WHAT TO PACK – FRAN - UK OPERATIONS INTERN

What’s your best travel experience?

This would definitely be a trip taken to Swaziland during one summer holiday at university. As a group of students we spent our days on a building site helping in the construction of a neighbourhood care point (primarily kitchen and classrooms). One of the things I really enjoyed about this was having the chance to actually do some manual labour with such a visible result. By the end I was able to carry 50kg bags of cement, although lifting them was way beyond me and our efforts did pale in comparison to the muscular locals, this being delightfully documented by a local TV crew.

Alongside our days spent on site we also took time in the evenings to visit local children’s homes, housing orphans or kids who couldn’t live at home. We spent the time helping with homework or joining the boys in one of their favourite activities, singing along to a Westlife DVD. Despite their slightly questionable taste in music, these kids were some of the most amazing people I have ever met. Despite some of the horrific stories I heard about their pasts, they were incredibly friendly and welcoming, rarely without a smile on their faces, not to mention amazing singing voices.   

We took advantage of any spare time we had with trips in and out of Swaziland, visiting game reserves, the beautiful beaches of Mozambique and discovering the culture and occasionally interesting nightlife of Cape Town.

Not everything always went so smoothly, during an epic journey to South Africa in an attempt to see Die Hard 4 at the cinema (there were no cinemas in Swaziland) our pick-up truck managed to make its way off the road and down a pretty steep drop crashing windscreen first into a tree. Luckily some men heard the noise and came to the rescue and between us we were only left with one broken pelvis and a number of scratches and bruises. However, this did allow us to visit a number of hospitals in Swaziland as well as getting to ride in an ambulance and also reminded me of how excellent the NHS is. Turning up to hospital, dirty, muddy, wearing only one shoe and then being asked to locate money for treatment was not a particular highlight of that trip.

What did you take?

Whilst in Swaziland we stayed in accommodation connected to a school in a fairly built up town, so none of our mosquito nets, head torches and pen knives were needed. However, sun cream was an essential, even though it wasn’t that hot, being on site all day led to very brown arms, and letting them burn just one day led to several days of agony.    

What do you wish you had taken?

Amongst other things I would have liked to have taken and kept a diary or travel journal. A friend of mine kept a lovely record of the many ridiculous things that happened on our trip, alongside various mementos and it is now a great tool for reminiscing.

Which Frontier Project would you like to visit?

Something with children. The Nepal Teaching and Community Work Project looks good.

What would you take there?

I’d take origami paper, and perhaps more importantly the ability to make origami. I think children would really enjoy not only the novelty of little origami animals but also the ability to learn how to make them.

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