March, 2012 | NGS Movement

Bumi Sehat Youth Center – Bali, Indonesia

Ubud during the Galungan Festival

The main difference between the town of Ubud and the rest of developed Bali is the sense of calm. It’s noticeable as soon as you enter the city. There’s still noise, the ever present sound of motor bikes and preemptive honking that are ubiquitous to Bali, but it seems quieter, softened.

The Wena homestay where the youth center volunteers stay is located on the smaller street Gootama. We were lucky enough to be able to find a spot there, neighboring the volunteers. The entrance is a small doorway that leads to a path winding around the family temple and past the various apartments of the different family units. It opens up to the guest rooms that surround a courtyard where a serene elephant statue watches over a fountain spilling into a leafy koi pond. Each room has a patio area where breakfast is served every morning.

The Wena Homestay for Volunteers

On Friday we caught a ride in the van with the volunteers to visit the youth center for the last day of classes for the week. We zoomed through town and out to a small surrounding village. The center is located at a pre-school, but the classrooms are free for English and computer classes after the younger children go home in the afternoon. The school is very picturesque: green fields stretch out around it, a few cows meander about, and one of the classrooms has an honest to god thatched roof. It belongs on a postcard.

The staff of the youth center are all from the Ubud area. There are Western volunteers, but no Westerner gets paid. At any time there are around 6 volunteer English teachers from around the world. In Bali the main job market by far is in the tourist industry. The children of the area need to learn English if they have any chance of finding a good job. Here the youth center comes in, offering free after school English classes to local children and young adults.

By sitting in on a higher level English class, we got to learn a lot about the local people themselves.

The staff and students were all very sweet and welcoming, perfectly fulfilling the stereotype of the Balinese being the nicest people in the world. We shadowed their classes, filming and joining in for English games.

The following day we had the amazing opportunity to go to the Bumi Sehat natural birthing clinic to meet CNN hero of 2011 and founder of both the clinic and the youth center, Robin Lim (called Ibu, or mother, Robin). Ibu Robin is a midwife. She came to Bali years ago because it had one of the highest rates of infant mortality. She opened her first clinic free of charge to locals, as it and her other clinics remain to this day. Westerners are allowed to use the services too but are asked to make a donation. Mothers stay at the clinic for a few days to make sure they are healthy and can breast feed and then are sent home with cell phones, as most of them don’t have any phones, so they can stay in contact through the first weeks of the babies life. They also provide free confidential HIV/AIDS testing and treatment.

We got the amazing opportunity to meet with the founder of Bumi Sehat, Ibu Robin Lim.

The warmth and good energy emanating from Ibu Robin as she spoke touched us all. She told us about how she saw all these wonderful babies being born but then severely lacking in opportunities for their futures. So she set about to open the youth center, a place where the children she had delivered and others would be able to learn English and better their job possibilities. She has to work every year to raise enough money to keep the clinic open. The youth center is now self-sufficient, funding itself with volunteer fees, 100% of which go to the center itself.

Work in the Garden

We said our final goodbyes at the clinic and walked a few hundred feet to the new site of the second youth center. This one is still under construction but is being built with a few classrooms and an organic garden so children can learn skills to produce and market produce and how to recycle. All of us are eager to come back and see how it turns out.

As we left Ubud back to the sun and beaches of southern Bali after our few amazing days with Bumi Sehat we were all surprised by how close we had grown to the kids and volunteers at the center and how much we would miss it after leaving. I think we all have a secret wish to come back and volunteer with the center.

Check out our Gapper Video Profile on one of the volunteers at the center, Meredith!

Erica, New York

During the summer after my freshman year of college, I biked 4,000 miles from Jacksonville, Florida to San Francisco, with the non-profit organization Bike & Build. Our mission was to raise money and spread awareness for the affordable housing crisis in America and to help build homes in several communities along the way.

Early one August morning, we rode up to an old, dilapidated house in Farmington, New Mexico to find a defeated woman watching Little Miss Sunshine from her wheelchair. Five years had passed since she filed a request to have her front porch reconstructed. The deteriorating mess of soggy cardboard, rusted nails, and rotting wood that was to serve as her sole access to the street was neither structurally sound, nor ADA-approved. By the end of just one day, we reconstructed her entire porch, and let this woman know that she mattered – that she was not forgotten. This success kept me feeling invigorated as I rode from one town to the next, making small dents in our national affordable housing crisis.

But no experience is perfect, and there were moments when the southern hospitality was deeply entangled with layers of prejudice. Several times, openly gay members of my group were verbally assaulted. It did not matter that they had raised thousands of dollars and devoted their time to improve the communities where these individuals lived – they were “an abomination in the eyes of God.” My liberal upbringing in diverse, cosmopolitan Manhattan did not prepare me for this raw prejudice. I was heartbroken and I began to second-guess our role. I realized that a community might not always welcome my assistance: while the work itself might be appreciated, cultural barriers may undermine the value of the work done by individuals of conflicting backgrounds, lifestyles, and beliefs.

Only a select few of our experiences can really be transformative. Bike & Build stands out for demonstrating the complexity of truly helping others. Whether we are building homes or helping in some other way, we must be careful in our approach. Hammering nails into wood beams builds a house, but not a home. While it is important to have an agenda, having an open mind trumps all. There is a wide spectrum of beliefs, attitudes, perspectives within a country, and within a community – making generalizations and assumptions about how an individual will respond to “help” can be detrimental. The best we can do is to communicate our needs, ideas, feelings, and opinions with each other.

Biking across the country gave me a small taste of the types of experiences, internal struggle, and interpersonal conflicts I might encounter in my career. While most days I was eager to arrive at a new destination, there were days where I felt like giving up and going home. I learned a lot about my stamina and perseverance when I kept peddling in spite of 30mph winds, a hurtful remark by a churchgoer reprimanding me for my non-religiousness, or when it felt as though I was using every ounce of energy I had and still going nowhere. On a larger level, I gained faith in the ability of non-profit organizations to be effective agents of change in this country, yet realized that we have a long way to go in building a country in which people feel truly safe “at home,” regardless of how many affordable houses we build. Perhaps most importantly, though, I became more optimistic about what the passion, strength, and perseverance of a group of individuals has the potential to do.

in Stories by NGS Movement 24 Mar 2012 0 comments

Sarah, Hagerstown

When I was in college I became a part of a group called Best Buddies, an international organization started by Anthony Kennedy Shriver. The goal of Best Buddies is to promoted friendship between students and members of the community who have intellectual or developmental disabilities.

I met Karen in my freshman year of college at the first Best Buddies party of the year. After she destroyed me in checkers (and five years later, I still can’t beat her), I knew we were going to be good friends. Over my four years of college, Karen and I spent a lot of time together. I would go to her Special Olympic swimming events, and she would come to my tennis matches. We made a point to see each other every week.

As I moved through college, I faced some personal struggles that left me feeling like a shell of myself. One day in particular, I hit rock bottom; emotionally and physically. I didn’t know what to do. I felt like couldn’t call home because I didn’t want to worry my parents, and I didn’t have the energy to face my friends with my problems. At that moment, when I felt utterly alone, the only person I wanted to talk to was Karen.

Karen only saw my good. She loves the simple things. Making a phone call to just say “hey” and talk about her day means the world to her. When I was with her, I never worried about anything else. Our friendship was about being present, enjoying each other, and the time we would spend together.

I ended up going to Karen’s house on that night I hit rock bottom. She was there to remind me that I mattered and that I was worthwhile. I joined Best Buddies thinking it would be a nice thing to do, that it would make someone else feel good. I didn’t expect that it would be the thing I would turn to when nothing else seemed right. I joke now that it wasn’t my time being volunteered, but that it was Karen who was doing the good deed. She helped me to see the good in my life, and for that I will always be grateful.

Photo credit:http://2010.washcoll.edu/sarahmacht/

in Stories by NGS Movement 24 Mar 2012 0 comments

Nikole, San Diego

We All Have Stories to Tell

Americorps VISTA. Shakti Rising

We all have stories to tell, stories that could fill pages and create great novels. I could tell you many stories, but instead I’ll focus on one.

An equal mixture of excitement and fear surged through my veins as I stepped off the plane on the San Diego concourse and began my year long quest of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA. I traveled from the opposite end of the continental U.S. carrying along my personal baggage; darkness the biggest piece of luggage, hope a small carry-on. I was departing from a life lacking purpose. Finally emerging from the abyss of my lost self and delving into the unknown, I had the intense desire to be of service.

Everything in my life completely changed when Shakti Rising found me. While working in the Transformation through Service program, I began experiencing personal shifts that connected me with my heart and spirit again. On almost a daily basis, I was able to help others discover their passions through volunteering. I soon began working on a storytelling project that ignited a fire inside of me and fueled inspiration. I soon found myself co-piloting a committee that would provide outlets where everyone’s story could be shared and heard – through art, film, writing and social media, I was able to help share the individual and collective stories of apprentices, staff, volunteers, and community members involved with Shakti Rising. Shortly thereafter, this committee created a new and improved version of the Flutter-by e-newsletter, and it has been amazing to witness the stories of transformation unfold!

Shakti Rising came to me when I needed it most. It wasn’t the organization or the charming old house that I had been searching for, but rather the true vision of transformation behind it. It was the community of strong women standing together in their leadership, service and authenticity that was the force of gravity pulling me in. My service at Shakti Rising has not only allowed me to discover my passion for telling stories through writing and marketing, but it has also shown me that I have had wisdom and serenity within me all along. My passion did not need to be searched for because it was already intuitively known. I answered a call to the AmeriCorps VISTA program because I wanted to be of service, I answered the call to Shakti Rising because I wanted to create transformation and be a leader.

* also published in Shakti Rising’s July 2010 newsletter

in Stories by NGS Movement 24 Mar 2012 0 comments

Brad, Washington DC

How service projects ruined my life:

Picture for a moment the ideal of the American dream: a high paying job, a house, family, good health, plenty of food. You go to work in an office, maybe taking the train into the city. Life is comfortable, stable. Sounds perfect! Which is why it’s the American dream. So why is it that while I have most of these things, all I want is to go somewhere that is dirty, poor, dangerous, and unpredictable? One word: Service. That stupid word ruined what was otherwise a very linear track to a very clear goal.

I think it started when I got involved in residence life. It gave me the confidence to try new things, to venture from the stable into the unfamiliar, and do it with some semblance of grace. What I mean by this, is that I did not completely trip and fall, but managed to awkwardly fumble along with the idea that I was doing so intentionally. Through residence life I got a taste for building communities, and giving back to those communities. Feeling pride for what I had built, and a real connection and understanding of the people around me (complete with their beautiful imperfections) made me hunger for more. So, I looked around for more ways to do this, and found Engineers Without Borders.

The EWB group brought passionate, eager engineers together with the idea that they could do something positive for others. What could be more valuable than that? The comfort and stability which a normal career might offer pales in comparison to the rewards of dedicating your work to the betterment of life. Through this group, I found a community of like minded individuals and a way to explore how engineering and service could work as a couple. The two fields weren’t married yet in my mind, but they were definitely flirting with one another. Being an engineer, I always thought of service as part of my life, but not a career. Things were changing in my mind though, and I was getting a dangerous taste for what my future could be.

Because of my experience with EWB, and a little more good luck, I got a job for the summer working in Tanzania doing some work on technology for developing communities. Specifically, an electronic device which teaches visually impaired children how to write braille. This was my first hands-on service work that was ‘in the field’. The experience was thrilling. It caused me to see the world in such different ways. Specifically, the patience and strength of Tanzanians, facing much harder obstacles than I had ever experienced gave me a new found sense of humility and perspective on my own problems. I came back to the states feeling light – happy, grown, and with a sense of perspective about what did and did not matter. Older and wiser, but not tarnished and pessimistic.

The final nail in the coffin, so to speak, was at the end of my college experience. I spent two weeks in the Philippines with other engineering students building houses and teaching kids about engineering. I worked with and led my peers, who inspired me and made me proud to do the word. It was grueling, awful work. We dug holes in garbage and dirt mixed together, with broken tools, in blazing heat, for an entire day. We were all exhausted, dehydrated, disgustingly dirty, and I had never been happier. I came back from the trip with a bad case of pneumonia, caused by a mix of 3 days of constant travel, exhaustion, and breathing in diesel exhaust for a 6 hour drive. As I was lying in the car with my mom driving me to the hospital, I was very much delirious. But I remember one thing: telling her that getting sick would not stop me from going back. I remain determined to go back, and continue working.

So my path was as follows: trying out some service as part of a school job, helping grow a service focused organization on campus, doing a service related job for a summer abroad, and finally going on a 2 week service trip. That path led me here: to my ruined life.

I currently have everything anyone could ask for: job, apartment, health care, food, friends, holidays off. But – I’m miserable, and the reason is that service is no longer a part of my life. I’m an addict, and I need my fix. And just volunteering on the side is not enough. I know I’m ruined for good. I want my work and my purpose to be completely married.

So here I sit, with my dreams simultaneously achieved and ruined. And I couldn’t be happier about it.

in Stories by NGS Movement 24 Mar 2012 0 comments

Brad, Atlanta

I put down my flashlight, picked up three-year old Arafat and set him on my lap. He still weighed no more than the metal flashlight now on the ground. His head fell limply against my chest as I picked up the bottle filled with soy bouille and began feeding him. He had gained some weight, yet his sunken-in fontanel, his inability to sit up, and the ever-present loose skin on his finger-thin arms and legs still incited worry for his life. He locked eyes with me as he gave a grimace and uttered a cry that touched the inner-workings of my soul. I had known that Djoulde, my best friend in village, had a child but I had never seen him until last week at the health center. Arafat’s mother died of AIDS when he was 4 months old. He was currently suffering from extreme marasmus and advanced malaria; preventable diseases. This was 10 months ago. This is Arafat’s life.

By stark contrast, my childhood consisted of growing up in wealthy and white suburbia, pampered with a neighborhood pool, a jet-ski, and expensive restaurant cuisine. Needless to say, my existence has been easy being a member of one the most privileged groups of people in the world; white, American, and male. Due to this fortunate upbringing I feel a personal requirement to dedicate my life to humbly serving others; working to make a small dent in the incredible amount of preventable suffering occurring worldly. I cannot rest content and complacent with the way the world is currently. I seek my meaning in this world through bringing about change with regard to how individuals view the global community and global ecosystem as a whole and I believe education is the first step in achieving this goal.

After two years in the Peace Corps, charged with improving health outcomes and education in an African region of more than 100,000 people, I discovered that good intentions and a humanist life perspective do not inherently result in positive outcomes. One must use science to inform action. For this reason I am in the process of pursuing a PhD in globally-focused epidemiology, hoping to use science to build functioning comprehensive primary health care systems internationally.

I feel incredibly blessed daily to have opportunities to contribute to improving care for depression and suicide in rural Haiti, to preventing HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Malawi, to the development of new anti-malarial drugs in Thailand, and to educating youth on health issues in Cameroon. It is amazing how every time I travel abroad individuals thank me for what I am doing when I should be thanking them for being patient with the world as we sit idly with so much inequity and suffering. That I am able to live my dream to hopefully (eventually) make a career around improving the health of populations globally is just beyond words.

I strongly believe in the mission of NGS and think that the ultimate goal of the educational system in America should be to build character in our youth, a sense of purpose in life, and a desire to improve themselves and the world at the same time. The learning that takes place during volunteer service to the underserved is soulfully empowering on a level that cannot be touched by getting an “A” in classroom studies. Seeing children like Arafat suffer is extremely difficult, but where there is great suffering and need there is also the greatest opportunity for positive change. Nothing is more empowering than being needed and being able to contribute positively to society. I look forward to a day where all youth can be paired with an organization or opportunity where they can be needed and can contribute positively to the making of a better world.

in Stories by NGS Movement 24 Mar 2012 0 comments

Megan Leatherman, Kayan-Feminist Organization

Name: Megan Leatherman
School: University of Oregon
Type of Work: Community Development, Human Rights
Region: Middle East
Length of stay: 6 months – 1 year

Megan and a friend on a trip to Nablus, Palestine

Tell us about the organization you work for and what you do for them.
I work for Kayan-Feminist Organization, which is a non-profit, politically unaffiliated Arab women’s organization in Israel. I volunteered with Kayan in 2009, and worked primarily on public relations and outreach. After I began working on my Master’s degree in Conflict Resolution, I teamed up with Kayan again to work on developing a program that empowers women to do peacebuilding work within Arab communities in Israel. In addition to helping to develop this program, I work on fundraising and development. An average day is usually spent at the office editing grant proposals and reports, or meeting with colleagues to talk about the upcoming Conflict Transformation training that we are planning.

Share a favorite memory.
One thing that has stuck out to me in my second time with Kayan was when I went to a meeting of the Forum of Arab Women Leaders, which is a network of community organizers that Kayan supports and facilitates. This was my first time out “in the field” since I’d come back, and it was really touching to see familiar faces, some of whom even remembered me. It was as if I was being transported back two years, except that the Forum has grown and is becoming increasingly sophisticated in its research and interventions.

What have you learned from your experience? How has it affected your long-term goals?
Well, obviously I’ve learned more than I’d ever imagined about issues of women and conflict transformation, fundraising, and development. More generally, however, I’ve learned that it takes a very long time as a volunteer to actually contribute in a meaningful way – unless you are with an organization for a significant amount of time, the gift is primarily theirs to give, not yours. This idea that Americans can descend upon international organizations and improve them is largely unfounded, and I think it’s important to remain humble in the work that we do. As far as my long-term goals, they have totally shifted since I came back to Kayan this summer. When I arrived, I wanted to work for international women’s organizations in conflict zones. After getting more involved in the community-level work that Kayan does, I realized that I actually want to give back in that way to my own community in the Pacific Northwest. The grassroots work that this staff does is immensely powerful, and I feel convicted to work to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged members of my community in America.

What is the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job has been keeping up with all the various aspects that go into program planning: donors, grant proposals, logical frameworks, activity planning, target group, etc. Having never done this before, I have had to learn quickly what it takes to orchestrate programming in an organization like Kayan.

Do you have any advice for prospective gappers?
I would suggest that gappers learn as much as they can about the context they will be working in, remain humble and openminded, and connect as much as they can with the people that they are working with.

in 6 Months - 1 Year / Community Development / Featured Gappers / Give Your Gap / Human Rights / Middle East by NGS Movement 22 Mar 2012 0 comments

Harrison Gill, American Jewish World Service

Making cement.

Name: Harrison Gill
School: University of California, San Diego
Type of Work: Education, Infrastructure
Region: Central America
Length of stay: Less than one month

Tell us about the organization you work for and what you do for them.
I volunteered with the American Jewish World Service through their Alternative Spring Break program during my freshman year with several other students at my university back over spring break 2010. We helped provide support to OPCION/Aj Ticonel and the local community of San Antonio, Chimaltenango, Guatemala by helping with the local school renovations. The school had been so successful that they were doubling the size. We spent most of our weekdays working on the school, playing with the kids, building and painting furniture, or leveling the driveway. Every night we did a text study of various academic sources and religious opinions, which offered us the ability to apply a critical lens to what we were doing by volunteering in Guatemala and how that affected the community. Our weekend was spent walking through the town and over to the next town and getting to know the community. AJWS also requires a follow-up program upon return to the United States to increase awareness for which I made one presentation and also led a dinner table discussion.

Share a favorite memory.
Hearing the stories of the locals was the best thing about this experience. San Antonio was heavily affected by the Guatemalan civil war and almost half the community was killed or severely wounded as a result of the conflict, which the United States was largely implicit in. We had the opportunity to walk about the community as well as over to a neighboring village to see what the living conditions were like. We also got to play games, such as soccer or frisbee, with the kids during recess or when they happened to be around the school.

What have you learned from your experience? How has it affected your long-term goals?
The experience made me realize how much more interconnected the world really is than we might think. It is clear from the community how much what occurs in the United States and other highly developed countries affects rural developing countries. Since my return I have been compelled to increase my understanding of the region as well as work to increase awareness of pressing development issues through various organizations I participate in. Most of all, I have continued to volunteer wherever I might be.

The school.

What is the most challenging part of your job?
Living conditions were challenging at times. When one goes to volunteer in a community like San Antonio, you give up things like beds, hot water, and automatic toilets that you are probably accustomed to back home. What you get in return however is some awesome home hospitality and great locally cooked meals.

Do you have any advice for prospective gappers?
Go for it. If you are truly committed, you can do it. If you need help convincing your parents (and yourself) on the other hand, do some research on your program provider and look into things like how many staff members they provide on the ground, ground transportation, and any medical certifications staff might have. My dad was very concerned about me going, but after I assured him of the services AJWS provides, he was more than happy.

in Central America / Education / Featured Gappers / Give Your Gap / Infrastructure / Less than one month by NGS Movement 09 Mar 2012 0 comments

Yvonne Nader, Voluntrek

Visiting a nearby archeological site, Uxmal.

Name: Yvonne Nader
Type of Work: Childcare
Region: North America
Length of stay: 1-2 months
Contact email: info@voluntrek.com.mx

Tell us about the organization you work for and what you do for them.
Some years ago I was looking for a volunteer program in Mexico. Being born and raised in Mexico, I wanted to give back and help in my own country, knowing there were many opportunities and projects where I could make a difference due to the economic, political and social situation of my country. I also knew that Mexico combines diversity, contrasts, beauty, culture and traditions that I had yet to discover. When I searched Volunteer Organizations for a Program in Mexico, and the offer turned out to be only two options (and they were offered by foreign organizations), I decided to look for a volunteer placement and accommodation on my own. Even though I had lived all my life in Mexico and knew where to look and who to contact, it was not such an easy task. I ended up volunteering for 6 weeks in the Yucatan Peninsula. I was supposed to teach English to small children, but when I arrived they told me they did not need an English teacher anymore and asked me to give Religion classes to 6 different groups and helping in the office one day of the week! I had no choice, so I accepted and it was great to see how the children loved to listen to stories from the Bible: Creation, Noah´s Ark and so on, and how much they learned from each of them.

Some pictures of my students during Hanal Pixan (Day of Death) celebration.

Share a favorite memory.
It is difficult to choose just one memory, but I remember my first day teaching. I prepared paper figures to give my class for all 6 groups. I thought I would use the material throughout the day in all my classes, but ended coming out of my first class with nothing but trash, since the children had destroyed the figures while playing with them! I had to totally improvise for the rest of my classes. Even though at first it was frustrating, it really helped me understand children and learned how to prepare the rest of my classes. It helped so much that some of the regular teachers came to me and asked how I managed to keep the group so quiet and interested in the class, since they could not manage to do that while they gave their classes. This was a great satisfaction for me because I had never given classes before, and these meant the children loved my class, paid attention and learned! I am grateful that I also got to explore another part of Mexico I loved: beautiful beaches, archaeological sites, cavern-cenote diving, Hanal Pixan (Day of the Death Mayan celebration), colonial cities and magical towns.

What have you learned from your experience? How has it affected your long-term goals?
It really was a life changing experience, so much that I am now the founder of Voluntrek, a volunteer organization in Mexico. When I went back to Mexico City, I realized it would be an incredible opportunity for people around the world to experience what I had just lived. It had not been so easy for me to organize it on my own, and thought it would be even more difficult for someone from abroad to organize everything without knowing the culture, language and country. Wanting to share this experience with people from other countries, a thought came to my mind, “Why not help others volunteer in Mexico so they do not have to worry about anything but making a difference”. Some years later I founded Voluntrek (www.voluntrek.com.mx), offering volunteer programs in Mexico that provide and support volunteers with everything they need to have the adventure they are looking for. Our job is to make sure that our volunteers do not have to worry about anything but giving their best at the non-profit organization they will be supporting, and enjoying this unique experience of discovering a new culture. Volunteers can relax and enjoy their time in Mexico, knowing that someone local, who has volunteered in Mexico and organized her own volunteer experience once, is behind all this, making sure I can share with you the same great experience I had in 2006! Voluntrek provides you the opportunity to be part of this process through a volunteer program that you can customize according to your budget, needs and expectations.

Noh Mozon: one of the amazing places I got to visit. We were practicing cenote diving and had to abseil down to the cenote.

in 1-2 Months / Childcare / Featured Gappers / Give Your Gap / North America by NGS Movement 09 Mar 2012 0 comments

Sylvia Ng, Ecoteers

It’s a turtle! ‘Penyu’ in Malay.

Name: Sylvia Ng
Type of Work: Environment/Conservation
Region: Asia
Length of stay: Less than one month

Tell us about the organization you work for and what you do for them.
The organization I worked with is called Ecoteers. I volunteered for their Perhentian Turtle Volunteer Project in the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia for 2 consecutive years. I had a blasting time there. It was sun, sea, turtles, snorkeling, sand, stars, frisbee time, pontoon and jetty diving, village kids, mango ice blend almost everyday( with a dose of occasional thunder and monsoon rain!) And of all, the friends I made and the memories we forged together were unforgettable. Not forgetting the countless of close encounters I had with the beloved Mother Nature- being up close and monitoring female turtles and their hatchlings and monitor lizards!

Share a favorite memory.
Patrolling on a beach full of turtle tracks with 3 turtles making their pit at the same time but-there were only 2 of us! And did I mention, there were thunder and lighting?

South China Sea

What have you learned from your experience? How has it affected your long-term goals?
I decided to volunteer for this project because I wanted to reaffirm my passion. And I did.I always love the ocean and dream of doing my part in conserving marine animals. Turtles was definitely part of it. Throughout my weeks in this project, I’ve gained so many knowledge of turtles, corals, sharks and many general global oceanic problems. I met so many like minded people out there with a common goal as I do, people who inspires me, people whom I hope to work with one day. I know for sure after everything, that saving up for studying marine studies is definitely what I want in life- because I simply derive so much joy from it.

Do you have any advice for prospective gappers?
Follow your heart. Nothing beats a holiday for a good cause. Your money will definitely be worth it!

in Asia / Environment/Conservation / Featured Gappers / Features / Give Your Gap / Less than one month by NGS Movement 01 Mar 2012 0 comments

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