After finishing school in 2009, Hannah Sprake decided to take a gap year and joined Raleigh’s seven week spring expedition in Borneo.
I finished school in summer 2009 and I didn’t get the grades I wanted, so I had an unplanned gap year. I wanted to do something that would give me a sense of self worth and achievement. I knew I wanted to do something that involved charity volunteering; I also wanted to gain skills that would be attractive to future employers.
I looked at a range of volunteering options with other organisations. They looked good but did not have the long term commitments to projects that Raleigh has. My aunt did Raleigh twenty years ago and said it was great. Raleigh’s projects are well planned and are designed for the long term. The team gives you good back up and the safety is great. You know you are going to be looked after.
At Imbak Canyon I was involved in infrastructure development. I really enjoyed working as a team and seeing how the team developed. People started to input more and the group really bonded. Each day people improved how they collected materials and worked together to make tasks as efficient as possible. Imbak was magical, I loved the rangers and I loved how peaceful it was.
My best and most challenging moment happened on the same day. About half way through the trek, we had an eight hour day. My leg was bleeding from the leeches, I was covered in sweat and I sobbed my way to the top of the hill. We hadn’t reached our campsite so we had to trek without fresh water. I was feeling awful so the whole team gave me a hug. Going through such a hard and tough time makes you really bond and I’ve never felt so part of a team. The day was awful but the feeling afterwards was amazing. It was one of the proudest moments of my life, better than my exam results and better than getting into sixth form or university.
I have learned that if I can do something that I’d never thought I’d be able to do, like a trek, what else could I do that I currently don’t believe I can? For instance, get a job I don’t think I have the right skills for. The world is your oyster, there’s nothing you can’t do. I’ve learned how to be a more relaxed, confident person. It’s nice to know you can be put in a group of fifteen random people and get on with them.
My plans now are to go to university to study Economics with French. I’ve grown up so much in seven weeks and feel totally ready for the next stage of my life. Raleigh has set me up for the next four years.
To sum up my Raleigh experience: Absolutely amazing. I couldn’t recommend it more; the entire process has been inspiring. It’s been one of the best decisions of my life so far.
One Comment
Most people don’t know what means to do charity work. The general opinion is that if you give some money to an organization you did charity work……but that’s not true….it is charity but not charity work. I learned this when became member of Yuri Mintskovsky‘s charity organization. There I learned what means charity work by doing it. We helped kids from poor African countries and also animals in some other countries and I realized that helping others is way more important than just sharing some money in front of the computer.