Volunteer Stories to Inspire
29 January 2008 at 3:10 pm
A new book documenting the stories of Australian volunteers working to change the lives of others around the globe is set to inspire our New Years resolutions in 2008.
According to Australian Volunteers International, CEO Dimity Fifer, A Place in the World: Stories from Australian Volunteers International, looks at AVI’s contribution over the past five decades to the global community through the eyes of volunteers.
Fifer says teaching Aussie Rules Football in South African townships; saving the world’s rarest tree kangaroo in Papua New Guinea; or waste management in the Pacific Islands are among the inspiring tales.
She says from Lebanon to Malawi, the stories and images do reflect on the effectiveness of working alongside others, however they also tell the tale of how the volunteer experience can change lives and one’s outlook on the world, forever.
She says the book is a tribute to the work of over 8000 Australians to more than 70 countries and also features forewords from The Hon Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG and Nobel Laureate and President of Timor-Leste, Jose Ramos Horta.
In his foreword Justice Kirby writes: "The mission of AVI challenged the inward-looking, often prejudiced, view that many Australians then had of themselves. In a sense, this book is not only the story of the emergence of AVI and its participants. It is the story of the evolution of a new spirit in a nation…"
A Place in the World: Stories from Australian Volunteers International is published by Melbourne Books and is available from all good bookstores in Australia and online at www.australianvolunteers.com for $43.95 (postage and handling not included).
