An opportunity came up in Johannesburg and so I started searching for a volunteering position. When I got off the plane at OR Tambo to come and volunteer for the LRC, I had never visited South Africa or even another African country before.

LRC’s vision immediately appealed to me and from the day I arrived in the office in October 2009, I was learning a huge amount about South Africa’s past and its present from some of the country’s leading activists as well as having the opportunity to contribute to an organisation which is playing no small role in shaping its future.

Working in the Development Unit in LRC’s National Office I brought my experience of fundraising in the UK and was able to build on these skills in a completely different context.

With my wonderful colleagues at the LRC, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating poverty that overshadows the lives of so many in South Africa as well as the massive significance of LRC’s work which is so hard to convey to current and potential donors.

I valued this experience of volunteering at LRC so much that I decided to apply to stay for longer and am still working at the LRC now!

- By Polly Arscott (October 2009)