The Ethiopia Team on their build during the New Year

If you enjoy foreign travel, experiencing new cultures, physical work or volunteering, then a trip with HFH is just the ticket. I spent 10 days in Debre Berhan, Ethiopia with HFH and the trip was much more than what I had hoped for. I had previously travelled independently but never before did I get a chance to experience local culture as much as I did during the trip.

I decided to go because I wanted something different from ‘the usual’ during the Christmas holidays. Even though the length of the stay suited me perfectly, I’d like to go for a longer stay next time.

It did involve physical work but there were also plenty of breaks during the working day and relaxation in the evenings. Besides, it was very gratifying to see the reults of the days’ labour and the emphasis was for each of us to work at our own pace.

Each day the team was given different work. During our time we helped to dig ditches, put up the slats for the walls, put up the lining of the walls and we also helped to lay the inside floors and foundations of the houses under construction.

As well as getting to know the other Irish volunteers, I got to mix on a daily basis with the very people we were there to help. Being part of a relatively small team was an advantage, I admit. Working side by side with people from Debre Berhan was a great experience and we all shared plenty of laughs. One of the things I learned is that a sense of humour can transcend any language barrier. Sure we even got the odd bit of work done!

Everything was organised for us before and during the trip, we only had to show up at Dublin airport. HFH even organised some great evening entertainment for us one night which made the trip worthwhile all on its’ own. The local support went far beyond our expectations and no request was any trouble to either the local support or the accompanying Irish HFH staff.

If you are interested in joining our New Years Build to Ethiopia this year, sign up now by clicking here.