Trail dig digging and trekking Costa Rica & Nicaragua

My life was a bit of a cross roads earlier this year and I was at a point where I really needed to do something for myself, something challenging that would help me to rebuild who I was. I have always loved traveling and seeing new places but this time I wanted to do something more than just travel. I am a qualified nurse so after attending a Raleigh open evening, I applied, had an interview and was given a place as a volunteer manager (VM) and medic in Costa Rica and Nicaragua for 10 weeks over the summer.

From the first week we arrived at VM pre-expedition training at field base in Costa Rica it felt like home. All the VM's bonded really quickly and it felt like we had known it each other for years. It was really amazing to meet a group of people with a similar outlook on life as myself and who were in very similar situations to me. While we worked really hard throughout the expedition there was also so much laughter and fun.

The 10 week expedition is divided into 3 phases and 3 different projects. There is 2 water and sanitation projects in Nicaragua, 2 natural resource management projects in Costa Rica and 2 youth leadership treks in either Costa Rica or Nicaragua.

For my first phase I went to the south of Costa Rica on a natural resource management project to a national park called Piedas Blancas with 10 venturers and 1 other project manager. Piedas Blancas is a 40,000 hector national park which consists of both primary and secondary rain forest. Costa Rica is home to 4% of the world's biodiversity and 2% of that can be found in Piedas Blancas. So as you can imagine it is one of the most beautiful and stunning places I have ever visited. Here we started building a new trail within the park that will eventually lead to the beach, and hopefully making the park more accessible to visitors. We also visited a local school to help engage local people with the park.

For my second phase I was a VM and medic for a youth leadership trek in Nicaragua. Here myself and another VM went with 12 venturers to the north of Nicaragua and we trekked about 250km south over 16 days across mountains, through villages, over plains and up volcanoes. We carried all the equipment, food our personal kit ourselves. We gave up all our comforts and slept on floors and washed with buckets. Each of the venturer's took it in turns to lead the group to help them develop their confidence and leadership skills. Every night we stayed in a different community along the way and met so many very kind and helpful people. It was definitely one of the most physically and mentally challenging things any of us had ever done. We all achieved things we didn't know we were capable of but we absolutely loved it. We finished with a massive sense of achievement and feeling we could now do anything if we set out minds to it.

For my third phase I was based at field base in Costa Rica, here I was the medic on call and part of the field base staff. I gave medical advice to all the groups out on project when required. I also managed any medical treatment and volunteers required as well as being part of the day to day running of the program.

I would definitely recommend Raleigh to anyone looking to volunteer abroad. It is a very well organized program which focus' on sustainable development and young people.I have made so many amazing friends that I will hopefully keep for life. I have definitely changed for the better and have so much more self confidence than I had before. I now really feel like I can make a difference and help to change the world.