Volunteer testimonials
St Andrews is a very special place to me, as to so many others. I went to St Katharine's School as a child. I'm an alumnus of the University: and have at last, after fifty years, come home.
I like to boast that I only work for the best bosses; among them have been the Queen Mother (I was a grouse beater), the Government of Hong Kong (on the radio), Glyndebourne Opera (no, not as a singer - in the wardrobe department). Now I am old and grey, I have enormous pleasure and pride in two volunteer jobs: for the National Trust for Scotland at a Royal Palace (Falkland) - and, wonderfully, the University of St Andrews.
The Alternative Format Suite, housed memorably in what was the Janitor's Cottage in my childhood, is, I think, a truly remarkable institution, small but perfectly formed, quietly performing an amazing humanitarian task, enabling sight-disabled students, who in my own youth had no chance, no possibility, of higher education, to use their capabilities to the full: to read, to study, to participate fully; to Graduate.
I had an uncle who had, I think, a wasted life on account of a minor birth defect: any sort of training was denied him. I rejoice that those days are past.
The AFS is a small department: we use modern equipment, which has enabled this revolution as much as the change in attitude. We have one professional leader, guide, friend - Paresh Raval, totally devoted to the aims, the work, the concept and detail of what we do - and a team of volunteer helpers. Paresh is endlessly patient, helpful, friendly. I am certainly no expert in IT but the work gets done, little by little; the students are provided with the texts they need to study in a form tailored to their abilities and disabilities.
This is an extraordinarily worthwhile work. But it is performed in a place, and atmosphere, of calm and friendship. We do what we can, we enjoy doing it; we are giving others the chance we ourselves were given. And I am proud, as a pensioner, to have as my employer the University of St Andrews. Now I can repay, in a very small way, some of the debt I owe to this ancient and wonderful place.
Janet Alexander, AFS Volunteer
I bet you didn't know that when Lady Mary Wortley Montague travelled in Turkey in the eighteenth century, she was astounded to discover that Muslim women used the burka in order to disguise themselves to meet their lovers in the shops of Jewish merchants, and that they could do this unchallenged because of the strict laws in place protecting them from any contact with Muslim men in public places. Christian women were not so fortunate! I learned this while editing an art history book in the University of St Andrews Alternative Format Suite, which exists to make university texts available to print-disabled students.
These can range from dyslexia to total blindness, and the centre, run by Paresh Raval, uses computer technology in a variety of ways. Academic texts are first scanned, then the text is corrected and edited. Pictures, graphs and charts usually need to be described so that the print-disabled student has access to the information they contain. Where necessary, the texts are read aloud and recorded. This is done in a separate booth, with the reader recording inside, and a checker (using headphones and sitting outside the booth) listening for mistakes which are then rectified.
The student then has the opportunity to listen to the recording, either with volunteer voices, or in a synthesised voice, to view the text in an enlarged font, and to see a coloured text and/or background. The text can also be converted to braille if required.
Usually, all this runs smoothly. But there can be problems - departments asking for materials urgently, or even submitting printed photocopied texts which they have helpfully punched holes in to tie the pages together, not noticing that the holes go straight through the text itself. The volunteer then either has to guess the text, or leave a blank, or Paresh has to find the original book, which can take some time.
The workers in the Centre are indeed volunteers. I discovered it when I decided I would like to do some voluntary work in my area, and looked at the University web page on Volunteering opportunities for Staff. I am not a member of staff of the University, but it didn't seem to matter!
What have I gained? Well, the pleasure of knowing that I am helping print-disabled students who, in the past, might never have been able to attend a university, is good. I've also learned some new tricks with Microsoft Word!
Milly Hurst (Local community), AFS Volunteer
I believe in the importance of making education and independent learning accessible for every one of our students, and volunteering at AFS is a very practical way to contribute towards this. On a personal level, helping out at the AFS has given me the opportunity to meet a real cross-section of the university community - students, colleagues and supporters. I've been able to find out about the steps necessary to make print accessible to all, and been involved in all parts of the scanning, proofing and recording process. Some of this learning has been carried back into my workplace. I'm now much more conscious of fonts, text sizes, headings and punctuation, as well as becoming equipped with many handy shortcuts in MS Word! There is also the intrinsic interest of the books themselves - under no other circumstances would I be likely to be describing economics equations one week, proof-reading international relations strategies the next, or grappling with ancient Greek in the recording booth. My education is on-going!
Catriona Wilson (Staff), AFS Volunteer
Even an hour at the AFS gives the immediate satisfaction of contributing to a positive purpose. It is increased by the mutual respect and appreciation of the volunteers and the organiser in a very friendly atmosphere.
Chris Lesurf (Local community), AFS Volunteer
