A Visit from some of GVI’s most excitable Ex-Volunteers…

We very rarely get visitors to our little Island of Nanuya LaiLai, what with it being so remote dotted in the middle of the South Pacific, but last week we welcomed a visit from two of GVI’s most excitable ex-volunteers; Cheryl and Lisa. It was not a coincidence however that bought some of GVI’s biggest fans to our Fiji Tovuto Base, but part of an on-going adventure-seeking journey around the world.

Cheryl and Lisa first began their love of GVI over in South Africa on the Wildlife Expedition, where they were working across two different parks to collate scientific data on the species in the reserves, expressing their time on project as 'Thrills of a lifetime!'. That then inspired them to continue on with their volunteering path and in 2008 they headed over to Pez Maya, Mexico, where they took part in the Marine Diving Expedition. Here they collected vital data by diving on the Meso-America Barrier Reef system in collaboration with our local partners, the Sian Kian Biosphere Reserve. It was obvious to us how much they enjoyed their experience, and we fell in love with their boundless enthusiasm for volunteering. 

When asked why they choose GVI, we didn't have to look any further than their impressive website documenting every single step of their journey, including GVI; ' We chose the volunteer organization Global Vision International in part because of their commitment to providing quality training and safety to their expedition members. Another major factor in our choice of programs was that the data we were collecting would be used by public educational institutions to better sustain the local communities.' Read more about their GVI volunteering experiences here GVI Volunteering - willwork4travel 

It is very common for volunteering on one of the GVI programs to leave our volunteers feeling inspired and gain a taste for more unique travelling experiences, and so our volunteers on base were eager and thrilled to be learning about some of the other opportunities available with GVI. And that’s exactly what happened to Cheryl and Lisa, they got a taste of experiencing the world beyond the tourist trail and decided the document every single step of it, and they called their experience 'whatboundriestravel' and willwork4travel'. 

' When two over-forty adventurers decide to sell everything and travel around-the-world, it makes for an interesting story! So far, Lisa Chavis and Cheryl MacDonald have traveled to 4 continents, 30 countries and over 200 cities. Their goal is to write and volunteer around the world, sharing their stories and fun. Come along for a laugh to see the world! Remember, it’s never too late to Live Your Dream!'

We gave the ladies a taste of all 3 of our projects running from our Tovuto Base, where they filmed non-stop the efforts of our volunteers; from Education teaching at the School, to Construction building a new library for the kids, to Marine volunteers kitting up to head out on their next Survey Dive. They were also lucky enough to be present for a few extra special treats that we were celebrating that very day; the celebration of 5 birthdays! A lovo was built to cook the meat fresh from the ground, along with numerous salads and tasty treats, with the beautiful traditional dress for our birthday boys and girls; a mix of western style dancing from the volunteers mixed with our lovely local ladies, Terri and Lice, who bought everyone together in a more traditional style of dance, and some and of course lots of Kava to finish it off!

So when asked did they have a good time at Tovuto Base, we got big smiles in return; "We were very impressed with the work going on there - We had a great time and learned so much about the programs!"

If you're an ex-volunteer and want to continue your part of GVI, then get in touch with outreach@gviworld.com to find out how to become an Ambassador just like Cheryl and Lisa, you can earn points which will help get you to your next trip! And if you haven't been a GVI volunteer yet, don't worry, you can become an Ambassador Cadet and start working towards a GVI project all of your very own. 

We hope you enjoyed your visit to our little base ladies, and we hope you go onto more GVI projects to come, and that goes to all of you! 

Vina Du Riki 

SK (Base Manager)

A Visit from some of GVI’s most excitable Ex-Volunteers…