Mind the gap
The “gap” year has become a rite of passage - but, increasingly, “gappers” are using their experience
to help those less fortunate than themselves.
Wanting her "gap" year to be more than just an overseas backpacking trek, Tessa Henwood-Mitchell spent two weeks last year working as a reforestation project volunteer on Mt Kenya.
"I was brought up to think about other people, so of course I thought volunteering would be a great thing to do," Henwood-Mitchell, a first-year journalism and international studies student said.
"It ended up being the most amazing experience because it also made me realise how much we take for granted living here."
Through volunteer travel organisation, i-to-i, Henwood-Mitchell took part in the Ecology Conservation in Kenya project.
She spent her days halfway up Mt Kenya, helping three other foreign volunteers and a small group of dedicated local volunteers to plant seeds, replant saplings, maintain the seedbeds and remove weeds.
"The locals have so little in terms of possessions, but they still want to give so much," she said.
Spokeswoman for i-to-i, Kirsten Tinsdale, said deforestation was a huge issue throughout Kenya, where fires, illegal logging and expanding communities have encroached into limited forested areas.
"The project is focused not only on the long-term reforestation of a badly affected region, but also on raising community awareness," she said.
The local volunteers made such an impression on Henwood-Mitchell that
she still keeps in touch with the project manager by sending emails from
time to time.
She also plans to donate money to their organisation, the Mt Kenya
Reforestation Self Help Group.
For more information about i-to-i, visit Gap year or phone 1300 656 351.