Changed my life!

My name is Gemma, I’m from a small town called Skipton in the UK. I studied at college Art and Design and I work now as a Marketing Manager for a stationery company. I’ve always been interested in volunteering and making a difference so being able to volunteer abroad on a variety of projects was a natural next step for me. I came across GVI on the internet whilst searching for a project that both myself and my boyfriend could do together. I then met with a GVI ambassador who really helped me to choose a project right for us and talk me through the process of applying – I already felt part of the GVI family before I got on the plane to fly to the Seychelles. The flight was long with a change in Dubai so we had a couple of days to relax in the Seychelles before being picked up and taken to the gorgeous island of Curieuse. We really didn’t fully understand what to expect by this stage and was going with the flow, meeting new like minded people and getting welcomed into island life. The first day was by far the hardest on the island, taking all the briefing tasks in and trying to understand everything you’re going to be a part of for the next two/three weeks! The GVI team on Curieuse were amazing and their energy was what kept me going. My favourite part of the experience was being able to release a lemon shark back into the sea after an examination – truly beautiful creatures. I learnt from my trip to the Seychelles that I’m a lot stronger than I thought I was and also some things that I am good at that I didn’t think I would be. It has raised my awareness of my inner self and made me realise that I need to do more for myself in giving back to the natural environment and wildlife as the experience in the Seychelles changed my perspective for the better. We both felt completely safe and supported throughout our time on base and made some amazing new friends who we still see now we are back home in the UK – and even some of them have flown over to the UK to see us!! I feel this project got me on to a new path in my life, a more conscious living journey and something that is moving forward day by day. I would love to do more work of this nature in the future and I do believe this opportunity has helped me massively! I want to say a special thank you to Alan, Morgan, Catherine and Pete who each supported me on the island and gave me some amazing advice in my short time there. I’m very sad to have left and I hope to see them all again one day on Curieuse island.