National Priorities with a Global Impact -

Recognising Australia’s International volunteer contribution


International Volunteer Day provides the nation with an opportunity to recognise the contribution of Australian volunteers and their impact on communities locally, nationally and internationally.
  Over 520 Australians embraced the opportunity to volunteer through the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) Program and Volunteering for International Development (VIDA) Programs throughout 2010 in over 20 countries within Asia, the Pacific and Africa.
  Funded by the Australian Government, AusAID, and managed by South Australian Company Austraining International, these skilled Australian volunteers are making an enormous impact on Australia’s commitment to reducing global poverty and making a long-term difference through assignments in areas including health, education, environment, IT and finance.


Continuing the passion for rehabilitation in South East Asia


Jodie Ellen is the Orangutan Keeper at Adelaide Zoo, a job which she attributes to the skills she developed over two VIDA volunteer assignments in Asia.   Jodie’s first assignment was as the Animal Care Coordinator for the Orangutan Foundation International in Indonesia.  In those two years she worked with orphaned and adult orang-utans whose habitat has been cleared for palm oil plantations, often working to rehabilitate orangutans who had suffered from malnutrition, neglect and disease.
Recognising the significant impact that her work had made, Jodie applied for a similar role with Free the Bears Fund in Cambodia. Supported by Australian Partner Zoos Victoria, Jodie trained local staff to care for animals rescued from poachers and wildlife traffickers. One of the major attractions of the VIDA and AYAD Programs is that volunteers use and strengthen their existing skills and qualifications by volunteering in their area of expertise.


A sustainable partnership, a more sustainable future in Tibet
 

A strong collaboration between the University of Adelaide, the Tibet Agricultural Research Institute and the AYAD Program is having a long-term positive impact on agricultural development in Tibet.
Agronomist Tim Heath discovered the challenges and successes of working in a network of valleys perched 3,500 to almost 4,000 metres above sea level in the Tibetan Himalayas.
For Tim, who grew up on a farming property west of Port Lincoln and studied agronomy at the University of Adelaide, volunteering as an AYAD is an opportunity to share his passion for agricultural development.
Helping Tibetan farmers develop better weed management techniques and increase crop productivity was one of the goals for Tim during his time in Tibet. “In recent times there has been a big focus on improving food production to meet the increasing demands of the rapidly growing world population,” says Tim. If we can produce more nutritional products it will allow us to provide more food from the same yield and we’ll be helping the environment as well.”
Tim’s contribution to sustainable food production and agricultural development in one of the world’s poorest regions is improving the livelihoods of local people and helping to protect the environment for future farming communities.
 
To view the printable pdf version of this media release please click here.

Sunday 5th December - Story featured in the Sunday Telegraph - click here.