What inspired you to work for your organization?
I was inspired by my first-hand experience on the project and wanting to share my experience with others. I enjoy helping others discover what an incredible place Antelope Park and the other projects we run are—the mental health benefits include being able to escape from the stresses of normal life. I enjoy being able to help others enjoy Africa and all the beautiful things it has to offer.
One of our horse swims with my best friend that I met on project
Describe a typical day at work.
I wake up and check my emails for new enquiries, replying to potential volunteers. I then go and spend time working with the horses. I spend time chatting to other team members about new ideas for the projects and getting new content from the projects, which leads me to wishing I was back there!
I spend time finding new ways of sharing my experience with others, whether it be sharing Facebook posts to horse groups or sharing Instagram posts to my story.
Teaching Volunteers polocrosse
What is your favorite part of your job?
I love being able to share my experience with others all around the world and connecting with new people from all over! I love keeping in contact with everyone on the ground that helped make my experience so incredible, with the hope of going back to visit them soon.
I honestly love helping people achieve their dreams of going to Africa, seeing the wildlife from the view on horses, and being able to help give back to the communities and people there.
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
Just go for it without any worries or stresses—it will all work out. Give yourself more time than you originally expect because you will want to spend more time out there than you first thought.
Make sure to pack enough clothes for all kinds of weather that will get thrown at you because when you are far from home you can't just pop home to get another coat. Africa is very warm and beautiful but the winters do get cold!
Why should someone choose your organization over competitors?
You get to talk to people who are either living onsite at our projects that are from the country and working at our projects, or with real people who have been involved in our project first-hand and know it inside and out.
There are so many reasons to choose Volunteer Encounter: the people who work there, the horses, the way it runs, all the animals, what the food tastes like, what staying in the accommodation is like there.
Chilling out post work
What is your organization's mission and how do you continue to work toward it?
We hope to reach as many people as possible, making a community of people all over the world who can experience what it's like to get involved in our projects and help reach even more people.
We are giving people life-changing experiences and connections that help change their lives for the better. We ask our previous volunteers to help reach their friends, which helps us in making connections all over the world. We love finding ways to give them opportunities within the organization.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
I hope they take away an experience of a lifetime which they will always look back on with joy and happy memories. I also hope that they are making new friends from all over the world that they can visit and travel with who have the shared connection of our project and the people who they were there with. We hope they can come back again or share with their friends and family.
How do you help support participants?
I am always available on my phone for people to contact me. Because I have been on the project as a volunteer, I know what questions people may have as I also had many questions. There are no silly questions.
I know how daunting it can be venturing out to a new country by yourself, so I can help explain what happens when you arrive, what clothes to take, who will collect you, and who else will be there.
Me and my boyfriend when he came to visit me
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
It is important to travel to understand other people's cultures, and explore places in the world that you never thought you might see. To learn from the other cultures and places and people and take some of that experience back into your own life. It makes you realize what is important in life. Which, in my opinion, is the experiences and memories we make, not things we own.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel to me means meeting new people from all cultures and learning from them, being connected in many different places so you can visit them, and making memories which will last you a lifetime. Getting out of your comfort zone and finding things out about yourself you wouldn't be able to discover at home.
