Te Tūao Tāwāhi (Volunteer Service Abroad, VSA) is gearing back up to send recent grads to work overseas. The whole “international travel” aspect was complicated by Covid, but a new “e-volunteering” strategy is now an option alongside the traditional approach.
Sam Mehrtens spoke with Critic Te Arohi about his experience with VSA, and his plans for the future. VSA gave Sam a stipend, funded his living costs, and sent him to a community that could make use of his academic background. Sam found himself en route to Papua New Guinea in 2015. “Initially, I was like ‘Oh my God I'm gonna die of the heat’, but it was honestly one of the best experiences of my life,” said Sam. He says that the 10-month length of VSA’s trips organised are “the perfect amount of time to turn up, form relationships [with the locals], to find out what's going on in their lives and how you can help them.” The end result of those trips, according to Sam? “Real-world experience and a wicked tan”.
Sam spent his time in PNG working with a local teacher’s college. “I realised that the lecturers at the teacher’s college were starting to do academic research, so I emailed my field research lecturer [from Aotearoa] and he was able to help me with resources that I could share with them. So I felt like I was really helping to build their skills and knowledge on how to do academic research.” He made some lifelong friends, even managing to have a baby named after him. “I still get tagged in their family photos on Facebook from time to time,” he said.
Sam said that he was excited about VSA resuming their traditional, in-person approach to volunteering after it was interrupted by the pandemic. During the hiatus, VSA adopted an e-volunteering model, which, like many other creative solutions fuelled by the pandemic, will be sticking around. But Sam reckoned that the best part of the organisation was the opportunities for hands-on experience, which are now available to a wider range of students. “Initially it was specific to development studies or geography students, but now it's a lot broader,” open to “anyone who’s got an interest in working in developing communities or comes from a background that there's a need for.”
Lots of students feel stuck after graduating, but Sam said that his choice to sign up for VSA meant that he knew what to expect after receiving his degree. “It’s nice to be part of that, to be able to go straight into something after your degree and have that opportunity to get some real personal growth and real world experience.” He stressed the value of the programme for recent graduates keen on making the world a better place: “If you're interested in giving to the world, you'll get a huge amount back.” And who knows, you might get a baby named after you too.