Published: Wednesday, 7th April, 2010 4:00pm

Mullingar women matching volunteers with international opportunities

Two young Mullingar women who have come to the conclusion that the best way to get to really know another country, is to spend some time working there, are Jessica Warner and Koreen Walsh.

That's why to date, the two have worked abroad, separately, as volunteers in locations as diverse as Sri Lanka, Costa Rica and Ethiopia.

And fired up by what they believe are the huge benefits they've received from volunteering, the two young women now travel around the country on behalf of the group Projects Abroad, explaining to other would-be volunteers how to go about doing voluntary work abroad, and what's involved in the process.

"It's an absolutely fabulous experience," says Jessica, who last Summer chose to go to Ethiopia, influenced in her choice, she admits, by the fact that there was a family connection, since her grahdfather had spent some time as headmaster of a school out there, and her own father, consequently, spent part of his childhod there.

While she was in Ethiopia, Koreen, meanwhile, was in Sri Lanka, working in the labour ward of a Sri Lankan hospital - and witnessing at first hand how that country is still struggling to recover from the tsunami that devastated the country in 2004. Koreen's initial ambition when she set off for Sri Lanka was to spend a month there; in the end, however, she stayed for three months.

Koreen and Jessica met while at school at Wilson's Hospital, and later attended Loreto together. They are now both at NUIG, and both studying psychology and Spanish, and next year, will be heading off, through the universities exchange programme Erasmus to study for a year in Mexico.

Jessica's first experience volunteering abroad was through Projects Abroad in 2008, when she spent two months at the start of that year teaching English in Costa Rica.

On her return, Jessica chatted Koreen - who had also volunteered abroad that year - and they decided to approach Projects Abroad and point out to them that since there was no Irish office here, the organisation had little exposure in this country.

"When we were going away, people said: 'how did you get that?'. People didn't know it was there; they didn't know there was an option if you didn't have any qualifications."

The two persuaded the organisation to let them promote Projects Abroad in Ireland, and since then, along with their lives as full-time students, the two travel around to schools and other colleges, telling young people about the options out there.

That said, it's not just for young people stresses Jessica.

"When I was in Costa Rica, there was a woman of 71 volunteering there."

The fact that young people, who haven't yet got skills or qualifications in place are still welcome to travel out, and help in whatever way they can, means Projects Abroad is different to some other organisations that arrange placements.

Another factor that makes Projects Abroad attractive for inexperienced travellers is the fact that the organisation arranges placements for the volunteers; and it finds them accommodation with local families.

In addition, volunteers arriving into a country are met off the plane by Projects Abroad reps, and they are delivered safely to their destination.

There's also the comfort of knowing that one's medical and travel insurance is in place, and that there is also 24 hour support in place for the volunteers.

"We get a lot of gap year - and even Transition Year students; and it's an 'organised' way of doing things," says Jessica.

Jessica is still thrilled by the experiences she had last Summer while in Ethiopia, where she spent a month working in a day care centre and orphanage.

"I went to the dean of the college where my grandfather worked, and he got the college ddriver to take me to see this old man who lived in a slum in Addis, and who used to be a guard.

"He had no English, but he remembered my grandfather. He said first: 'Mr. King?' and I said 'no'; and he said 'Mr. Warner?' and I said 'yes", and he remembered him, and started crying.

"But even apart from that, the whole country itself was amazing.

"When you go volunteering, it's about helping, but it's also about learning about the country.

"You go to help, to learn, and to explore. So when you are there, with most of the projects, you work Monday to Friday, and there are always other volunteers, and so at the weekends, you can see some of the country."

The range of opportunities for volunteers is immense: it can be in teaching, caring, conservation and environmental work; culture and community, sports, medicine, healthcare or physiotherapy, journalism, business, law and human rights, veterinary medicine.

The countries to which the organisation arranges placements are Jamaica, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Morocco, Senegal, Togo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanznia, South Africa, Moldova, Romania, Mongolia, Nepal, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, India and Fiji.

While away, you can also attend one-on-one language classes.

To find out more, phone 0857138383, or write to Projects Abroad Ireland, PO Box 369, Eglinton St. PO, Galway, or check out projects-abroad.ie or on facebook, "Projects Abroad Ireland".

Alternatively, head to the Odeon on Dublin's Harcourt Street on Tuesday, April 13, to meet Jessica face to face and find out more about volunteering.