15516 RGS ONA Magazine 90_PRINT 30/01/2014 14:59 Page 6
Find a Passion Bigger Than Yourself By Phillida Strachan (03-05) The best piece of advice I remember receiving during my upper sixth year at RGS was from my History teacher Abigail Box (nee Heaton).
I started out from university as the first intern in a small, not-for-profit organisation based in Cambridge called The Humanitarian Centre. The Centre has developed rapidly since 2008, but during my time it primarily provided networking, education and capacity-building opportunities for small international development non-governmental was applying for university and debating whether to organisations (NGOs) based in and around Cambridge. I found myself becoming involved in a wide range of pursue History, which I loved, or a more tangible activities, from volunteer management to administering subject which I felt might give me more direct skills educational courses, from attending the Shelter Centre or a clear career path. Abigail encouraged me to pursue my passion, recognising that you work harder conference in Geneva to disaster relief and shelter management courses run by Engineers Without Borders. and with more enthusiasm when you love what you are This background gave me a strong foundation in the doing. With this advice in mind, I decided to study History landscape of humanitarian aid and, along with the and pursue my long-held passion to work in the field of experience I gained working in a domestic violence shelter in international development and humanitarian relief. As a result, the last eight years have taken me from Cambridge the Solomon Islands in 2007, enabled me to secure a place to the Solomon Islands, from Haiti to Zimbabwe, and from on World Vision’s international programmes graduate training scheme in 2009. South Sudan to the Syria Response.
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(Far right) Phillida Strachan visiting a child-friendly space set up by World Vision during the Haiti emergency response
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