Australian volunteers AVIDly step up to share their expertise
15 February, 2013
Hon Mark Butler MP farewelled 160 Australian Volunteers for International Development in Canberra on Wednesday night. Photo: AusAID.
The Hon Mark Butler MP, Federal Member for Port Adelaide, farewelled more than 160 Australian volunteers in Canberra this week as part of the Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program.
The latest group of AVIDs are heading to 23 developing countries to help with health, education, water and sanitation on assignments ranging from a few months to three years.
Australian volunteers come from a diverse range of backgrounds and include men and women aged from 18 to 80.
This group of AVIDs includes skilled Australians such as health and education workers for Indonesia, business development professionals for papua New Guinea and Mongolia, a waste management expert for the Philippines, a pharmacist for Vanuatu and a medical specialist for Samoa.
Australian volunteers have diverse professional backgrounds ranging from volcanologists to veterinarians, training in medical clinics so that women can give birth safely, building stronger homes to withstand cyclones and helping children with disabilities to get to school.
His Excellency Mr Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, Indonesia’s Ambassador to Australia, joined in the farewell celebrations at Old Parliament House in Canberra, which included 13 AVIDs being deployed to Indonesia.
This year the Australian Government will support more than 1,500 volunteers in developing countries as part of the overseas aid program. Since the 1960s around 20,000 Australian volunteers have been supported in this way.
The volunteers program operates in around 36 countries in Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Second time AVID, Rowan Dickson, is looking forward to commencing his role as a flood risk reduction advisor in Lima, Peru, with the Agua Nacional Autoridad, or National Water Authority.
As part of his AVID role, Rowan will assist in updating the national flood prevention plan; strengthening flood-risk analysis; and help develop a flood procedure protocol.
Rowan will put his tertiary education and work experience in geographical analysis and community engagement to make a lasting contribution to the work of the Agua Nacional Autoridad.
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Last Reviewed: 15 February, 2013