Kathy Quinn was part of our 2019 cohort. Her daughter Aoife’s trip to Zambia through Project Trust, a trip also supported by The Wood Foundation, inspired Kathy to sign up to GLP.
“I will always be proud of how Aoife stuck with her project when many would have given up and grew to love it and the country. I knew I could easily deprive myself of home comforts for a couple of weeks when my child lived in her community for those months.
“I had wanted to do something like this for a long time but knew I wouldn’t leave my children until they were older. Once Aoife went to Zambia, I knew they were old enough and then I heard about GLP. It was my time to apply.
“Education, we know, goes beyond the confines of the classroom, national curriculum, exam system. I would encourage any educationalist to take the opportunity, if and when you can, to get out in the world with your skills and see for yourself if they can be shared and expanded by contact with a different culture.
“I admit I was anxious – not about the living conditions but leaving my family . Imagine my delusion at thinking they really needed me – they did not! And I was even more surprised to learn that I scarcely missed them during my time away. That personal discovery has definitely stayed with me as my children leave me again for another year at university. They will be back, but life has moved on – mine as well as theirs. My GLP placement has certainly made this transition period in our lives much easier.”