An Amazing Asian Adventure!

Sarah Boudreaux Start Date: Mar 7, 2016 - End Date: Mar 6, 2017
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Professional Development
  • TEFL/Teach Abroad
  • Vietnam
  • Cambodia
  • Thailand
  • British Indian Ocean Territory
  • Sri Lanka

My Travel Story

by: Sarah Boudreaux Start Date: Mar 7, 2016 - End Date: Mar 6, 2017
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Professional Development
  • TEFL/Teach Abroad
Xin chào (Vietnamese), Chomreabsuor (Khmer) , S̄wạs̄dī (Thai), Namaste (Hindi), Āyubōvan (Sinhala) and Hello!!

In August 2017 after we graduate with a BSc in Psychology from Swansea University, we will be voyaging to the wonders of Asia on a flying machine to begin a once in a lifetime – life-changing backpacking adventure. We will begin in Vietnam, then Cambodia, through to Thailand, down to India and we’ll finally settle for a month-long educational Mental Health Psychology placement on the island of Sri Lanka – finishing on the 14th of October 2017.

We will be doing so through SLV, a voluntary organisation that originated in 2010. SLV runs this project to help the local communities whilst simultaneously helping students and graduates gain valuable skills, knowledge and experience in a different cultural setting, in order to help further their abilities for our future careers.

It is personally important to us as individuals to help others with mental health issues, especially those less fortunate living in countries lacking in the available aids usually provided in western countries.

  • We will be working with individuals suffering with mental health issues in Sri Lankan facilities.
  • Not only will we engage with the patients on a variety of wards in multiple institutions, but we will run activities for them using sensory, musical and creative therapies.
  • As well as this we will attend workshops run by Samutthana – the King’s College London resource centre for trauma, displacement and mental health. Samutthana trains and supports organisations and individuals to respond to the psychosocial needs of trauma sufferers i.e. tsunami survivors and those exposed to civil conflict.
  • In addition to these projects, I will be working with and teaching both individuals with special needs and children to speak English as they are often marginalised in Sri Lankan society.
One of the most amazing things about our placement will be living with our Sri Lankan families and fully experiencing the social and environmental factors of all five cultures along our travels.

As two young females, we propose to learn as much as we can about our destinations and accommodation before our adventure. We want to be able to be comfortable and safe, whilst having the necessary precautions and forward planning to ensure we come home safe and even better than we were before. As precautionary measure we will be learning first aid and also some forms of self-defence and survival – you can never be too prepared.

For those who donate – not ony will be be eternally grateful, but when we return, not only will we prepare you a meal from one of the places we have visited, we will host a fundraising house party at our residence, wearing an outfit of your choice. THANK YOU in advance for your generosity and support as we venture out into the wilderness, not only to find ourselves, but to help others in need.

THANK YOU SO MUCH,

Sarah Boudreaux and Hannah Galloway
  • Vietnam
  • Cambodia
  • Thailand
  • British Indian Ocean Territory
  • Sri Lanka

More Travel Information

Adventure Registry

  • First Aid Kit

    ￡ 30

  • Backpacks

    100

  • Walking shoes

    ￡ 150