These days, young people are more engaged and interested in the nitty-gritty of the world around them – and they’re looking for a different travel experience.

More and more travel-savvy, adventurous 18-24 year olds are turning to volunteering as access to what they want out of their travel experience – to really get to know the people and the place.

“It’s all about meeting locals,” says 22 year old Katia, who spent months in the backstreets of Brazil. “I was teaching English and working with Cena UM, an afro-dance NGO in the north of Brazil – it was incredible.” Katia spent many months travelling the world but, she says, “after a while they all started to look a bit the same – so when I came to Brazil, I knew I was ready for something different. Working as a volunteer in one of the most disadvantaged areas of the country was the most rewarding experience – I got a radically different perspective of the people and the culture.” A level of intimacy, Katia believes that’s not possible as a tourist behind the camera lens.

 “I got to just hang out and experience life through the eyes of your average Salvadorian. Sometimes I stayed with a local family; I’d go to the market with the mother, Francesca, and buy all these strange ingredients that I’d never seen before. And I learnt to cook a local dish or two, lots of beans and fish – yum!” Katia recalls how the family of 12 all slept in the two room house, washed out of a big bucket and often couldn’t afford dinner for the whole family. “Yeah, the poverty was pretty confronting but you just have to deal with it – you realise that you’re a lot stronger than you thought you were and you also wake up to a whole lot of issues that you never realised exist.”

The most rewarding part of the adventure were the amazing people Katia met. “My friends in Brazil will always have a special place in my heart. Despite my lack of Portuguese and their lack of English we still understood each other. I reckon the language barrier is over rated! My experience taught me that people can communicate and forge life-changing friendships without words.”

Now back in Melbourne Katia’s not willing to give up the opportunities that the volunteering experience adds to her life - hence her involvement with Ampersand.  As a youth-led orgainisation helping to make volunteering more accessible to young people, Katia explains that “Ampersand’s all about extolling the values of getting involved in a cause, whether it be conserving penguin habitats on Philip Island or tutoring Sudanese refugee children, because of all the amazing friends you meet and all the things you learn that they don’t teach you at uni!”