Hannah Crabtree reports on the latest exploits of overseas health worker, Dominic O'Neill

Dominic O'Neill has gone from controlling wild parties as an environmental health officer in London, to conserving wildlife in remote areas of Namibia with the youth development charity, Raleigh International. Always on the lookout for a new challenge, he has now become Raleigh's expedition leader in Mongolia.
Raleigh International is a charity that aims to develop young people aged 17-25 through challenging community and environmental work on projects and expeditions around the world. An average day for Dominic could mean tracking elephants along a riverbed, or co-ordinating a medical rescue on a remote mountaintop.

"I think my biggest achievement in Namibia has been the sanitation projects," he says. "We specialise in school sanitation and are now one of the country's most active non-governmental organisations. We are part of a long-term process. It is important to teach children about sanitation, so when they grow up they will be familiar with using toilets."
In Namibia, Raleigh works in some of the most remote regions, such as Kunene and Bushmanland. "We look at where there is a need and where we can be most effective. We are extremely mobile and can get to places other organisations cannot hope to reach."

Dominic says that one of the most rewarding projects he has worked on was the sight-restoring cataract clinic that Raleigh helped to run in conjunction with See International. "I got great satisfaction out of seeing 36 people get their sight back and knowing that if Raleigh had not been in the area they would not have had the chance. It gave them a new lease of life."

BALANCING NEEDS
Having spent three years in Namibia, Dominic is now moving on to become expedition leader in Mongolia. Going from the desert heat, to a country where temperatures can drop as low as -400C, Dominic will have to adapt to a lifestyle with few "home comforts". The daily diet consists of tempting items such as fermented yak's milk and mutton. "In some ways the problems I'll face will be similar to those in Namibia. A lot of my work will be trying to balance the needs of man with the environment, particularly in the industrialised areas," explains Dominic.

Raleigh is currently planning sanitation projects in both Mongolia and Namibia and is seeking to recruit EHOs to take part in expeditions as project managers. "By taking part in Raleigh you can make a valuable contribution and use your background and experience to add value to a project," explains Dominic.
He also believes that skills learned with Raleigh can be of great use in the UK. "For an EHO on expedition, life is very different from working in the UK. At home the job is about enforcing laws. Here you have to bring about a change in the mentality and attitudes of a community. If you are trying to prevent malaria for example, the community has to believe what you are saying and want to take action."

For more information on Raleigh International please call 020 7371 8585 or go to the website at: www.raleigh.org.uk