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Dylan Saulick is currently in his second year as an undergraduate studying Liberal Arts and Natural
Sciences. In the summer, he was one of 16 University of Birmingham students to visit the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean to work together to help solve social issues and create innovative solutions for local communities based there.
We caught up with Dylan to find out about his experience and find out how it has helped him as he begins his second year.
Dylan: It all started in Birmingham, I initially attended an enterprise programme called the St
Lucia Boot Camp which took part in the university building called The Exchange in Birmingham city centre. The Boot Camp was centred around Anse La Raye, a small fishing village on the
coast of St Lucia and the issues they face as a community.
Students were split into teams and assigned a theme to study and provide a long
term solution to help the village based on that theme. The ideas were then pitched to a panel who decided what teams would make it
through the heats and then onto the final to have the chance of winning a
funded trip to St Lucia. We were finalists and although we weren’t overall winners we had secured a place to St Lucia.
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The Boot Camp itself was intense but very enjoyable at the same time. Through the
duration of the Boot camp, a strong bond formed between our team and I’ll
cherish the memories made with them through the boot camp and also what followed in St Lucia
itself.
Being in St Lucia was a
completely different experience from studying the island and its culture
remotely. From the beautiful rolling hills and mountains of St Lucia to the
serene beaches and incredibly friendly locals, there was so much to take in.
Not to mention the food on the island; dishes such a bouillon, lambi, fried
jackfish and an array of tropical fruit blessed the taste buds.
Fishing with the fishermen was an eye opening experience. Approximately 20 of
us helped the fishermen secure a net from their boat to the shore, trapping the
fish within the given area. This needed to be done quickly and efficiently to
ensure a large catch. After hoisting the nets to the shore and exhausting a lot
of energy, we found out that we had only managed to catch three fish. I gained
a newfound respect for fishermen. The amount of time and effort they need to
put in to provide for themselves and their families is unbelievable.
volcano. We had a dip in the mud baths which were scorching at first, and then
became soothing to the skin. Due to the fertile volcanic land, Soufriere is
covered with beautiful plants and wildlife which were beautiful to observe.
A typical day consisted of
leaving our accommodation at 9am to get dropped of at Anse La Raye where the
day truly began. From the morning to the afternoon, we would do various different activities
such as interacting with the locals, helping a primary school run a summer
camp, fishing with the local fishermen and discussing issues with the local
council.
Participating in these activities were crucial to truly understand the culture
of Anse La Raye as well as prepare us for our pitch to the local council on a
definitive solution to help the local community. Being present in Anse La Raye
and further understanding the culture, we realised that the solutions that we
proposed during the boot camp were not achievable and so our ideas were
altered to a more realistic solution. Our team focused on improving the
transport links to Anse La Raye to get tourists and locals to see its unique
culture.
something together for dinner and play card games. My main takeaway is to be open to trying new things as you never know where they may take you.
The experience has
definitely gave me more confidence in travelling to countries where the culture
is entirely different. It made me realise that you just have to be open to
learning and the rest will sort itself out. I would love to do more placements in the Caribbean in the future
and it’s definitely become a year abroad destination.
Added by Bob Lee
