I f irst looked into volunteering in 1999 as a univer-
sity graduate. At the group interview we gathered
around a laminex table and talked about install-
ing a water facility in a fictional African village. On
the same day, I met someone working at Lonely
Planet and I guess the urge to work there, and
understand the world before trying to change
it, won out. It wasn’t until many years later that I
found myself volunteering overseas.
Taking in Mekong sunsets, slurping up water-
melon shakes and meandering through markets
were some of the experiences I had become
accustomed to while backpacking through
Asia. But I also became increasingly aware
of the environmental issues facing develop-
ing countries. Once while travelling through
northern Laos in the back of a pick-up truck, I saw
nonbiodegradable rubbish being tossed into the
lush forest. Everywhere there was beauty, but
I wondered how it could be preserved for the
future. I wanted to be part of the solution.
Some seven years on, I found myself in
Bangkok, Thailand, as an Australian Youth
Ambassador for Development (AYAD) with the
World Conservation Union (IUCN), the world’s
largest environmental knowledge network. It has
helped over 75 countries prepare and implement
national conservation and biodiversity strategies.
My communications position was regional in
scope, which suited me, because I would have
struggled to choose one country over another.
Asia is one of the most ecologically and cultur-
ally diverse regions in the world. It is also one of
the most fragile. With a population topping
3.4 billion, freshwater depletion and water pol-
lution are rife. Native species continue to decline.
Around 72 per cent of Asia’s forests have been
lost, and urbanisation is like an express train
carving up the landscape. From Bangladesh to
Cambodia, some of the poorest people are also
the most dependent on the environment for their
livelihoods. The modern age has left a massive
environmental footprint. Hello 21st century!
Seated next to my Pakistani colleague who
proudly showed me screensaver images of the
Karakoram, I plunged myself into the world of
‘environmental flows’, sustainable livelihood
approaches and more acronyms than my headcould hold. On the international organisation
scene, one goes on ‘missions’. My first was
to Laos PDR (as it’s known in development-
speak). I edited my way through the wetlands of
Cambodia and the health statistics of Mekong
River dwellers.
I also worked on a six-country project concern-
ing forest law enforcement and governance
(FLEG), which took me to Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
The affable Mr Pham Quang Hoa greeted me
in Hanoi and we travelled to the imperial capital
of Hue to visit the proposed project site. With a
penchant for newspapers and sporting a wide-
brimmed hat, Mr Hoa was the most delightful of
travelling companions. By day we talked about
tactics for involving local NGOs in the forestry
project and by night Mr Hoa told me about his
childhood during the ‘American War’.
Professor Shantha Henayake is a breezy Sri
Lankan with a love of discussion. I worked with
him in Sri Lanka’s Knuckles Ranges conser-
vation zone, and later in Colombo. Again,
working with a committed local was one of the
highlights of my time volunteering. We did a
series of rapid rural assessments which would
become the building blocks of a communica-
tions strategy. We talked with farmers, shared
biscuits with village women and bonded during
a series of very long drives (getting anywhere in
Sri Lanka takes time and it’s only 435 kilometres
long by 225 kilometres wide).
These experiences were my most memora-
ble. I found linking people with action is what
motivates me. The bureaucracy I encountered
proved tedious, but between whizzing home
on the back of a motorbike and lunching with
Thais, my working days were never monoto-
nous. My senses were on high alert for the
sights, sounds and smells around every corner.
I had dabbled with the idea of volunteering in
Mongolia only to discover Ulaanbaatar is the
coldest city on the planet! East Timor was high
on my list, but there were no suitable positions
at the time. When I first visited Bangkok, I’ll admit
that I wanted to get out of there, yet slowly but
surely, this mega melting pot of hedonism,
humidity and humility crept its way into my heart.
It was a defining, exciting and stimulatingAn AYAD Tells Her Story
year, mostly because of the people I met.
Going out with people from around the world
was commonplace: across the dinner table I’d
be chatting with an Indian, a Malaysian and
a Swede. I discovered I could be myself any-
where. And I took more of an interest in Austral-
ian affairs, seeing my own country differently
from afar. I was looking at the world up-close
through a set of wide-angle binoculars.
Being conveniently situated in the travel
bargain basement of Southeast Asia, I travelled
from Myanmar to Malaysia. And each time I
returned, Bangkok felt like a home away from
home. I fell in love, saw more photogenic things
than my camera could capture, and enjoyed
Sunday walks at Bangkok’s Lumpini Park amid
chanting Hindus, sword-wielding exercisers
and couples ballroom dancing. The year was
like a jigsaw puzzle of experiences which came
together in an unexpected and pleasing way.
The ‘think global, act local’ mantra rings true
but for the past decade the world has been my
backyard. Someday I would like to work with
indigenous communities in Australia, and I plan
to check out Indigenous Community Volunteers
(www.icv.com.au).
I learnt a lot about people and power as a
volunteer. My job description was tossed aside,
there were occasional tears and, at times, I
wondered if it was all worth it. But eventually
I came to the realisation that people are the
same the world over – they strive for peace,
happiness, wellbeing and a place to call home.
I also came to understand good fortune and
how it can be used for the common good. My
volunteering stint enabled me to work in Asia
and internationalised my CV. But the greatest
legacy of volunteering is the friendships you
make along the way. And I know a good green
curry when I taste one.
Volunteering has its moments but it’s those
moments that make life worth living.
Sarah Wintle
Sarah Wintle, a co-author on this book,
was an AYAD in Intake 14 and worked
as a Communications Officer for the
Ecosystems & Livelihoods Group at the
World Conservation Union’s (IUCN) Asian
Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand.117
05: Organised Volunteer Programmes:An AYAD tells her story(^116) Sarah Wintle in the field in Sri Lanka Photo: Prof Shantha K Hennayake