Volunteering is more than just an act of service – it is a way of life for those who dedicate themselves to making a difference. For Marie Aekins, volunteering overseas through VSA has become her passion. In the past five years, she has completed four assignments in three different countries and recently travelled to Vanuatu to start her fifth volunteer assignment with VSA. Marie has immersed herself in diverse cultures, supporting communities in need and creating a lasting impact in many communities across the Pacific. However, her story of volunteering started a long time before her first VSA assignment.
Marie’s love for volunteering started in her early childhood growing up in both Fiji and Vanuatu, where she had her first contact with VSA volunteers. She recalls “the VSA [volunteers] were so cool... they came all this way to do this work and not be paid anything, and as an 11 year-old kid I thought, that is amazing. One day I want to do this.” VSA volunteers are skilled people who share their experience and knowledge directly with local people and communities. Witnessing the impact of the work of volunteers first hand, as well as the respect and admiration that the local community had for them, had planted the seed of volunteering for Marie as a child and she would pursue this dream of hers later in life. In 2019 after working in New Zealand for over 30 years, Marie decided it was time for a change.
“I saw an assignment on the [VSA] website that resounded with me,” Marie recalls. “It was working at a school, and it was a place I had never been before, but I just really wanted to get back to the Pacific Islands which was where I had had such an amazing, happy time as a child.” After applying, getting accepted, and going through the “intense and robust, but fantastic” briefing process and preparation, Marie was on her way to the Autonomous Region of Bougainville where she worked as a Finance and Administration Mentor at Buin Secondary School for the next 12 months. She remembers how adjusting to a new and isolated environment in Bougainville was one of the most challenging things of the assignment. However, the personal and professional growth was a highlight for her – evident in her return to volunteer some more! After the international borders had reopened following the COVID outbreak, Marie found herself on a plane to the Cook Islands where she worked as a Financial Systems Trainer in the Civil Society sector - “an absolute highlight of my VSA journey”, and then in 2023-2024, she volunteered in Tonga as a Financial and Administration Systems Trainer.
Marie with her colleagues during an Excel training, November 2024
For many VSA volunteers, the true essence of their experience goes far beyond the formal tasks of their assignment. Marie has discovered that the impact of volunteering often unfolds in the moments and actions outside the scope of official duties, where unexpected connections and lasting change happen. While her primary focus was training and mentoring colleagues in finance and administration, Marie’s contributions stretched well beyond that. She helped to raise funds to support Buin Secondary School, including organising the shipment of 50 donated dictionaries from New Zealand to Bougainville. She even found herself teaching a colleague in Tonga how to drive, gently encouraging her to take her driver’s license test. “She passed first time,” Marie laughed as she reminisced. “It was so cool. I’m so proud of her!” For Marie, staying engaged beyond the structured responsibilities of her role has brought a deep sense of fulfillment. “It’s a real highlight,” she says, “just to see and experience a completely different culture from the one you’re used to.” It’s in these moments – the small, seemingly insignificant acts – that volunteering becomes a life-changing journey, not just for the communities served, but the volunteers themselves.
Marie has recently embarked on her fifth volunteer assignment with VSA and, in a beautiful full-circle moment, she has returned to familiar shores in Vanuatu where she spent her childhood. Now as a volunteer on an official assignment, she is ready to give back to the community that helped to shape her. She looks forward to "getting stuck into the role." Looking back on her journey, Marie has one simple piece of advice for anyone considering volunteering: "Just do it – go in with an open mind and open heart – you will get so much out if it in return." For Marie, like many other volunteers, it's not just about the work – it's about the transformation that happens within, for both the volunteer and the community that they serve.