Send Cara to be a Mental Health Volunteer in Sri Lanka!

Cara Guthrie Start Date: Aug 29, 2015 - End Date: Dec 6, 2015
  • TEFL/Teach Abroad
  • Leadership/Training Program
  • Volunteer Trip
  • Sri Lanka

My Travel Story

by: Cara Guthrie Start Date: Aug 29, 2015 - End Date: Dec 6, 2015
  • TEFL/Teach Abroad
  • Leadership/Training Program
  • Volunteer Trip
Volunteering in Sri Lanka:
I'll be joining SLV in Sri Lanka for 3 months from January to April on their Graduate Mental Health Placement! SLV is a voluntary organization which was started in 2010 by a psychology graduate from the UK. SLV runs projects to help the local community, while simultaneously helping students and graduates gain valuable experience in a totally different culture. I'll be loaning my skills to this organization, and am really looking forward to developing new skills and gaining insight into what I see myself doing as a career.

What exactly will I be doing?
I'll be working with individuals who suffer with mental illnesses. I'll be running activities for patients and using sensory, music, and creative therapies to engage with patients on a variety of wards in multiple institutions. I'll also be attending workshops run by Samutthana, the King's College London resource center for trauma, displacement, and mental health. Their main aim is to train and support organizations and individuals to respond to the psychosocial needs of trauma suffererers (i.e., tsunami survivors and those who have experienced civil-conflict in Sri Lanka).

In addition to these projects, I'll also be working with individuals with special needs, and teaching English to children and to young people on vocational courses. I'll be using my skills to work with those who may be marginalized in Sri Lankan society. I'll be living, along with other volunteers, with a Sri Lankan family.

Why is this important?
I'm so grateful to have found this opportunity for many reasons, a few being:

1) It's ethical, it's sustainable - it's not "voluntourism".
2) It's not about a fun trip for me, it's about serving the Sri Lankan community and figuring out where our passions/skills meet their needs. Please take a few minutes to watch some of the videos I've linked under "Online Information" to get just a glimpse of the need for the kinds of services SLV provides.
3) I couldn't have imagined a better-suited experience for me. I have really struggled over the past year, just as the co-founder of SLV did, to find a work experience that could build upon my existing skills, while also introducing me to new ones, sparking my interests, and helping me to figure out where I fit in the world. My next steps have been very elusive since I graduated, so I have to take this leap of faith and trust that this will be an invaluable contribution to my future.

This Campaign:
Those of you who know me well probably can imagine how uncomfortable this is for me - I am notorious for being horrible at accepting help! To help me (and you!) feel more at peace with these donations, I have some little incentives for my supporters:

- A donation is a donation, no matter how small! Everyone who supports my work in Sri Lanka will receive my eternal love and gratitude, and a HUGE thank you!
- For $10+ AND/OR for sharing this page with your friends/family: the password to my blog, where I will hopefully post (at least) weekly updates from Sri Lanka
- For $25+: the above, plus access to photos I take while I'm there (I can't take photos at the placements, but I'm hoping to encounter some gorgeous sights in my free time) - I'll put these either on Flickr, Shutterfly, or Dropbox
- For $50+: all of the above, plus a postcard with a little note from me while I'm in Sri Lanka (you'll just have to message me your mailing address)
- For $100+: all of the above, plus a personal photo OR video thank-you/shout-out from Sri Lanka
- For $250+: all of the above, plus lots of happy tears on my part, my undying devotion, and I will bring you back a small souvenir/trinket

THANK YOU in advance for your generosity and support (whether it's monetary or moral)!
  • Sri Lanka

Updates

15

  • PAYPAL FOR PROCRASTINATORS

    Can you believe I leave for Sri Lanka in just a few weeks?? As you can see, although my campaign has ended, I did fall short about $2,000 in my fundraising efforts. I have had several friends ask how they can donate now that the campaign is over. For anyone who is in that boat, I’ve just set up a little page on PayPal where I can receive more donations: http://www.paypal.me/SLVCara />
    The incentives I have outlined on my campaign page still stand – anyone who donates $10 or more will get access to my blog while I’m away, and anyone who donates $25 or more will get access to photos (check the page for the incentives for higher amounts)! Please do consider donating if you haven’t already – every $10 makes a big difference and I still very much need your support.

    Let me know if you have any questions! I want to make sure everyone is in the loop and has a fair chance to support me before I start this journey!

  • THIS IS IT

    THIS IS IT
    “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” 
    ― Michelangelo Buonarroti

    Well, folks, this is it! The end of my campaign has arrived. Yes, I have fallen alarmingly short of my goal. And yes, I am still going to Sri Lanka. How? Well, I have had to add another big ol' lump of debt to keep my student loans company. I'm not too keen on being a borrower, but I know that we have done everything possible to make this happen - and it just HAS to happen! I'm a huge proponent of letting my "yes" mean "yes". I've committed myself to this work, I'm excited about this work, and I'm ready for this work. Definitely worth a couple more thousand in debt, I think!

    On the brightest note though - I cannot thank all of you enough. Every last cent donated has already made a massive difference, and I guarantee you that this would not be happening AT ALL without you. You all are golden.

    Just a reminder that those of you who donated at least $25 will be getting access to alllll the photos I take while in Sri Lanka, and those who donated at least $10 or shared this page (aka ALL OF YOU!) will be getting access to my blog that I keep while I am in Sri Lanka (which will also include some of my photos - don't worry)! NO ONE ELSE is getting access to these things, so consider it your special treat as a token of my gratitude! I'm looking forward to dragging you all along on my adventures, and I hope you are too! Also, I will be messaging those of you who earned a postcard soon so I can get your mailing addresses.

    Hemingway said “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” Thank you all for this journey, and for showing me how caring all of you are. Thank you for joining me in this cause and acknowledging its importance with your sharing and donating. And thank you for your continued moral support for the long rest of the journey to come - it is much-needed!

    See you in Sri Lanka!

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