There's no denying it, these bloggers are bound to make you jealous. Whether it's their guts, their energy or their tan you admire, overseas volunteers have got plenty to share with you about their remarkable work in fascinating countries. Read on to find out what you could be missing.

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Wednesday Jul 26, 2006

What's the point of volunteering in your gap year?

So why bother, and what good will it do?

Ever since I found out that you're allowed to take a year off studying I knew it was the thing for me; I've got nothing against education - in fact I quite appreciate it - but around 17 years of it without a break would be a bit much for me.  The idea of volunteering during my gap year appealed to me, because it seems like a good bridge between school and eventually getting a full time grown-up job...

I know that gap years have gained a reputation for being the province of upper middle class kids who, after paying for a trip round the world with daddy's credit card, come back with dreadlocks, refusing to wear anything but tie-dye and going on about how it 'changed their life'. I'm not going to attempt to paint myself as a working class hero but I'd like to emphasise that Project Trust make a point that all money should come from fundraising.  The idea is that the year has to be something you work towards and prepare for yourself, and fundraising also helps spread the word about Project Trust.  All the projects abroad are carefully vetted to make sure that they're beneficial to the community and don't take work away from locals.

The Luderitz journalism project is the only one of its kind run by Project Trust; plus, I'll be one of only 4 PT volunteers in the country. Also, Namibia as a country gets little coverage in the news or press, apart from recently due to a certain celebrity couple (which is not, I would like to quickly add, the reason that I'm going).  It all sounded a bit different and really interesting, so I thought I'd try for the project.

Also, I've never been outside Europe before and there's going to be so many completely new experiences; I'm sure next year will be unforgettable. Getting this kind of experience in journalism before university is a really rare opportunity, and doubtless will be highly useful if I decide to go into it (I'm doing an English Literature degree to keep my options open!). I'm also really looking forward to seeing places like the Sossusvlei dunes, the biggest sand dunes in the world. Me and my partner will get quite a lot of time to travel, and we'll probably get to visit other Project Trust volunteers in Namibia and South Africa, and so see what other projects are like.

I'm not sure how much of a point I've made here but I've said quite a lot, so I'd say it was time to stop typing...

Posted by Lucy Hayes ( 3:29 PM )
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