The man who wants the whole world to smile

Fired by a sense of injustice after visiting Kenya last year, an intrepid Maltese globetrotter has set up his own NGO, which will soon send volunteers to the east African country and beyond.

When I arrived I realised nothing was going on

Damien Attard, 31, had spent the previous six years juggling bar and language school jobs locally, with much of his earnings spent on satisfying his love of travel.

Last year he paid €500 (plus flight costs) to a British organisation which facilitated a three-week volunteer placement for him in a small Masai village about 40 km south-west of Nairobi. But he quickly became disillusioned.

“When I arrived I realised very quickly nothing was going on – there was no project and no plan for the volunteers,” he said.

Mr Attard became good friends with the local representative, and he discovered the village only received €90 of the €500 he had paid – and this was supposed to cover his accommodation and food for three weeks.

Volunteers were even buying school books and stationary for local children out of their own pockets.

Driven by a sense of anger, Mr Attard returned to Malta last September and began planning how to run a voluntary project in the same area that would be of more benefit to the local community. He came up with Right to Smile – a name inspired by a photo of three beaming Kenyan children who had made a huge impression on him.

Right to Smile is now a registered voluntary organisation with 10 volunteers already signed up to go to Kenya this year.

They will live with local families in a Masai village, where they will be able to help with a variety of tasks, from teaching children to helping with domestic chores and maintenance.

Right to Smile is also looking to send volunteers to work with children suffering from HIV in Cali, Colombia, and Mr Attard is currently there making arrangements for the project.

Volunteers pay a €75 registration fee to be a member of Right to Smile for a year. Crucially, the money they pay to volunteer in Kenya or Colombia – just €200 for two weeks, plus €50 for each additional week – is handed directly to the local co-ordinator, and volunteers can specify how the money left over after food and accommodation is spent for the benefit of the local community.

Members must arrange flights themselves, but they can pay for their flight tickets monthly thanks to an arrangement with a local travel agent, and they can also benefit from a 50 per cent discount on travel insurance and free immunisation. They also have weekends off to go travelling.

Mr Attard believes Right to Smile offers something different to other volunteer-travel organisations based in Malta because it is not linked to the Church, and volunteers can go abroad for just a few weeks if they wish.

“Volunteers will live with people who have nothing but are still happy. I hope they will return home with a new sense of what is important and a determination to improve the lives of others.”

Visit www.right2smile.org.