On the 3rd of September 2018, I will be beginning my 4 week volunteering in Bali, helping the local community with a variety issues, on a Mental Health Placemnt. As I currently am a first year Psychology student at the University of East Anglia, I am very fortunate to have gained a place on this programme with SLV Global, which will include my involvement of engaging with the local community as well as enhancing my own knowledge of mental health in a different culture.

SLV Global is a company that established in 2010 by a group of psychology graduates, who used their resources to help, initially, in Sri Lanka, where mental illness resources were scarce. Following the success of the placements and support to the community in Sri Lanka, SLV Global extended to Bali, continuing to focus on providing volunteers and professionals to help mental health on a global scale. Not only does this programme allow students and post graduates to volunteer and learn many new skills, but it also allows the volunteers to learn different cultural approaches to mental health treatment, and also learn ancient Eastern traditions such as meditation to work alongside modern techniques at treating mental health. This experience definitely isn't a holiday, and requires a lot of planning and working, with the right ethics and a high quality of care, so to be accepted onto the placement has been an amazing opportunity and too good to turn down and waste.

The first week of the placement will be spent as a training week in the country, learning specific techniques and 60 % of my week will be spent doing therapeutic services; these include working in a psychiatric facility, rehabilitation centre and interacting with individuals who suffer a whole range of different mental illnesses and who may have special needs. The other 40% will be spent teaching English for Development, meaning alongside the team, I will be teaching English to young children, as well as helping adults use English in real-life application.

My fundraising of the £1600 will cover my placement fee, which includes my homestay, placement training and to be a part of the project itself. This fee will also cover project resources, such as arts and crafts materials, small sporting items and more for activities with children during therapy sessions, as well as for adult based therapies. Alongside this, the fundraising will also cover a Visa and Vaccinations. The total cost of the trip will be roughly £3200 as this will include flights, weekend accommodation, the acceptance fee and for other resources, so therefore I will be raising the other half of this fee through working and saving!

I will keep my page up to date on any fundraising events that will be taking place, and all money will go directly towards this amazing opportunity to get involved with a global placement.

Any donation would be massively appreciated to help me reach this big, but achievable goal with the right help! I would be very grateful for any donations via this page or in person!

Thank you for reading my page and if anybody else is interested in taking part visit - https://slv.global/about/