Operation Bobbi Bear is a human rights organisation based in South Africa dedicated to providing help to child victims of sexual abuse. A 'Bobbi Bear' is a toy which aims to break down any language barrier and allow children to communicate the nature of the abuse they have experienced. The organisation is committed to rescuing and upholding the rights of sexually abused children, minimising the risk of HIV infection and helping them towards wholeness. Operation Bobbi Bear is currently recruiting volunteers and I am delighted to announce that I have been selected to fly out to South Africa and see the organisation in action and gain hands-on experience. This means so much to me. As an aspiring Child Psychologist, I feel this life-changing opportunity will be extremely rewarding and very beneficial for me, both in terms of future career opportunities and in the general sense of expanding my Mental Health Knowledge, particularly of Children. Knowing that I can be there for a child, even just to hold their hand when they have no one else to hold it...well, that's special to me and it's something I want to spend the rest of my life doing.

The volunteer programme comes to a total of £984 and flights are roughly £700 on top of the cost of general day-to-day living in South Africa. Unfortunately, as a student, this is not something I am able to entirely fund by myself, though I really do not want this to prevent me from participating in the programme for it is something I feel very passionate about; for this reason, I am posting my story on here, asking for your help in raising £984 towards my trip. Any contribution, big or small, will be heavily appreciated and will push me one step closer to my goal. Thank you for taking the time to read my story!

A bit more about operation Bobbi Bear