Volunteer Profile - Adam Kaminski

Adam Kaminski has been volunteering in the Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA Lao office for the past 15 months. He has another 9 months left in his placement.

Adam modelling a wedding sash, created at the embroidery class in Luang Prabang

this is Adam's account of his experience
Before joining the Lao office I completed a Bachelor of Arts (International Studies) and was working at the Australian Council of Trade Unions, in their Member Connect department.

The first contact I had with Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA was when I joined a study tour of it's projects in Vietnam, Laos and on the Thai-Burma border, accompanied by my mother. The tour was led by Phillip Hazleton. This trip had a very profound effect on me.

Visiting these projects and seeing the work that people like Phillip and organisations like Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA did, really made me think about what I could do to help.
After the tour I returned to my studies at high school and decided I would love to be involved in overseas development in some way. This passion led me to choose a university course, which had a compulsory overseas internship as one of the pre-requisites for graduating. I knew this would give me a chance to get back overseas and experience what it would be like working on the ground in development.

When it came time to choose where I wanted to do my internship I immediately contacted the Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA office in Sydney to see whether I would be able to gain a placement somewhere. Luckily for me, the Vietnam office said they had some work I would be able to assist them with, and the next four months were some of the most enjoyable of my life.

The internship position in Vietnam led the Regional Manager, Sharan KC to asking whether I would be interested in spending a year in the Laos office as an Organisational Development Adviser, which I jumped at, as I was very happy to extend my time here.

The work is sometimes very challenging, and working in a developing country always throws up surprises. However, working with my Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA colleagues and getting a hands-on and on-the-ground experience about what "development" and "aid-work" actually mean is priceless. It has taught me so many lessons in patience, understanding, practicality and dealing with the unexpected. I have also been able to meet hundreds of wonderful people, both from Laos and Vietnam, as well as ex-pats who have dedicated their lives to helping others.

Volunteering with Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA has been one of the best decisions I have made, and I hope this is only the beginning of my relationship with overseas development and with APHEDA.

© Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA 2003.

Last Modified: Monday, 18-Jan-2010 09:22:51 EST
This page: http://apheda.org.au/projects/laos/news/1263614156_1392.html