Way back when I applied to Welsh Government's International Learning Opportunities (ILO) Programme, part of their wider Wales for Africa Programme. It gives people working in the welsh public sector an opportunity to travel to Africa for an eight week placement to work on development projects using our own professional skills from back home.
I was aware of this programme several years ago as Environment Agency colleagues had undertaken similar placements (and haven't they been useful in prepping for mine - thanks Dani and Ffion!) so being pretty fond of travelling and learning about different cultures it was always in the back of my mind to look into it at some point.
However this wasn't just a case of I fancy two months off work. The Programme is designed as a leadership development opportunity as it takes people out of their comfort zones, challenging their resilience and creativity to adapt to new surroundings (and there's plenty of that going on at the moment!). There is also a significant commitment from my own organisation, Natural Resources Wales, as conditions of the Programme ask that they agree to release me and still continue paying my salary.
So with all of this in mind, I took a deep breath and started discussions with my line manager about whether this would be the right thing for my personal development and with his support - thanks Howard! - I submitted an application and prepped for the interview process.
The last few months have been a bit of negotiating around what I'll actually be doing while I'm here but December came and the flights were booked - ILO here I am!
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