Naomi Baird

Naomi is 31 and comes from London.  She worked on both the Jakarta and Medan teams of the Indonesia Project and is now working as In-Country Coordinator for Indonesia.  Her previous jobs include being a tour leader in India, Nepal and China, and teaching English in Indonesia.

I was born and raised in West London and attended a girls school which I didn’t enjoy very much at the time.  Now I am rather grateful to that school, not only for giving me a good education and helping me miraculously secure three grade Bs at A-Level, but also for bringing me together with some very special people who continue to be my close friends to this day, some 13 years later!

Fortunately I have been blessed with supportive and liberal parents who didn’t try to discourage me when I wanted to go travelling through Asia by myself aged 18.  I think their trust in me and the decisions I made with my life has stood me in good stead for all the living abroad I have subsequently done.

While travelling through Asia I ended up spending 4 months (out of 6) in Indonesia.  I was particularly touched by the warmth and hospitality of the people and I have learnt a great deal about other ways of viewing the world and approaching life from the people I met and grew to know.  So much kindness was shown to me in this physically beautiful land that I believe I literally fell in love with Indonesia.

Indeed, these experiences informed my studies.  When I returned to the UK and studied Social Psychology and Cultural Studies at Sussex University near Brighton, I used my travel diaries to explore culture shock and cultural adaptation theory when writing my final dissertation.  It was during my time at Sussex that I was able to hone my interest in different cultures primarily from a psychological perspective, and I loved this opportunity to do so!

Brighton, being the fabulously funky seaside town that it is, was a great place to live!  So great in fact, that after I graduated I continued to live there for some years.  I loved the social scene there, especially the brilliant free outdoor party scene (this was ‘back in the day’!), and the wonderful spirit of community that exists there.  I became involved in community life, helping to organise various events including the Brighton Peace Awareness Day and events at the Brighton Fringe Festival.

During this time I was self employed and predominantly working with Dr Scilla Elworthy, founder of the Oxford Research Group (researching how and by whom nuclear weapons decisions are made) and winner of the Niwano Peace prize.  Scilla was and is one of the great role models of my life and a constant source of inspiration.

I then decided to follow my dream and take on the seemingly impossible - to live and work in Asia, particularly in Indonesia.  I really wanted to give back to the people that had given me so much, and knowing that everyone in Indonesia learns English in school and that speaking English is a skill that everyone there values, I chose to become a qualified TEFL teacher and returned to share my language.

My ideal was to be a volunteer as making money wasn’t my aim.  I thought I stood a pretty good chance of becoming a volunteer with VSO, as did my family and friends.  After successfully getting through the application process I was invited for the day long interview, which I thought went pretty well.  I was dumbstruck and totally disheartened when I received the rejection letter telling me that they thought I wasn’t in touch with the reality of living and working abroad and for that reason would not be offering me a position.  For several days I felt downtrodden and wondered if returning to Indonesia simply was not meant to be, but then I decided that yes, I would still return to Indonesia, it just wouldn’t be with VSO!

I applied to a language school in East Java and landed a job there.  After 9 months or so of having a brilliant time teaching youngsters, I had saved enough cash to return to the small village on the island of Lombok that I had visited several times during my travels all those years earlier and I undertake my own volunteer teaching work at the local schools.

I lived in a small bamboo hut for around 9 months, washing my clothes in the stream with the other local women and going down to the 2 local schools to assist the English teachers.  It was a remarkably rewarding time and I often felt blissed-out working in such a special part of the world and being able to give back directly to those villagers who had made such a lasting impression in my heart.  It was also a very challenging time, dealing with feelings of isolation at being the only foreigner living there.  This spurred on my creativity for finding ways of dealing with this and thankfully it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the time spent there.

During this time I did meet some foreigners, namely those travelling on Intrepid Travel tours.  I was amazed to discover that this travel company was actually bringing people to this remote little village situated 1000m up the volcano Mt Rinjani and though they only came through sporadically (as it was around the time East Timor became independent and the travel company was Australian – in ’99 there was quite a bit of anti-Australian sentiment in Indonesia) I still managed to get to know a few of the leaders.  It was one of these leaders who suggested I would love that job – playing a central role in people’s understanding and appreciation for another culture, and they encouraged me to apply.

The following year I had a successful interview with Intrepid Travel HQ in Melbourne and was asked to work in their newly opened region, India!  I was based in India some 4 years leading tours through India, Nepal and China before running my own private trip through Tibet to holy Mt Kailash.  I most definitely look back on this part of my life with fond memories and often feel pangs of longing to return to India…one day!

After developing my leadership skills and leading the whole range of tours, including the Premium Range and those affiliated with Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, I felt that I didn’t have much more to learn or work space in which to grow.  I began to yearn for new challenges and experiences in life and for a role I could play which I believed in.  It was then that my brother talked to me about the NGO he had been volunteering with in Colombia – Peace Brigades International.

The structure of the organisation sounded intriguing – non-hierarchical and based on consensus decision making.  I also agreed with the main principles of non-violence, non-partisanship and non-interference.  The fact that PBI works with civil society actors seeking justice or striving to enhance the quality of life for local people, who themselves are subject to threats and other acts of terror means that PBI has a role in creating a peaceful and just world – something that I personally would like to play a role in promoting.  When my brother told me that PBI has a project in Indonesia I knew that it was something for me - lots of space to learn and grow and be challenged and the chance to live and work in a country very dear to me!

That was over 2 years ago now.  My time with PBI has certainly been the learning experience that I was looking for and has been a great opportunity to work with a close knit team of committed individuals all striving for the same ideals.  The Indonesians and others that I have come to know and work with are amongst the most courageous and awe-inspiring souls I have ever met. 

I have already completed my first year volunteer contract with PBI and a year as the In-Country Coordinator.