I started my time with Engineers Without Borders as a volunteer on the Tenganan Water Supply Project in East Bali. I am now a staff member coordinating projects in South Asia (India, Nepal and Sri Lanka). I scope projects for EWB volunteers to get involved, support their deployments and build networks between Australia and our South Asian partners that support pro-poor projects and research.
I wanted my role as an engineer to be more people focused and to entail work that I cared about. I love my job now, absolutely love it! Particularly because of the people it attracts and the integrity of the organisation.
I worked for 5 years as an environmental engineer, in contaminated site remediation and water related disciplines before embarking on an 18 month volunteer placement that lead me to my current role.
Volunteer, it is the best place to start. Get your organisation/employer on board to support your time to work on community based projects - be it overseas or in Australia. It is good for their business and will inevitably lead to a better and more sustainable world.
