LIFESTYLE GAP YEAR CHARITY
environmental projects, such as installing gravity-feed water systems in remote Nicaraguan villages. Meanwhile, Project Trust volunteers can work with disadvantaged children in orphanages in Peru, work in the cancer ward of a Sri Lankan hospital or teach English in a small village in India or Chile. These projects appeal to anyone wishing to combine travel
with volunteer work but school leavers need to be realistic about what they can achieve. “You would be incredibly naïve to do Raleigh because you thought you were going to save the world,” says Rebecca Firth who volunteered with the organisation in Borneo last year. “When you’re 18 with no skills, you can’t really go to a country where you don’t know the culture or environment and completely revolutionise it.” However, you can make a difference, so long as you choose
your organisation carefully. “Emphasis must be placed on carefully selected volunteer placements,” counsels John Vessey. “Research in gap year books and on the internet throws up thousands of possibilities. The problem is that overwhelmingly these are advertised by mass-market travel agents for whom the bottom line is the prime motive. Finding responsible, ethical organisations should be the priority.”
Asia and Mexico.
www.aventure.co.uk
Changing Worlds
offers both volunteer projects and paid work experience abroad. www.
changingworlds.co.uk
Coral Cay Conservation
are leaders in the field of coral research.
www.coralcay.org i-to-i arranges volunteer placements, gap travel and TEFL.
www.i-to-i.com
Karen Hilltribes arranges
volunteer teaching in northern Thailand.
www.karenhilltribes.org.uk
Oyster Worldwide offers
volunteer projects and work experience overseas.
www.oysterworld
wide.com
Student Partnership
Worldwide provides volunteer projects in healthcare and teaching.
www.spw.org
The widening of horizons and a healthy sense of perspective
seems to be a valuable byproduct of Rebecca Firth’s experience. “When I was at home, it was a small environment, and whatever happened it would take over my whole world, whereas now I’ve been on Raleigh, you realise there is a bigger picture,” she says. “I feel a lot more grounded than other people at my college because of the experience.” Schools are very supportive of their soon-to-be alumni volunteering as part of a gap year. Approximately 20 per cent
From left to right
Baking in Peru; Teaching in Namibia; Helping people maintain their independence in the UK; Building homes in Costa Rica
Damian Cox, head of careers and gap years at Harrow, points out that some university admissions tutors now ask their interviewees why they are not taking a gap year
of all students from the independent sector take a gap year, compared to a national average of around seven per cent. Nearly half of Harrovian leavers take a year out, and Damian Cox, head of careers and gap years at Harrow School, advocates a well-planned gap year, spending at least some of the time doing something constructive such as volunteering. Cox also points out that some university admissions tutors now ask their interviewees why they are not taking a gap year. It’s not just employers and admissions tutors who value
the experience gained through volunteer projects. Parents also notice a difference in their offspring. Maggie Mellersh, mother to Katie and Ben, who both volunteered in Kenya for four months with the organisation i-to-i, has witnessed the difference in her children after a stint of volunteering. “It’s always difficult learning to ‘let go’ of your children, and allow them to make their own way in the world,” she says. “But we feel that the experience of volunteering and living away from home was a life changing one for both of our children. They came back as adults and we are very proud of both of them.” %
WWW.FIRSTELEVENMAGAZINE.CO.UK SUMMER 2010 FIRST ELEVEN 71
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