Elizabeth Knowles
I have worked for Informa for 4 years in the editorial team of the Expert Opinion series of journals.
I applied for the Thailand Childcare Project as I have spent time as a tourist in Thailand and thoroughly enjoyed experiencing a completely new culture. Having visited as a tourist and had the pleasure of seeing what Thailand has to offer I would now like to pay something back. The chance to work with children and be part of the community drew me to this project in particular. I have volunteered in primary schools in the UK to help young children with their reading and found this to be immensely rewarding as I am sure the Thailand trip will be.
I believe that the project would be a huge learning experience. The chance to work in the local community will show me how different cultures work and give me an insight into their lives that I would not be able to gain as a tourist. The trip will enable me to see how the community works together to care for all the local children. It will also be a great opportunity to work with other Informa employees who perhaps I would not otherwise have known. In this situation I will be able to find out the strengths of my colleagues and learn from them, and more importantly what my own strengths and weaknesses are.
End Goal
My end goal is to have built strong relationships with the colleagues I will be travelling to Thailand with and have learnt how to deal with completely new situations that I would not encounter in day-to-day life in the UK. I believe that the trip will give me more confidence in meeting new people and improve my communication skills.
What can I do to achieve this goal?
To achieve this goal I will approach each day with a very open mind and participate in all activities (whether that be playing games with the children or helping to refurbish the school).