I love to travel. I have ever since I was lucky enough to go to Germany when I was 16. Since then I’ve lived and worked in London, spent six months in Uganda and, most recently, spent an entire year living in Cambodia followed by nine weeks backpacking around South East Asia.

My six months in Uganda and my one year in Cambodia were amazing experiences, made all the more amazing because I wasn’t just a traveller. I was a volunteer.

There are many debates to the role travellers can play if they choose to volunteer. There are numerous articles highlighting the issues and implications of ‘volun-tourism.’ Some are all for the idea, others are much more cautious, and even more are dead against it.

I could write a thesis on this topic, but, for now, I’ll stick to my own experiences; and what very different volunteer experiences they have been.

In Uganda I paid a fee to an organisation to host me in country. Being 22 and never having been to a developing country, this seemed like the easiest place to start – having someone else organise the logistics for me. And to an extent, it was. Was it expensive? Yes. Was it more expensive than perhaps it would have been had I travelled independently? Yes. But it was easier. The benefits of paying to volunteer, for me, in this case, far outweighed the difficulties of organising six months independently.

My role in Uganda was not always the one I had dreamed of. Organisational frustrations on the ground made things challenging, not to mention the culture shock of being in a place so foreign. But the relationships I formed and the connections I made still live with me now. My host family took me under their wing and made me feel at home. The children I worked with, helping fix up their school and dormitory, installing a rainwater tank with other volunteers and generally just hanging out singing songs and kicking balls around, they are the ones that made my experience. Sure, I may not have contributed lasting change to the lives of these beautiful children, and this type of volunteering may not be the best, but the experience enriched my life, and I can only hope, that at least for six months, it enriched theirs too.

It was this experience that led me to study more. To learn how I could spend time overseas in a way that would actually contribute to communities in a long-term, sustainable way.

And that’s where the Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD) program comes in to it. This program is for skilled young Australians and is committed to achieving sustainable development through capacity building, skills exchange and institutional strengthening. Organisations in Asia, the Pacific and Africa submit roles to be filled by Aussie volunteers in areas they need additional support. Volunteers must apply for positions and go through a rigorous selection process before undertaking pre-departure and in-country briefings before their placement starts. Volunteers are supported with a living and accommodation allowance and flights and insurance are covered by the program.

I was lucky enough to get a spot through the AYAD program with an organisation in Siem Reap, Cambodia; This Life Cambodia. My work here used skills and experience I already had to contribute to the organisation, working with staff to write better reports and grant proposals and newsletter articles, among other things. My work involved creating processes and procedures with local staff that live on, even though I’m no longer around.

Once again, it was the people I met through this experience that made my year in Cambodia so incredible. The vibrant, passionate, young Cambodians who introduced me to local hang outs and food, who laughed with me (and possibly at me) as I failed to master the Khmer language, who sang karaoke with me and taught me how to dance like an Apsara (rather ungracefully I’m afraid).

If I had not volunteered I would never have met these incredible people. I would never have had these experiences. I would have passed through Siem Reap in three days, visiting Angkor Wat and experiencing the Western party side of town. Instead I got taken to eat banh chao (Cambodian savoury pancakes) at a restaurant near Angkor Wat, and I got to play sideshow games, watch kids on the Ferris Wheel  (I wasn’t quite game to have a go myself, OHS in Cambodia is not so great …) and eat 50cent bowls of noodles at 60 Road, a local haunt.

For me, volunteering is a great way to really experience a country. Sure, some volunteer placements are better than others. Some are more focused on making sure the volunteer has a great time, cuddling babies or building houses, doing work that locals could be doing, and others are more focused on professional development and change; working with locals. Some do more harm than good for local communities. Some cost a fortune, others are free if you can get to your country of choice, and some will even pay for you – if you have the right skills and background. There are a plethora of options for volunteering.

We live and we learn. My first volunteering experience made me realise there was a better way I could volunteer and travel. My second one proved that. Everyone has to start somewhere. My advice; do you research and give it a go – it will change the way you see the world.

Ally Wells is travelling an undetermined path; following life’s twists and turns to see where she might end up, trying to relax and enjoy its unpredictability.

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