Some years stay with you longer than others. A year out volunteering internationally tends to be one of them. Here we explore just some of what’s waiting for you on the other side.
You Gain Independence
Most people assume the independence that comes from a gap year is simply about being far from home. And yes, that’s part of it. But the independence that stays with you tends to be something quieter and more specific than that.
It’s waking up in a city of 4.6 million people where you don’t speak the language, cooking your own meals, navigating your own days, and realising slowly that you are far more capable than you thought. Anya and Grace, who spent their placement teaching English in Jiujiang, China, found that the moments they managed to communicate in Chinese, however imperfectly, were ten times more rewarding than anything that came easily.
At Project Trust, Volunteers live and work in their communities for up to a full year, embedded in a way that takes time to build and time to feel, and that depth is where a lot of growth happens.
You Gain Adaptability
Every Volunteer comes home with a version of the same story. Something that seemed strange or frustrating at first can, with time, something you understand and even appreciate. Perhaps it’s a schedule that doesn’t quite run to plan, or a classroom that works completely differently to anything you have experienced before. That shift from friction to flexibility is one of the most valuable things a year abroad produces, and it’s something that’s very hard to find without genuine cultural immersion. You come home able adjust your expectations and find your footing in unfamiliar situations. Employers talk about adaptability as a skill, and our Volunteers come home having genuinely lived it.
You Gain Resilience and Cultural Fluency
Some of the best moments of a year abroad come directly out of the hardest ones. Language barriers can feel isolating at first, but become the thing that makes every small breakthrough feel enormous, and the work that felt overwhelming in week one becomes the thing you’re most proud of by the end.
Cultural fluency comes naturally when you’re living it. Martha and Evie, who spent their placement at a rural campus in Tamil Nadu, India, began learning Tamil, one of the most complex languages in the world, and had their names written in it by their own students. These experiences are not incidental to a year abroad but rather the texture of it, and this is something that will stay with you long after you’re home.
You Gain Relationships That Last
For many Project Trust Volunteers, colleagues became close friends, students progressing felt personal and the community stopped feeling foreign and started feeling like home. These relationships are a huge part of your international placement experience. The Project Trust Alumni network, thousands of Volunteers across decades, means the community you join doesn’t end when your placement does.
You see, a year our with Project Trust isn’t a gap in your life, but rather one of the fullest years you’ll ever have!
Learn more about Volunteering with us here.
