Traveller Not Tourist:

Jay’s Journey by

Jay Chavez

Part 1: Catching the travel bug

Having been born in Peru, whilst my parents were on a teaching exchange there, I had always felt a pull in that direction. I always knew I would go back. Initially, I planned to go in 2003 but ended up going on an amazing expedition to Malaysia with an organisation called Trekforce (sadly no longer running expeditions but my expedition leader, Dom, now runs his own organisation - Fieldskills). I loved the feeling of sleeping under the trees in a hammock and spent as much time as I could with the local guides, relishing the experience of connecting with people from such a different culture. We built 5 bridges and a trail to improve access for scientists to an uninhabited area rich with undiscovered flora and fauna (and leeches!)

As soon as I got home, I knew I had caught the travel bug, and the volunteering bug! I immediately started planning my next trip – 6 months in South America. But I didn’t just want to be a tourist – experiencing other countries through rose coloured Westerner spectacles, enjoying creature comforts whilst the locals struggled to feed their families; I wanted to do something, get involved - bring this brave new world into focus and then step into it.

I did a bit of research on the internet, chose a couple of projects and then started planning, and fundraising! One of the projects I chose was Inti Wara Yassi, an organisation working with animals in Bolivia (which I notice has a presence on this site). The other I cannot now remember for reasons which will become apparent later in my story…

To raise money for the trip, I organised various events. Luckily, several of my friends were DJs so I ran a few Break-Beat nights in local venues and sold tickets to everyone I knew (and a few people I didn’t). I managed to get the venues for free and, as the DJs were friends of mine (and Djs just love to play their music), there was no outlay there either.

To cater for a rather different audience (mainly my father’s friends) I organised a ceilidh, with a live band and caller. For those of you who don’t know, a ceilidh is a barn dance where the dances are taught and directed as you go along. Again, I managed to get the venue, band and caller for free. I sold tickets and also held a raffle with prizes donated by local shops.

Somehow I managed to get people to give me money (in sponsorship) for one of the most exciting activities I have ever done – a skydive. Some centres will let you jump for free as long as you raise a minimum amount of sponsorship (I did mine with The Parachute Centre), which just makes it all even better! I can’t describe the rush of adrenaline when you jump out of the plane (or when the guy you are strapped to jumps out anyway!) And the sight of the world, spread out like a blanket so far below you really puts things into perspective. The freedom is amazing, ironic when you are securely strapped to a rather large man!

On a more mundane note, I also appealed for donations of unwanted items and did a few car boot sales, not as exciting as a skydive but quite pleasing in its own way. You really feel like you have earned your money when you get up at 5am!

All this, combined with birthday and Christmas money for a couple of years, and topped up by my own savings, added up to enough money for 6 months travelling and volunteering in South America, plus some money to donate to the projects I was planning to spend time at. In the end, I think the fundraising was definitely a growing and learning experience in itself. Of the things I learned, I think my top fundraising tips are:

(1) Take advantage of the people you know (friends, family, workmates, people with similar interests) – If you hang out with skateboarders, organise a skate-off; If you are in an orchestra, organise a concert; If you love playing video games, organise a tournament. It’s always better to put on events that your friends and family will be interested in than to rely on strangers.

(2) Minimise outlay wherever possible – If you need a venue, ask if you can get it for free or at least at a reduced rate; If you need prizes, ask local shops (in return you can give them some good publicity); If you want entertainment, ask friends or family members – you are bound to know someone who can do something entertaining. The golden rule is: If you don’t ask, you don’t get! It’s amazing what people will do for you when it’s for a good cause!

(3) Advertise well – If you are putting on an event, the more you advertise (and the earlier), the better. Try local newspapers, relevant websites, post to your facebook, twitter, myspace etc and put up posters or flyers EVERYWHERE. You can even make your own website easily and for free. Mine was hosted by esmartweb, just go to http://www.esmartweb.com/ to get started (although it might be worth shopping around as there are probably better ones out there now)! It’s all done using templates so you don’t have to be a computer wiz to use it. Also don’t underestimate the value of word of mouth as a marketing tool, and remind people often! It is a lot of hard work, but it really pays off!

Gallery

Next blog – Part 2: Walking with Pumas

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