Being awarded my Churchill Fellowship in 2023 prompted to restart my blog. I also decided to dig out some of the blogs I kept from past travel experiences which I felt would be better to share below than locked away in a hidden folder somewhere!
At the end of 2010 I found myself in Dhaka, Bangladesh volunteering with peer counsellors at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed, a spinal rehabilitation centre. After 4 months it was time to head back home. Thinking that the flight would be too boring I decided to take on the ambitious task of travelling home over land, using public transport.
It was a long 5 months. But using trains, buses and boats I travelled over 14’000 miles, passing through 19 countries and seeing some of the most incredible sights in Asia. Deciding that this could be more beneficial than some solo travel, I used my trip as a fundraising mission and raised over £5000 for the charity I was working with in Bangladesh which has enabled them to open up a new centre in Moulvibazar, Northern Bangladesh.
Backpacking South East Asia 2014
As 2014 was drawing to a close, I realised that I had a large amount of annual leave at work that I hadn’t taken. With the office closing over Christmas and some time off in lieu I figured that I had around 6 weeks to use.
I had received an invite from the CRP in Dhaka where I had previously volunteered to join them for a conference in early December and just like that an idea was born.
There was a gap in my calendar and a plane ticket to Bangladesh, so not wanting to waste an opportunity I started to look at how many other places I could get around locally.
So started my whistle-stop backpacking tour of 2014 covering 6 countries in 6 weeks.
Churchill Fellowship 2024
What an incredible adventure. I don’t just mean travelling to the other side of the world and jumping out of planes, but the whole experience from when I first had the idea to apply for a Churchill Fellowship all the way through to writing up the report when I returned.
I took an idea that I have been working on for the last few years in teaching wheelchair skills through my social enterprise and went to the opposite side of the world to connect with people, learning from their ideas and experiences. People are at the core of any good story and I was able to meet with some incredible people.