Volunteer Chaperone and “Cara” - Responsible for chaperoning children from the UK to Ireland. Once there, I become a “Cara” (friend / counsellor), ensuring the safety and well being of ten children, making sure all campers were happy, secure and could fulfill all they wanted despite their serious illnesses

Families First “Befriender”

I provided a child with relief from home every fortnight. Families First are a local charity, supporting families and children in need. Befriending exists to engage the child in an activity that aims to provide some sense of “normality” and the chance to talk to someone different.

Sri Lanka community centre building project

I travelled to Sri Lanka and helped, with 11 others, in completing a building to act as a respite for the disadvantaged children of a rural area.

Africa AIDS trip

I toured Southern Africa finishing in Zambia where I worked in the hospital, orphanage and school. Seeing the devastation with which AIDS, amongst other diseases, affects those in the community allowed me to help in many ways.

An assistant and occasional teacher for the Youth Theatre at the Byre Theatre, responsible for ensuring the needs of the children are met and they are given the opportunity to develop and fulfill their potential with confidence in a secure environment. Includes summer residency projects where children come for a week at a time with the aim of producing a complete show.

International Summer School (ISS)

I was initially employed as an Activity Leader / Deputy Head of Girls’ Boarding in an International Summer School for three weeks, but due to certain circumstances, ended up with the role of Social Organiser for the later part of the work placement. Roles included helping to organise, coordinate and run activities for all 70 children in the afternoons and evenings, planning excursions to London and further afield, alongside maintaining the welfare and wellbeing of all the children.

Volunteer Work

I am one of those people who tend to get bored quite quickly. As such, I have spent the past few years seeking opportunities that I believe in, can get involved in and hope to make a difference in. My volunteering work has all been found in various ways. The experiences in Africa and Sri Lanka were found through the internet – I searched for non-profit companies so that I knew my donation would really be just that. As for Barretstown, I found a leaflet in the Careers Centre and have not looked back since - especially as I approach my third visit there! More locally, volunteering within St Andrews; in addition to Freshers’ Week and Rag week volunteering, I found Families First at the Volunteers Fayre in my first year and was instantly captivated by their small, dedicated team who work consistently for the good of the local people. There are so many opportunities out there –finding them does take time and effort, but it ultimately pays off in the end.

Paid Employment

My job at the Byre was actually found with the aid of the Careers Centre. After attending an “I don’t know what to do with my life!” panicked appointment, I walked away with an email address for the Youth Theatre; an immediate contact which went completely in my favour. After working on a voluntary basis for several weeks, I was offered training and further paid employment and have since progressed to now having covered several sessions, leading the kids in the workshops. In regards to ISS, I found the job by searching for summer schools, and luckily enough, after a telephone check that I was who I said I was, I was offered the job! Both of these jobs, I actively managed to find and ask for, rather than filling in specific application forms. Often if you just ask, there may be opportunities that are just waiting to be discovered.

On telephone interviews, as I’ve had experience working on the “administering of interview end,” I always find it a much more positive experience if you come across as enthusiastic about the position you are applying for. While preparation is definitely beneficial, scripting answers beforehand makes your responses seem much more contrived and ultimately less convincing. Perhaps make a few notes on key points you would like to convey to the interviewer and then naturally drop them into your responses.

7:00 Get up – perfect time to get showered and ready for the day ahead

7:30 Wake kids up – ensure they have everything packed for the day

8:00 Breakfast

8:40 Staff Meeting – go through brief run down of day ahead with all staff; raise any issues

9:00 Activity Leader Meeting – organize register lists for afternoon activities. Set up equipment and prepare for two hour afternoon activity sessions. Prepare materials and write out instructions for evening activity.

10:30 Breaktime duty – monitor kids

11:00 Continue with preparations – make phone calls to various bus companies / tourist attractions to confirm numbers and times. Create itineries and group lists for such trips

12:30 Lunch

13:15 Kids have free time – if on duty, monitor children

13.45 Afternoon Assembly – make announcements to children

14:00 Afternoon Activity

16:00 Kids’ free time – either monitor children, or continue preparation for evening activity

18:00 Dinner

19:00 Evening Assembly – Make any announcements about activity / excursion the following day

19:15 Evening Activity – help run, supervise and generally enthuse the activity for two hours!

21:15 Free time for children – supervise in houses

22:00 Hot chocolate and biscuit duty – good chance to get all kids together to speak English to each other, and see how their day has been

22:30 Make sure kids are in bed and asleep

22:45 Finish the long day!

A volunteer in Sri Lanka

5:30 Get woken up by “Charlie” the cockerel who resides right next to your bed

7:00 If on breakfast duty, prepare the bread and eggs for the rest of the staff. Fly swatting duty is paramount to ensure everything is kept clean!

8:00 Start work on the building site. Duties such as laying cement floors, sifting sand, painting window frames.

10:00 Tea break – enjoy a baby banana or rambutan (or any other local fruit!) alongside some typical Sri Lankan tea

10:30 Start back at work. Beginning to get warmer now!

12:30 Lunch break. Help set the table and eat some of the interesting locally prepared Sri Lankan cuisine

1:30 Visit the local school / social work centre down the road. Play games with the kids to help improve their English. Learn about the work they do there, trying to educate the kids to ensure greater life skills.

4:00 Afternoon activity – these included visits to an Elephant orphanage, a Buddist temple or a local town

6:00 Dinner

8:00 Play games to entertain ourselves – “talk” with the local villagers as we both successfully converse using sign language and facial expressions!

10:00 Bed