Reach Out Volunteers

I feel like we did something that would help the community. In particular, the structures we built made sure that the teachers at the school and the kids weren’t going to get rained on or bitten by mosquitos anymore because of an old classroom. The classrooms we built are going to last for years, so it feels good that two weeks of hard work means 3 or 4 years of benefits for the school.

The whole place (at least where we stayed) is beach sand! You could in theory get away with not wearing shoes for the whole time you’re there - which we gleefully took advantage of.

This trip has made me hungry for volunteer work, especially overseas and in Africa - it’s the most beautiful country, and even though the kids have nothing they are the happiest children I’ve seen! It’s also pretty exciting to see a random zebra on the side of the road as you drive around; all we have in Australia are kangaroos and they usually jump out in front of your car (which is also exciting but in a different way). When I finish my studies in Australia I’m going to try my best to get work in a location like Mozambique.

ROV has so many unique components as a volunteer organisation. It starts in the office, where all of the communications are dealt with. Everyone who works in there are passionate about the job, they're the brains, and they are infinitely friendly and easy going. Then you have the recruiters, they're a big supportive family, who work hard, to see results in third world countries around the world.

THEN you have the volunteers and the programs. Each volunteer that comes through is selected carefully from their application, they display a desire to change the world, to have the experience of a life time, and to be a part of a cultural community! I also think the ROV programs are perfectly structured. Every single program, whether it be in Africa, Asia, or South America combines three very important elements. There's the cultural immersion aspect, the wildlife conservation aspect, and the community development aspect - ROV volunteers come away with having experienced all three of those in 2 weeks!! Phew! Thats a busy two weeks!

The sustainability of ROV projects in third world communities, is not a lightly handled task. ROV makes sure that we work alongside people within the community, people who can learn a trade through us (ie. house building) and be able to maintain the projects after we leave. We also source laboursmen and tools from within the communities, to help pump money back into the village. ROV also revisits projects to make sure everything is still running smoothly.

The volunteers find it to be a wonderful cultural experience being able to work alongside the locals from the communities we work within.They create friends for life, exchange Facebook details, and keep in touch. There are past volunteers who still go over to visit the communities (after the project is finished) and to visit their new friends. Not only is there a great deal of cultural learning being shared but there is also a great sense of leaving the completed projects in the very capable hands of the members of the communities that Reach Out Volunteers work in.

The future for ROV that I see, is a biiigggg one! I see countries all over the world receiving aid from our volunteers. I can see us fulfilling our motto: Change the world; one village at a time. I know we'll finish entire villages, entire communities, entire states, countries, and continents. Everybody who comes through ROV is ready to change the world - with enough of these people, changing the world is a pretty simple task.