Hi there, my name is Trystan Leng. I’m a third year Maths and Philosophy student from Edinburgh. Last summer, I volunteered in Cambodia, and this year I have continued as part of SVA in the role of an ordinary member. I am running for the role of secretary for next year. I’ve had a great time being part of SVA, and I believe that the potential of an organisation like ours is massive. However, like any organisation, improvements can always be made, and I believe I can help SVA improve for the better in a few key areas:
-I believe the role of ‘little board’ members, that is non-executive non-coordinator board members, should be re-evaluated, and the little board should be restructured. Presently, SVA has specific roles,for example Social and Alumni coordinators, among other positions. These roles individualise tasks that are better suited as group tasks, such as organising events and writing newsletters. Moreover, the nature of these roles gives an imbalance of work over the year; the publicity coordinator may be extremely busy at the beginning of the year, but may have little to do once volunteers have been chosen. I propose that instead of having specific roles for individuals,a group should take responsibility for all such tasks. The group would be in charge of social, publicity, alumni, and IT coordination, although these roles would not be assigned to any particular person. This would allow for the balance of work to be spread throughout the year, as well as tasks being completed more efficiently and creatively.
-I believe that SVA should be as open an organisation as possible. I propose that condensed versions of our yearly project reviews should be published on our internet page, as well as statistics of the breakdown of where the money donated to the projects is going. I believe this would benefit SVA in a number of ways. It allows those who have donated to us, as well as alumni, to see the progress SVA has been making in the respective countries we work in. It allows potential volunteers to learn more about the projects before deciding to join SVA, and allows the resulting volunteers to know more about the specific strengths and challenges faced by the projects in the past. By acknowledging the challenges faced by previous projects, we can learn how to resolve them. Openness allows trusts from our benefactors, will attract more potential volunteers, and will result in the membership of SVA being more knowledgeable about the challenges faced by us in the past.
-I believe that the whole of SVA should be a part of the decision making process. Matters involving fundraising should be voted upon by not just the executive board, and not just the board, but also the volunteers, as it is the volunteers whom the decisions primarily affect. This year has been especially challenging for volunteers, as they have been unable to open an online donation page under SVA’s name. This decision was taken because many of these services take a cut of the money donated. If this situation were to continue next year, I believe that the board as well as next year’s volunteers should have a vote whether or not to use such a service.
If you have any suggestions about ways in which you believe SVA could be improved, feel free to contact me, I would love to hear what you have to offer. I suppose, a point I want to emphasise is that the only difference between the executive board and the new volunteers is two years experience. I want SVA to be an open, inclusive organisation, where all members are engaged in the issues facing a charity such as ours, and where all members are actively involved in the decision making process. This is what I would hope to achieve as secretary next year.