Volunteering with VSO International Citizen Service this summer
Published on 13 March 15
Meet Holly Kalra, who will be volunteering with VSO Inernational Citizen Service this summer:
"I am a third year Physiology student and am on placement this year. At the beginning of the year, I felt like I wanted to do something with the six or so months I had between finishing my project and returning to University for my final year. I have always been interested in volunteering and travelling, so what better way to combine my interests than to volunteer abroad! I searched around for a bit online for something that fitted my criteria: a short term volunteering project, in another (preferably sunny!) country and something not too expensive, and then I came across ICS (International Citizens Service). I applied, got through to the assessment day and before I knew it, I received an email saying I was off to Zanzibar, Tanzania to volunteer with VSO.
"I will be part of a team who will be working to improve the education and livelihoods of a community on Zanzibar. There will be a mixture of UK and Tanzanian volunteers, all aged 18-25, living and working in the local community. The thing I am looking forward to the most is being part of a team of motivated, open minded young people who share my passion of wanting to help others who are less fortunate than ourselves. I know it won’t be easy and even though white beaches, blue skies and sunshine suggests a holiday, it will be far from that. However, it will be so much more than three months by the beach – it will hopefully be a life changing experience where I do something that benefits someone else, and make friends for life."
What are your plans this summer? Tweet us at @UoMstudentnews with the hashtag #volunthero, or for inspiration visit our international volunteering page.