Sally Hetherington - Why I made myself redundant
““I’ve become a smarter and more informed woman - I learnt that success only comes when we stop working from ‘I know best.””
Sally Hetherington is an Australian who is passionate about empowerment and sustainability in developing countries. She’s spent the past five years living in Cambodia, committed to developing projects so more Cambodians can break free from the cycle of poverty.
Sally’s journey started when she was 25 years old and took a 15-month career break to volunteer in Cambodia for a local school. Five years later, she’s made herself redundant from a dream job and is now heading home.
While her story is inspiring, it is her resilience and commitment to break through an age-old tradition of voluntourism that has ignited a transformation.
“After seeing foreigners come and go, I realised Cambodia craved more. As a developing country with a dark history, they needed locals to take charge and build sustainable communities,” Sally says.
“I saw hope in the Human and Hope Association, a night school operating at a pagoda, with local volunteers teaching English and Morality to village kids at a fee of 50 cents to $1 a month.
“Amongst the murky green walls, the Khmer volunteers had the passion, drive and ability to develop the school into an organisation, so I decided to get involved and became their Operations Manager.
“Over the next few years, with the support of local staff, we turned a grassroots organisation into an official, professional and trustworthy NGO that became registered as a charity in Australia.
“Not only did we set up a variety of programs that helped break the poverty cycle, but one of the most important changes was shifting the reliance on foreign volunteers to building up a skilled and stable team of paid local employees.
“It wasn’t easy, and there were many days I wanted to throw in the towel. I’m grateful I didn’t. I’ve become a smarter and more informed woman because of it. I learnt that success only comes when we stop working from ‘I know best’, and we start using local knowledge and working from a ‘let’s work together to solve issues’ mentality.”
While there’s been much debate over the impact of foreigners who come and go, Sally and the team at the Human and Hope Association are proof of just how far a team of locals can take an organisation, and Sally proudly acknowledges “with the engagement of locals, long-term change CAN be achieved’