PA/12/13 5 April 2013
AUSTRALIAN VOLUNTEERS TO WORK IN BHUTAN
The first group of Australian volunteers has arrived in Bhutan as part of the Australian Government’s Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program.
The three intensive care and recovery nurses will work in Bhutan’s national referral hospital in Thimpu alongside local nurses and doctors, sharing their skills and expertise in primary health care.
Australia’s Acting High Commissioner to India, Mr Bernard Philip, said “volunteering overseas is a wonderful opportunity for Australians to travel and experience other cultures, while making a positive contribution to communities in developing countries. It can be the experience of a lifetime and many volunteers make lasting friendships.”
Royal Civil Service Commission Chairperson, Lyonpo Thinley Gyamtsho, attended the AVID Country Office inauguration on 5 April with Australian and Bhutanese government officials.
“Australia and Bhutan are separated from each other by many thousands of miles and are also very different in terms of history, size, population and level of development. Yet, the two countries maintain the closest of relationships. The beginning of the AVID program in Bhutan will add yet another bridge to the many we already have between these two very friendly countries,” said Mr Gyamtsho.
The three nursing volunteers – Jess Nicole, Amelia Clare Livermore and Dallis Fellows – also attended the inauguration. They happily spoke about arriving in Bhutan and said they were looking forward to starting work.
The AVID program’s implementation in Bhutan follows an official agreement between the Australian and Bhutanese governments signed in May last year. The program will fund Australian volunteers to travel to Bhutan to work in the health, education, agriculture and forestry sectors.
Volunteering is an integral part of Australia’s aid program. This year, more than 1000 Australian volunteers will take up assignments in almost 40 countries as part of the Australian Government’s overseas aid program. They will join the 15,000 other volunteers of all ages and from all backgrounds who have volunteered in Australia’s overseas aid program since 1965.
For further information visit: http://www.ausaidvolunteers.gov.au/