Kristina, Peter Slowe, Ian Birbeck and Manon Oliver, our 20,000th volunteer!

By Ian Birbeck,

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was setting off nervously as a volunteer to teach in Moldova. I had just graduated and really wanted to go and work somewhere different. I saw an advert to go teaching in Moldova and before I knew it I was at the bus station in London meeting Peter Slowe the Director of Projects Abroad before travelling to Chisinau. I didn’t imagine that 16 years later I would have an office next to him and be the Recruitment Director for Projects Abroad. I was within the first twenty volunteers to join Projects Abroad.

A couple of weeks ago we had the 20,000th volunteer join us. Manon Oliver has joined one of our two week programmes in India this summer. She will be on the programme with her brother who is the 20,003rd volunteer. It is amazing to think that a football stadium’s worth of volunteers have been away on programmes with us since my time volunteering in 1992.

Kristina and Manon

At the end of last week Peter Slowe and myself met up with Manon. It was great to be able to meet up with her and her mother at ACS International School in Cobham. Also present was Kristina Johansson who helped persuade Manon to join us. Kristina was away on a two week programme with Projects Abroad in Ghana last summer.

I had given a talk alongside Kristina in the middle of March. Kristina had called me to ask if I would mind coming and giving a presentation alongside her. She didn’t tell me that there would be 300 students in the audience! I think it was Kristina’s enthusiasm that persuaded Manon and her brother to join Projects Abroad this summer.

It is a strange coincidence that Manon has chosen to join our India programme. This is the very destination where Peter took his own gap year. On his gap year he met up with Chinasammy Rajendran who is now the Director of our India programme.

Peter and Manon