Ellie Fountain, aged 20 from Cardigan is making the long journey to Bali to volunteer with the Bali Healthcare Education Volunteer Program IVHQ.

She has just finished her Level 3 Extended Diploma in Music and Technology and has never done anything like this before.

Although she knew she wanted to volunteer, she researched many different programs before choosing this one which will be in July.

She explained: “I knew I wanted to volunteer in Bali and I knew I wanted to volunteer on a teaching program This one looked really interesting.

“I’ve never done anything like this it’s pretty scary but very exciting.”

Ellie first started looking into volunteering abroad after finishing an A-Level in World Development and an online course on HIV/AIDS.

These courses are what helped develop her interest and influence her decision on taking part in the program.

To prepare for this course she has had to gather resources and ideas about what to teach, to help her do this she has spoken to the program coordinators and past volunteers.

Ellie said: “I know that I’ll be working with another volunteer to teach primary school aged children at an afterschool club. We’ll meet with the doctor who runs this program to go over what topics need to be taught.

“The main issues with healthcare are the many daily routines we are familiar with such as washing our hands and brushing our teeth. These are not common practice for children there.

“The idea of the healthcare education program is to provide the children with an understanding of basic healthcare, hygiene and nutrition. A little information can go a long way. It’s information they can pass on to their friends and family.”

There will be a big contrast between here and Bali, according to Ellie.

Although these is modern Western health-care in Bali there is also a wide spread use of traditional Balians (medicine men/women).

Religion is an important part of Balinese life, so although the modern health care system is continuously being developed and improved in Bali, many people prefer to see a Balian and will only visit a hospital in an emergency.

IVHQ is an international volunteer organization working in over 30 countries, established in 2007 we have sent over 45,000 volunteers abroad and works with hundreds of different projects through Africa, Asia and Latin America.