A wonderful fulfilling expedition from a disabled student's perspective!

After finishing my first year at university in 2016, I realised that education was not fulfilling my life aspirations and I was desperate to find something to fill that space. I have always been a keen traveler and have been fortunate enough to have visited a variety of different cultures and countries throughout my 20 years. Unfortunately for me, volunteering abroad would prove more challenging than the average 20-something year old. Living with Cerebral Palsy and being a wheelchair user, the usual kinds of volunteering such as building houses or schools was not an option. On top of this, I was also looking to support young children with similar issues who may not have had the same opportunities and support which I have had and so I needed to find a company who was open-minded enough to take on the challenge and have me. After years of searching and many rejections, I finally found GVI. From my initial enquiry with the GVI recruitment team, to arriving at base, GVI embraced me with open arms and supported me to continue my work as a disability activist, by assigning me to develop a new program and exercise for the young disabled individuals at the Camillion centre. The base team enabled me to not only be involved in my assigned project, but also allowed me to participate in the other amazing work that they were doing at the time including assisting with the conservation program. Apart from finding a project which fits not only my requirements but also my passions, I was keen to embark on an experience which also fulfilled my social needs and to meet new like-minded people. The project allowed me to meet, live and work alongside a variety of individuals from all walks of life, those of which I would not have necessarily encountered in any other circumstances. From a personal perspective, for me, this was the longest and furthest I have spent away from home, and in truth I did not know whether this would be achievable, but it obviously was, and even exceeded my expectation in more ways than one. Now that I have completed the project, I have never looked back and I have just enrolled to do it all again and create a stronger link with the Camillion centre this year, but this time - I’m going for longer!