About 18 months ago, a friend of mine showed me an advert for AfID.  I had a look, thought it would be an amazing experience, then decided I would never be brave enough to go or have enough money, let alone the right skillset to help.

 

For the past 5 years, I have worked for a youth expeditions company. As part of the expedition experience, school teams would go and work on a project in their chosen country. These projects were carefully sourced by the Planning Team so that the project work carried out was developmental. So, for example, over the course of a summer, a series of greenhouses would be built and a year later, planting would take place. When the teams returned to the UK, my recollection is that the project phase had a lasting effect on these young people.

 

I have always wanted to travel but travelling alone was not so appealing. However, when my circumstances changed this year, I decided that AfID deserved a second look.  It fitted in with my doubts about travelling solo, and also echoed what I had observed from my working life; the effects of working overseas and the value of long term assistance compared with just sending money. So, I rang, spoke to Neil Jennings, discussed my skills and experience and I then applied. I am AAT qualified so my experience is somewhat more transactional and practical than some other better qualified people, but these are my skills and I am prepared to share them. I’m confident I can make a positive change, and I’m very excited to do so.

 

The process of going from application to flying away has been very straightforward, due to the efficiency of AfID. All my queries have been answered immediately with plenty of information to prepare me for my trip. Later today I will be speaking to the previous volunteer at Child Support Tanzania, which is a fantastic way of ensuring that the work all the volunteers carry out is consistent where possible.

 

I am really excited about being immersed in African culture, and I’m eager to get started on working as hard as possible to ensure that the long term future of CST is more secure.