1. How did you get started in the work/volunteer abroad industry?

I took a Gap Year between my second and third year at Newcastle University (January 1998) and I headed off to West Africa. Unfortunately, with a couple of hours of first arriving in Africa, I fell into a storm drain and broke my ankle. This meant I had to spend the first couple of months in a cast and on crutches so the hustle and bustle of Accra soon got to me and I decided to help teach in a village to get away from it all. Some volunteer friends passed through a village called Shia and told me of their desire for someone, anyone, to help establish their Secondary School. The opportunity seemed too good to miss! 8 months later as I was leaving the village they inaugurated the position of ‘Chief of Development’ as they saw me an elder of the village, taking a genuine interest in its development, and wanted to know if I wanted the job for life! It took my two seconds to breath before saying ‘go on then!’

The Chieftancy ceremony took 8 hours altogether, starting with a slow walk under a parasol with an escort of the 4 other village chiefs in full toga, to the durbar ground where 2000 villagers had gathered, along with my mum and two of my sisters. After several speeches I was given a stool I had to sit on, golden flip flops to wear, a crown, and my right arm was smeared in talcum powder to signify victory and honour. From there I had to make the oath of allegiance to Togbe Dadzawa III, the Paramount Chief of the area with the traditional sword. I was renamed Togbe (meaning chief / grandfather) Mottey (meaning Pioneering Pathfinder of the Forest) I (the first!)

The reason I took this Gap Year from Uni was that my grades were down and I was sure what I wanted to do after Uni – I needed time to breath! Living in Ghana in a village for 8 months made me appreciate everything I had in the UK and blew my cobwebs away! I saw how my degree was applicable in the ‘real world’ which meant I went back to Uni to finish my final year refreshed and excited! In addition it enabled me to set up Madventurer as a way to let others experience what I did in my own gap year.

2. What gets you excited about the industry?

Volunteering, my ‘specialist subject’, is great way to take time out to find out where you are heading in life and to put something back in places that genuinely need the assistance. Volunteering at home is an amazing way of giving something back to your local community, but helping a community that you have no previous ties with is the height of altruism.

3. If you had your own gap year, what would you do?

In Madventurer it is equally important to find time to relax, refresh and regroup your ideas, which I try to do every year by giving myself a challenge, which can last from 2 weeks to 2 months. In 2003 I drove a Land Rover from the UK to Ghana, narrowly missing a minor coup attempt in Mauritania by a day, going through a minefield using GPS instead of guides, and driving solo from Mali to Ghana, without any lights and windows (including windscreen) after the Land Rover rolled several times down a bank near to Timbuktu. The driver was flown back to the UK and as I stood looking at ‘the beast’, which had all the body work hammered out so the wheels could move, I knew I had a challenge on my hands. I drove the remaining part of the expedition at 20mph which I found exhilarating. I had to wing my way past 30 odd police and customs check points, including 2 border crossings, with some x-rays I got taken in Ouagadougou saying that I was in a hurry to get to Accra for an operation. The dozen plasters on my head and arms also meant that a lot of red tape could be cut through so I could get the Land Rover to Accra to a place I knew could replace the body of it and to get it ready for mad crew to take over. So as well as having the best adventure I have had to date it also meant that I successfully and single-handedly tested out the Madventurer’s Crisis Management Procedures! That Sahara trip was in 2003, and in 2004 I tried to learn how to skydive which left me with a broken vertebrae, that thankfully led to a full recovery. I would still like to do something along the lines of a Polar walk.

4. What’s your absolute ‘must-visit’ destination?

Ghana was fantastic and still is my favourite place on Earth! Ghana is probably one of the best countries to take a Gap Year in because it offers so much in terms of adventure, volunteering opportunities, work experience, culture, scenery, safety, and the people are just amazing! As well as Ghana, young people can easily go backpacking around Ivory Coast, Togo and Benin for 2 months. There is just so much to see from mind-blowing waterfalls to herds of elephants!

5. Favourite thing about WYSE Work Abroad?

I see huge benefits for all members to establish and grow successful high quality and sustainable trade relationships. Madventurer has certainly benefitted from being able to grow its web of agents, operating partners and contacts outside the UK – and we still need more and WYSE Work Abroad is the place for us to do it!

The members of WYSE Work Abroad have a chance to meet twice a year – the next one is at the WETM (Work Experience Travel Market) Conference in Budapest in March 2012. Later in the year is WYSTC which will be in San Diego. In addition, there is the new WYSE Volunteer & Travel platform which will generate even more trade relationships within the Confederation. It is also of great benefit to be able to speak to other sectors at conference and scope out new markets. All conferences are a good opportunity for members to socialise and reaffirm some partnerships outside of ‘the office’.