Experience:
Organisation:
Name: Ryan
Hometown: Northampton
Destination: Indonesia
Project type: Working in schools and conservation work
Organisation: VSO Global Xchange
What were your impressions of your destination?
Indonesia is such a beautiful country and made an immediate impact on me from the moment I moved in with my host family...the kindness was overwhelming. It was so diverse - some areas were much more well off than others. I saw both the good and bad sides of living in Bandung.
Was the work interesting and challenging?
Yes...my work placement was in a school for children with disabilities which I found was a great challenge and very rewarding. Whilst there I painted murals for the children all over the school and it really opened my eyes. We decorated a whole school and the before and after photos look amazing. We also took part in concerts such as the red cross providing snack parcels and I performed at the concert too, also we did work with the street children and planted 500 trees in the rainforest.
What was your accommodation like? Did you feel comfortable and welcome at all times?
I lived in Antapani with a host family...the Kosasih family were so welcoming and all shared a bedroom with 1 double bed so myself and my Indonesian counterpart could have our own room. They were more baffled to have a white, English person living with them and I always had an audience of locals coming to see the white man ironing (something men would never do!) I think we all learnt a lot. I miss my family a lot and 2 years on still speak to them..they are a part of my own family now and my life and I cannot imagine my life without them in it. The living conditions were different...toilets mainly but we all managed..they were not particulary wealthy but that didn't matter we all lived together all 10 of us and we had the best time ever!
Were you happy with the organisation and the staff that were responsible for you during your stay?
Oh yes...from the guys back in the Putney, London office to my 2 supervisors everything went so well and we had many ups and downs but we had a supportive team. I worked with 9 other English volunteers and 9 Indonesian volunteers. I have never felt so looked after and part of a team as I had during the Xchange!
Do you feel that you got value for money on the project?
The whole Xchange I did not have to pay for..it is a great Programme for young people for many reasons this being one of them..I would pay whatever it took to have this experience again and hope to become supervisor in the future. I cannot express what a different person I am from the beginning of the Global Xchange Programme and thank all those who read this for the best 7 months of my life.
Would you recommend the project to others?
Yes
