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Just so you know, I am of no particular importance in the grand scheme of things - I am
not a celebrity nor am I a celebrity wanna-be, I did not invent the cure for cancer, and I am
not in possession of a great fortune. I am just your ordinary, typical Aussie girl who is
embarking on a bit of a journey because I don't quite know where I belong right now - and
with the big three-oh bearing down on me this year, a break outside of the square is well
overdue. On the upside, turning 30 is quite a buzz for me because it means that I get to
leave the lessons, the mistakes, the heartaches, and the general misdirection of my twenties
behind and start afresh. In short, I get to become who I am.

With all the people I went to school with settled into their marriages, families and
mortgages, I feel a little disjointed because I've none of that. So far in my life, I've not even
wanted any of that (well, except once, but that's a whole other story..), though I'm certain
that the right person would change my view on it! However, I've never been a Bridget
Jones type - always longing to be in a relationship (or THE relationship) and centring my
whole life around it - so learning to live independently has been my joy and my challenge.
The upside to all this is that I'm free to follow whichever path I choose, without restriction,
compromise or the need for permission - so I guess that makes me happily single!

I've just left my stable job as an Office Manager after six and a half years (never made it to
the seven-year itch.. I had to scratch early!) to travel overseas and do some volunteer work
while I figure out what it is I'm supposed to be doing with my life. I figure that while I'm
being a little selfish and taking some time to contemplate my existence (!!) I may as well do
something useful. I love to travel and have always done volunteer work, so it makes the
most sense to combine the two and see where that takes me.

My starting point will be Cambodia - a country still trying to recover from the atrocities of
the Khmer Rouge - where I'll be helping out in an orphanage, and a school that was
founded by a couple of monks to cater to children whose families could not afford to give
them an education. My aim is to raise them some money for their projects, perhaps find
some ongoing support for their causes, and to participate in some hands-on volunteer
work, be it building new rooms, etc or just caring for, teaching or playing with the
children. If anyone would like to offer financial assistance to either of these causes, I will
post some details on the Favourites page as soon as I have them - this way you can donate
straight to the organisations instead of through me (as I am not registered as a charity, I
would likely get into trouble for soliciting funds if I collected donations myself).

So this is me, and this is my journey. This website is hopefully going to serve two purposes.
One, it will keep all my friends and family up-to-date on where I am and what I'm doing
without me having to write fifty million letters a month (lazy, I know!), and two, it will
hopefully inspire people to do a little of their own volunteer work - be it overseas in a less
fortunate country than your own, or assisting people in your local town, or donating funds
to your favourite charities. Every little bit helps, and I think that by spending a little of our
time assisting others, we regain that sense of community that is all but lost in today's society.
If we just show others that we care, I think that most of today's problems could be history.
This is my goal. I hope that you will join me in it.

With much love and best wishes,

Raye

Please do not take offense to this last addition - I find this very hard to do, but have been
told that I should give people the option to help.

Volunteering is completely unpaid work, and my travel to Cambodia, as well as all my
food and accommodation has all been paid for by myself. Other than this, I have a small
amount of funds that I have saved which will hopefully sustain me during my three months
or so in Cambodia. My ultimate aim is to continue volunteering for most of the year - and I
am hopeful that my Reiki practise will attract enough clients to make this happen. The only
other way to support myself is through kind donations.

For my friends and family, I would like you to use this facility in lieu of presents for my
birthday and Christmas. For anyone else who happens upon this site and, for one reason or
another, decides that my work is worth supporting, please use this facility to make a gift of
your choosing.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

Raye