Malindi Blight - Tanzania

So, about me, well, I just finished a degree in Development Studies at the University of East Anglia in the UK and returned to Australia to see my family and fundraise. As voluntary work I teach life skills and stress management courses called the Art of Living and have already taught one over here in Tanzania (to some of the volunteers), I will be teaching these courses in my village to motivate out-of-school-youth. I also play guitar and sing and am currently composing a song about stigma and HIV, I am planning on using these skills in the village to make education sessions more fun. I decided to go on this program because I wanted to become better trained in organisation, management and community development, I wanted to work with SPW because I agreed with their values of sustainability and grassroots development, I am also excited about the opportunity to make a real difference here.

Erin Wynter - Tanzania

I grew up on a Farm with my Mum, Dad, 2 Brothers, Identical Twin sister and lots of animals which meant lots of chores. I had a great childhood, working and learning about the land and animals, and ofcourse lots of exploring and imaginative game playing. I am fortunate to have a very close supporting family, that became stronger when my Twin sister Ashley was diagnosed with Luekemia in 1997, sadly in 2002 after many years of fighting passed away. This was a big blow to my family, friends and community. I was left lost, not knowing what direction to go in and basically who I was anymore, being raised apart of someone else (a twin), after a few wrong turns to discovery, I finally got on the right track when I decided I needed to live life for the 2 of us and experience everything we had ever dreamed. So I packed up everything and traveled Australia in my kombi, after this I was a Nanny for a wonderful family of 5 in USA for 13 months, then returned to Australia knowing my next chapter was my ultimate dream, going to Africa and leading a hand, So I have been working very hard saving since, and now here I am off to Tanzania. In my spare time I enjoy riding my Honda CBR250R, going to the beach, listening to music, cooking, spending time with family and friends. Thank you SPW for the opportuntiy to cross another experience off my list, I know this will be an enriching experience I will never forget.

Marko Filipovic - Tanzania

One day I thought to myself “If I only had one year left to live, what would I do?” This thought probably triggered doing volunteer work and it was a two fold motivation...on the one hand there was the will to make a unique contribution to a place/people where there really is a need for facilitation and where it seemed the change created can be sustained by the local people; on the other hand there was also an individual motivation for growing and having a uniquely challenging experience. After this I started researching several organizations and SPW was definitely the most appealing.

Search Markoravnice in You Tube and watch footage of Marko in Tanzania

Melissa Gillies - South Africa

My name is Melissa Gillies, I'm 20 years old and I will be participating in the South African Youth Empowerment Program. I am a deferred Nursing student, and I decided to do this program, as I felt I needed to get out of university and see the world.
I chose SPW specifically as it has a great reputation in the industry and was strongly recommended by friends that have been on previous program. SPW is very committed to its values and is one of very few volunteer organisations that really delivers what it promises.
This coming year will be amazing, and I cant wait to take on this program and every challenge and opportunity that comes along with it.

Read about Mel's adventures with SPW South Africa at:

http://www.myspace.com/mel_gillies

Jasmine Prime - Tanzania

Read Jasmine's adventures in Tanzania on her travel blog at:

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/jas_310385/1/tpod.html