Kate Brothers

Kate Brothers joined the Malaysia 2006 expedition as a communications officer.
As communications officer, I'm responsible for internal and external communications on the programme here in Malaysia. For external communications, I handle the public relations by getting articles about our work placed in newspapers, magazines and on television and radio. I show journalists around our sites and brief local dignitaries, sponsors and other interested parties on our progress. I help with the various ceremonies and fundraising activities. As for internal communications, I write newsletters, updates, case studies and fun miscellany for our staff, participants, parents, sponsors, head office and other interested parties, to keep them briefed on our progress, to entertain them and to show our work in a positive light. I work closely with the programme photographer, to make sure we take a good range of pictures for fundraising exhibitions, the end-of-programme CD for participants.

My background in journalism is very useful. I know how to write stories and sell ideas to journalists, to present Raleigh in a professional and positive light and to sell the organisation and its aims to interested parties. Soft skills are perhaps less easy to define, but I've found that team work is particularly important in this environment, which in this case probably involves skills of diplomacy, integrity, supportiveness, trust, effective delegation, selflessness, patience and maintaining a cheerful approach to life. I'm trying to improve on all fronts ...

Each day is different, but a typical example might be as follows:

At field base in the suburbs of Kota Kinabalu, I wake up early and go for a walk or practice some yoga, followed by breakfast. At 9am we have a group meeting, to establish what everyone will be doing that day and to discuss various issues relating to the project groups and our roles. After that, I would probably answer e-mails relating to journalistic or sponsorship enquiries, make telephone calls, write press releases, download photos brought in from the project sites, arrange trips out to the project sites for journalists, coordinate fundraising ventures and internal competitions, conduct interviews with staff or participants, and the like.

If I'm on radio duty, I liaise with the project sites and pass messages to and from them. In addition, I might help the other staff, such as the administration team, or pop into town to collect the post, or take the washing to the laundry if logistics are really busy. Mostly, my job takes place at field base, but sometimes I go out in the evenings to meet local journalists.  

Realising that what we do here really does make a difference - both to the lives of the participants and to those of the local residents. The communications role can be fun, but it can also be fairly thankless, because it's more of a behind-the-scenes activity than the project manager role, in which staff members have continuous and direct contact with participants out on project sites. But without our support, the PMs couldn't function, and knowing that is rewarding. I've also had the chance to work on a community project for 2 weeks; I've climbed Mount Kinabalu; I've gained my Advanced Diver qualification, and I've visited nearly all the project sites. So, realising that I've probably had the best of all worlds is fantastic. We do have some really excellent times at field base and feeling part of such a close-knit team, working for such a good cause, has really done wonders for me. 

The Raleigh experience can be very intense at times, because there's nowhere to run and hide if something becomes tricky or challenging. The usual methods of support available to a person back home aren't available here, which means that rather than ignoring a troublesome issue and retreating to the comfort of your own home, or taking pains to avoid a certain person, you're forced to confront the problem and sort it out. It's a lesson in finding courage, as well as in strategic thinking and placing the interests of the group above your own.

The Raleigh experience has renewed my confidence in people and their motives. The kind of career I've chosen places me among colleagues that are highly ambitious and self-centred, in a professional environment that's profit-driven and motivated by very different concerns than is Raleigh. It's been really wonderful to see people doing this work because they care about the values Raleigh holds dear and because they're intensely concerned about the participants and the success of the project.

 

skip back skip to top

• Case Studies
• Aged 17-24 Venturer
• Host Country Participants