequently it is within these communities that healthcare services are needed the most and it is with IDinsight's guidance that the Ministry of Health is evaluating their methods in a bid to make the Ugandan healthcare more accessible, more effective and more streamlined in its processes. The work that IDinsight perform here has the potential to save millions of lives and update the social services of Uganda.
For more information please visit their website.
The Volunteer
NameAnne (SAICA)
Employer
IDinsight
Position
Volunteer Accountant
