I’m eighteen years old and have finished compulsory education, whilst most of my peers are starting their further education at university, I have decided to take a gap year to hopefully gain some experience in order to help me decide on what career I would like to pursue.

One thing I’ve decided to take part in during this year is a 10-week
expedition in Tanzania. I’m doing this with other young people aged 17-24 from all around the world through a charity called Raleigh International. They strive to create lasting change in areas of the world less fortunate than ours. The expedition will consist of three parts, ‘Community’, ‘Environment’, and ‘Adventure’. We spend about 3 weeks on each project, the first being community in which the main aim will be to improve safety of water, as well as sanitation and hygiene knowledge for locals in Tanzania. We will work with local schools, educating the pupils on these topics and helping to build sanitation facilities for them, overall improving the health of the community. The second project is environment, during this project the focus will be in forest management. We will work collaboratively with the local farmers and workers to develop forest management plans and raise awareness on the importance of these forests and plants, aiming to create a more sustainable and healthier environment. The final part of the expedition is adventure, which will consist of trekking through the Morogoro region or Southern Highlands of Tanzania. We will pass through small communities and see wildlife such as Lions, Zebras and Elephants along the way. After a day of hiking we will set up camp and sleep under amazing night skies unaffected by light pollution. During this section of the expedition my leadership and teamworking skills will develop and improve, which is brilliant for any workplace I could potentially end up in.

As a part of the experience I will need to fundraise money to pay for my flights, accommodation, and food while out there, but also a little extra to donate to the charity so that more of a difference can be made throughout all the areas in which Raleigh International offer voluntary work. It will allow more projects such as the one I am taking part in to continue, helping to create more positive change all around the world.