The beginning

By introduction, my name is Kimberly. I am 25 years old, born in Spain and have a Scottish heritage. My husbands name is Steve (Hubski), we have two cats and live in Essex. I consider myself to be a little creative/artistic but am often lazy with it. I love to try new things whether it is food, challenges or travelling.  This is my first blog so please don't expect anything spectacular, I will try my best! Hopefully you'll learn more about me as I ramble through. 

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With only six days to go until I set off to Ethiopia for three months I thought I would start a blog, which I will hopefully be able to update while I am away. 

This entire adventure is down to the International Citizen Service (ICS) and Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) without either of these organisations I very much doubt I would be involved in anything like this. Getting involved has been easy and I have been very well supported along the way which makes it far easier to take the leap of faith needed to take on a project like this. 

On 23 January 2013 I will be leaving my husband, family and friends behind in the UK to embark on twelve weeks of voluntary work in Ethiopia, Awassa to be more specific. This trip will be life changing, emotional and a unique experience and I cannot wait to get there and get my hands dirty, so to speak. 

The specific details of our project are under wraps at the moment, so it really is a mystery what I'll actually be doing when I get there, but this most certainly adds to the excitement and anticipation. 

What I know so far is that I am in a group of 9 volunteers being based in  Awassa, there is also a team going to Addis Ababa. We will all have a "counterpart volunteer" to live with in the community and another for working with. We will also live with 'host family' which may vary from an elderly widow to a family with children. 

The support I have received so far from family friends and organisations has been remarkable, not just in terms of fundraising but also suggestions for things to pack, small things to take with me and general guidance on what to expect. 

I was set a fundraising target of £800 by VSO (this DOES NOT pay for my trip/expenses but goes direct to VSO to be used towards their projects. The ICS scheme run by the Department for International Development funds young people aged 18-25 to volunteer abroad. It is estimated that each volunteer sent costs around £7,000 from day one of application to the day the come back and complete their Returned Volunteer duties and for this reason a target is set so that each volunteer can show their commitment to the projects). I am proud to say that I have smashed through my target (I set my own of £1,000) and hope to continue receiving donations while I am away and upon my return. If you want to contribute please check out the donation links to the right of the blog. 

I have no idea how frequently I will be able to update you all while I am away, but I will most certainly try and I will be posting a fair bit before I go so you know my preparations and plans. 

Thanks all for now

Kx