Youth Ambassadors Blogs

Our five Youth Ambassadors have travelled to Nepal to meet the people where poverty is a constant struggle.

They're now charged with the awesome responsibility of coming back home to talk to the media, their schools, their community, their church about their experience and what they learned.

Follow them through the year via their blogs here!

  • Jessamy : Stupid Poverty

    2010 Youth Ambassador Jessamy

    "This is a real moment in time where it is possible, if we want to, to be the first generation that says no to extreme poverty. And by extreme poverty we mean stupid poverty; kids dying of lack of food in their belly in the 21st century" - Bono from U2.

    Bono is right - we have the knowledge and responsibility to say no to ...

  • Hamish : Actors on the Stage

    2010 World Vision Youth Ambassador: Hamish McKenzie in NepalAnd with that, we’re done. My year as Youth Ambassador is over. I’m getting chills as I write this now, thinking about everything I’ve experienced, every conversation I’ve had, every story I’ve heard. And I can’t believe it’s over.

    When I first signed up to be Youth Ambassador, they asked me if I was willing to go to schools and speak, if I was willing ...

  • Jasmine : The Dreaded Question

    2010 World Vision Youth Ambassador: Jasmine Mikschi in NepalThis time last year I had a lot of decisions to make. I was deciding what to do once I finished school. Should I have a gap year? Should I go to University? What should I study?

    But the big question that plagued my mind was...
    What should I do with my life?

    This is the dreaded question for all teenagers. So often our adults ...

  • Georgia : Don’t forget Nepal

    2010 Youth Ambassador, Georgia GermeinFamine is over. World Vision staff are frantically trying to get everyone to bank their funds raised. Potential future Youth Ambassadors are currently sending in their applications forms for the 2011 position. The SA Office is preparing the selection process that will take place in a matter of weeks. What does this mean? 

    It means that my role as the 2010 Youth Ambassador is coming ...

  • Tom : Life After the Famine

    2010 World Vision Youth Ambassador: Tom Kiat in Nepal"Don't stop till its oooo-veeeer!" I really liked that line in the famine promo video, its from "Sweet Disposition" by the Temper Trap. But what does it mean for us now that the famine is ooo-veeeer? Is it tme to stop?

    Well doesn't take too much reflection to realise that despite the amazing achievement of this year's famine, we are far from over. In ...

  • 2010 World Vision Youth Ambassador: Georgia Germein in NepalOver the famine weekend, it was eye opening for me to see the amount of you who truly got behind the whole idea of ‘giving up’. Whether it be giving up the use of both your arms while not talking, or giving up your bed to sleep under a bridge in a cardboard box for the night, or giving up your identity. 
      

    I was ...

  • Tom : Learning by Feel

    2010 World Vision Youth Ambassador: Tom Kiat in NepalI don't think I know very much about experiencing hardship. Any hardship - including the many associated with poverty - has to be experienced to be fully known. 

    In the same way that watching James Bond movies helps us understand what its like to be a secret agent, doing the 40 hour famine helps us understand what its like to live in poverty. 
    It doesn't. ...
  • Jasmine : Famine Fever!!!

    2010 World Vision Youth Ambassador: Jasmine MikschiOver the weekend approximately 300,000 young people across Australia were filled with Famine Fever!!! Here in Queensland, our temperatures were high, our hearts were racing, and we were showing symptoms of passion, excitement and enthusiasm!

    All our symptoms combined to create one successful famine weekend!
    Congratulations Queensland! You were amazing!!

     

    Together we highlighted that youth are capable of making a difference in the world!...

  • Hamish : The Famine…over? Wha!?!?

    2010 World Vision Youth Ambassador: Hamish McKenzie in NepalWell it’s true!

    And unlike the election - which seems to have been a huge anti-climax- the famine took OFF last weekend. It was sort of like Christmas, there’s so much build-up that when it finally happens it seems it’s over all too soon.

    Well, let’s recap Famine Week as it happened in Victoria:

    So the build-up was super intense. I managed to get around ...

  • Jessamy - My 168 Hour Famine

    2010 Youth Ambassador JessamyThis year I have done the 40 Hour Famine a little differently, and longer. I extended it for 5 days, for a total of 168 hours, and had a go of going without several different things. Why? I wanted to experience hunger and deprivation longer than 40 hours.

    Sunday 15th: The BBQ
    On Sunday night I invited my friends and family over to share a ...
  • Video Blog of 2010 Youth Ambassador for Vic, Hamish McKenzieThe day I met Bepona (whose name translates to 'Reality'). A harrowing day. May it never fade from my memory, nor from your imaginations. Because it will never fade from hers.

    Each of the Youth Ambassadors were deeply affected by Bepona's story, which tended to pop up throughout the blogs they've posted here this year.

    This is Hamish's fourth and final Video Blog (VLog) ...

  • Jasmine : VLog #3 - The Hard Life

    Video Blog of 2010 Youth Ambassador for QLD, Jasmine Mikschi

    Jasmine's third and final Video Log (VLog) from her time in Nepal at the start of 2010 on the World Vision Study Tour.

    The hard life in rural Nepal is very different to the 'hard life' we experience (or think we experience) here in Australia. The choices people have to make and the consequences of those choices are very confronting.

    Jas talks about some of ...

  • Jessamy : VLog #3 - Meeting Jumla

    Video Blog of 2010 Youth Ambassador for WA, Jessamy TaylorJessamy's third and final Video Log (VLog) from her time in Nepal at the start of 2010 on the World Vision Study Tour.

    In this video, Jessamy had recently met a 17 year old girl named Jumla, who had recently been freed from a life as a domestic worker. For eleven years, Jumla had done a wide range of hard work that is unimaginable to us as ...

  • Georgia : VLog #3 - Walking to India

    Video Blog of 2010 Youth Ambassador for SA, Georgia Germein

    Staying just two kilometres from the Indian border allowed the Youth Ambassadors the novel opportunity to 'walk to India' in the morning - how many of us can say we've done that?

    On the way though, Georgia was approached by a beggar and challenged in the knowledge that she had plenty of food and money in her backpack that could change these children's lives - ...

  • Tom : VLog #3 - Remembering Reality

    Video Blog of 2010 Youth Ambassador for NSW, Tom Kiat

    This video is all about Reality. Sometimes when you're just doing your own thing, you come across someone or something that just shocks you. Its so foreign and different that it takes a while to sink in that its real.

    That's what meeting Bepona (which means 'Reality' when translated) was like. We were just walking down the valley, we came across this wooden house ...

  • Video Blog of 2010 Youth Ambassador for Vic, Hamish McKenzieSeeing kids hiking up mountains desperately looking for food, seeing women crippled beneath the weight of heavy loads, and seeing fathers crying as they contemplate the future of their families when their failing crops run out - this is the kind of adversity I saw that day.

    This is the kind of life that I saw that day. This is the reality which we don't ...

  • Georgia : VLog #2 : Youthful looks

    Video Blog of 2010 Youth Ambassador for SA, Georgia GermeinGeorgia's second Video Log (VLog) from her time in Nepal at the start of 2010 on the World Vision Study Tour.

    Meeting people who look almost twice their age is confronting, yet getting behind their stories and understanding the full picture of their circumstances is really powerful too.

    Again, Georgia and the Youth Ambassadors were made aware of the challenges facing the Nepali people in ...

  • Video Blog of 2010 Youth Ambassador for Vic, Hamish McKenzie The kids in Nepal are ready. Are you ready Australia?

    This is Hamish's second Video Log (VLog) from his time in Nepal at the start of 2010 on the World Vision Study Tour. He travelled with four other YA's to see, touch and smell what life is like for people living in poverty in Nepal.

     If you are ready to respond, post a comment in ...

  • Video Blog of 2010 Youth Ambassador for QLD, Jasmine MikschiJasmine's second Video Log (VLog) from her time in Nepal at the start of 2010 on the World Vision Study Tour.

    As the Study Tour headed rural away from Kathmandu, life is very different: It's slower, quieter and there is a sense of hopelessness in the area they visit.

    "This was a confronting experience and made me realise that the issue of poverty is much bigger ...

  • Video Blog of 2010 Youth Ambassador for WA, Jessamy Taylor

    Jessamy's second Video Blog (VLog) from her time in Nepal at the start of 2010.

    Whilst travelling from Kathmandu to the airport in the early stages of their trip, Jessamy and the Youth Ambassadors are confronted by a small boy begging and asking for food.

    It's far and away from their experiences in Australia, but the challenges and decisions are still similar.

    What do you do ...

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Other Youth Ambassadors


2010 World Vision Youth Ambassador: Jessamy Taylor
Western Australia
2010 World Vision Youth Ambassador: Tom Kiat
New South Wales
2010 World Vision Youth Ambassador: Georgia Germein
South Australia

Learn more about Youth Ambassadors

Are you:

  • aged between 15-20,
  • passionate about changing the world, AND
  • confident you can raise more than $200 through participating in the 40 Hour Famine in 2010?

Yes? Well, you just might qualify to apply to be a World Vision Youth Ambassador in 2011. Find out more here...

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© 2012 World Vision Australia. World Vision Australia ABN 28 004 778 081 is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.

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