Philip Weston

"Since returning from Raleigh, I have looked to make more of any opportunity that is handed to me, and to go out and actively try things I wouldn't have done so before."

Philip Weston had just finished school and he was preparing for a career with the RAF before joining the Malaysia 2006 expedition.

 In phase 1, I was sent to Kampung Rita, a secluded village near the coast, where we were tasked to start on the construction of a library, as well as interact with the local community. We managed to get as far as the foundations and floor of the library, in addition to creating a comfortable living space for our group and future groups to use. We also spent some time at the local school, challenged the locals to many games of football and chess, and also ate at their homes and took part in other village activities, including cultural dancing!

Phase 2 was the adventure challenge. We started off trekking though the Crocker Range, which took us about 6 days and took us through rivers and over very high hills. After we had completed that, we spent a week on Mamutik Island learning how to SCUBA dive and taking part in reef conservation, with us gaining a PADI qualification at the end of it all. Finally, we spent two days climbing Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South East Asia, which was a tough challenge, but definitely worth it when you reached the top!

I spent phase 3 in Danum Valley, a conservation area that contains some of the only natural rainforest to be found in Borneo. We were engaged in trail construction and maintenance. These trails would allow scientists from all over the world to access areas of Danum Valley much easier, thus attributing to their research. We also spent a lot of time talking to the scientists learning about the rainforest and the species of plants and animals that lived in it, and why it is important to protect them. We also had a lot of fun challenging the park rangers to games of football and volleyball, and going on trail walks and seeing other parts of the area.

Highlights would definitely be the week spent SCUBA diving, I really enjoyed myself, as well as the sense of achievement I got from reaching the top of Mt. Kinabalu. Other highlights were getting to interact with the people of Sabah and seeing how their way of life is run, especially in the more rural areas. Seeing some of the wildlife in Danum Valley was amazing, and watching the stars in Kampung Rita was fantastic. I even saw two shooting stars in one night. I really couldn't pinpoint one single greatest moment, the whole expedition was a once in a lifetime experience.

It was weird at first because I thought that everyone would stay within their little social groups and there would be certain people I would get along with and others I wouldn't. But it didn't work out like that. There were people I got along with better than others, but everyone just pulled together and I worked and played alongside people who I wouldn't have even considered doing so in my regular life. The Malaysian host country venturers were a cool bunch of people too and it was surprising to find that we were into a lot of the same things like certain types of music or certain types of television programmes. We had a lot more in common then I would have realised. It was also a lot of fun working along side the few Americans on the expedition too. Because we were all in the same situation, trying to achieve similar aims, we all got along really well and had a great time.

I have learnt that I'm pretty self conscious and although I often have good ideas, I don't often put them forward when working in a team. I have also learned that I have pretty high standards and that I should be more patient when working with others because not everyone works to those standards. However, I have also learnt that no matter what background you have come from, it is quite easy to find common ground and work together with good efficiency. I also learnt some basic Malay language and basic Malay etiquette which made the experience much more rewarding.

I am pursuing a career in the RAF and the experiences I had on Raleigh are definitely helping me to improve my chances of success in the interview stage and will help me again when it comes to leadership and team working, as well as operating under pressure in unknown environments.

 

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• Case Studies
• Aged 17-24 Venturer
  • Jaqueline Hemery
  • Alex Jaggard
  • Ayesha Khan
  • Felicia Royaards
  • Beth Rushby
  • Philip Weston
  • William Gidman
  • Charles Loudon
  • Lucie Cavoizy
  • Serena Brown
  • Laihann Mitchell
  • Barry
• Host Country Participants