I was actually offered to go on Re:Green through the charity that was housing me at the time: the Amber Foundation. The two charities had already partnered up in the past with very positives outcomes.
I guess the reason main reason I actually wanted to go was for the adventure aspect of the trip. I love being outdoors, doing physical stuff and being part of a team so this opportunity was a Godsend.
I was extremely lucky as I was granted Raleigh's access fund, which gives young people with low income the chance to go on Re:Green. Even the travel to the programme locations is mostly taken care of by Raleigh. All I had to do was prepare my personal kit and get physically ready for the trip. Both charities were all extremely helpful in that aspect: Amber provided me with the space and equipment to train while Raleigh was assisting me with all kind of enquiries and kept checking in to see how I felt.
Re:Green is just as intense as Raleigh's programmes abroad. If you want to have the best experience possible I would suggest to prepare for the diversity of activities. That being said you can always rely on your team to help you out. When I first arrived I was very apprehensive of others but very quickly we became each others pillars we could lean on.
Well, there are two types of days. On conservation (where we help a local partner in various ways) we would wake up at around 07:30 or 08:00, and have breakfast while getting a quick briefing of the day ahead. At 08:30 we would get our kit squared away and then engage in a teambuilding exercise. At 09:00 our local partner would pick us up and take us to where ever we were working that day. After a good day of work we would pack up and be back at our living quarters at around 17:00. From then some people might prepare dinner, and others will get some downtime. Dinner was always around 19:00. After clearing up and washing up we were free to do as we saw fit.
Now on a trek, it is a very different story. We would wake up as the sun would rise, get a quick breakfast and then pack up our tents and kit in our bags. We would walk on average 15 miles a day, crossing mountains, bogs, and a few rivers all the while carrying around 25 kilos on our backs. We would always stop and set camp at around 16:00 to get a good time of sunlight, enjoying a hard-earned dinner made of ration packs ( which are actually quite nice). We would then go to bed as soon as possible.
My biggest fear was being judged for my situation (I was still technically still homeless then). Very fortunately everyone, staff, and fellow volunteers alike were all so considerate and understanding. They made me confident enough to actually share my experience for the very first time with people who weren't in a similar situation as mine.