Why Volunteering And Timor-Leste?

I’m writing from Fremont, CA…
In an empty apartment (except for a leaking air mattress which needs pumping up every 2hrs 😂)…
car sold…
furniture in storage…

I’m leaving tomorrow to meet the other Timor-Leste Volunteers for “staging” in San Francisco. This post will be a little poignant and maybe not as “fun” as I plan my future posts to be… however, bear with me 😊, the funnies are on their way 👍.

Most people reading this will know me and my background (my LinkedIn), so I won’t spend too much time here on that. But it’s fair to say that I’ve had what I consider to be a “pretty good innings” with my mechanical engineering career focused on automotive and heavy vehicle design. It’s been fun, and I’ve been so lucky to work with and lead great people. I’ve been really damn lucky🙏.

I spent the last 2 years here in California at Lucid Motors, an electric vehicle company, leading an absolutely amazing team of chassis engineers (like family). It was great, and California was cool, but it was probably the toughest job of my life… a bit like a massively scary roller coaster that’s mad, exciting, and sexy to be on, but that is also stressful, tear jerking, and all-consuming (in the blink of an eye you have passed by things you should really have been stopping to look at). The challenging job was one “push” for me to apply to be a volunteer. The other “push” was a catalogue of other life events, involving myself and friends/family, which rapidly made me realize that life was finite and that, at 49, I should count my blessings for my good health and fitness and “do something more”. What the “more” was… I didn’t have a clue. I knew I wanted to “help” somewhere that was far-flung and challenging. I’d always “fought above my weight” in life and I wasn’t about to stop.

My closest friend told me about volunteering opportunities and the USA volunteering organization they told me about seemed to be just what I was looking for… a 27 month stint in a developing country where I could be of help and, in turn, be challenged to live life “as a local” and learn and communicate in a new language. I got my US Citizenship about 3 years ago and so, luckily, I was eligible to apply. I applied for a Community Economic Development post in Timor-Leste with a 2^nd choice of positions in Kosovo, Nepal or Armenia.

Timor-Leste had the start date I was looking for and intrigued me with its culture and history (see Wikipedia for Timor-Leste). If there was a place my “positive cheer” could make a difference… that would be the place 🤔. ”Economic Development” is not my background but training was provided and I had a whole bunch of life and mentoring skills and experience that had to be worth something, right!?

I made my application and I submitted 15 minutes before the EST midnight deadline on 1^st April 2024. I REALLY thought I had “no chance”. I was amazed to get an interview invitation a week or so later. Things snowballed pretty rapidly and on 21^st May 2024 I was invited to serve as a volunteer in Timor-Leste starting 1^st October 2024. I was gob-smacked, but up for the challenge!!! I accepted (…of course 😁).

This blog was also the idea of my closest friend and they encouraged (and nagged 😂) me to start. I want Jambo Does Life to be a fun reflection on my life over the next two years, and beyond, and a way of keeping in touch with friends, family, and anyone else who wants to join the bandwagon.

Please subscribe to Jambo Does Life and I will add your email to my blog distribution list to let you know when a new exciting post is available. No spam, as the email addresses come to me only.

Comments welcome. Please keep it clean, Johnathan and Paul (you know who you are!! 😂).