One Of The Best Life Changing Decisions You Will Make

For me personally, signing up as a Volunteer Project Manager was one of the best things I’ve done. After taking early retirement, I was looking for a new purpose in life and my Raleigh experience provided that.
As a Volunteer Project Manager on the Spring 2018 expedition I worked with teams of volunteers to help construct a handwashing station and renovate an outdated toilet block at a village primary school and, in another village, to help establish a tree nursery working with a Tanzanian forestry conservation partner. Throughout the expedition I worked with some amazing and inspiring people – Raleigh staff; other Volunteer Managers from very different backgrounds; local partners; Tanzanian families we lived with and the volunteers themselves. It gave me a real buzz to see many of the volunteers grow as the programme progressed; from uncertain, often homesick teenagers to confident young adults. It was also brilliant to get to see and experience ‘real’ Africa – way off the tourist trails, in very rural villages, living with local families, knowing I was helping to make a real difference.
Mind you, being a Volunteer Project Manager is no picnic. It was often hard and uncomfortable. It’s a long time since I’d shared a small room with other people and I’d never before gone for any great length of time without a sit-down flushing toilet, running water and electricity. That said, all project homestays used by Raleigh are vetted and, although basic, they were clean and safe. Working in close proximity with such a diversity of different people could also be challenging at times. Some of the volunteers had personal issues or issues with each other that needed handling sensitively. But it’s not supposed to be easy - it’s challenging and that makes the experience all the richer and more rewarding.
And Raleigh stays with you – there is a strong legacy. The experience, particularly overcoming challenges on expedition, has made me more adaptable and confident. I’m still in touch with people on my expedition and even now I often think of some of the amazing places I visited, people I met and things we did. I’ve also become a more active citizen, getting more involved with my local community and various causes. I’m still in touch with Raleigh; helping out at information events in my area and I’ve been accepted as a Volunteer Project Manager again and hope to go on another expedition next year.
My advice? Just do it – you won’t regret it but you might regret letting the opportunity go.