Joey jumps to it for Nepal

A NEWBOLD House resident hopes to part-fund his volunteer trip to Nepal by walking from Forres to Findhorn and back ... on stilts.

Joey Greenwood (23) got the “jumping stilts” from his mum for Christmas last year and is looking for sponsorship to walk ten miles on the precarious contraptions.

He has already paid the deposit for the trip after a lucky find at his mum’s house, by his three-year-old niece Freia.

“I told my mum about going abroad and she was happy for me but worried as all mothers do,” said Joey. “The day after, she was babysitting my niece who found an old necklace that mum thought she’d lost. She took it to the jewellers, sold it for £310 and donated it straight to my trip.”

Originally from Burton-On-Trent, Joey came to Scotland, to work in the voluntary community at Newbold House. He had previously become a volunteer, after growing disillusioned with the education system and generally frustrated with the rat race.

“I realised that education wasn’t for me in my second year at Derby University,” he said. “I then did some boring jobs at Warehouse and Subway before I started volunteering and discovered how much I enjoyed it.”

Joey volunteered for two years in Newstead, helping to transform the site of former pit tips into a thriving Country Village Park. He received accredited construction training while he helped build a sustainable eco-build visitor, heritage and education centre and converted ponds on the site in to angling lakes.

Joey also picked up organisational skills while helping out with the now-annual non-corporate ‘Headstock’ music festival.

It was during his time at Newstead Country Village Park that he realised he would like to learn more about sustainable living, community and how to live outside the larger system.

“After a while I wanted to get more involved in a community and a friend told me about Newbold House,” he said. “I jumped on a train north - I didn’t know what to expect but I just wanted to educate myself more on the community and the Findhorn Foundation.”

While at Newbold House he learned about helping communities abroad and followed the progress of a volunteer, Mary, who had gone on a spiritual treck following the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain. Mary had raised money for the trip through fundraising.

“Before I arrived at Newbold House I hadn’t realised that I could go far away to contribute to overseas projects,” said Joey. “I did some research through the internet and talked it through with her when she returned. Mary was my inspiration.”

Joey joined the Bunac charity, which specialises in working adventures worldwide, and chose to volunteer in Nepal for 12 weeks in June next year. He will be helping to construct and repair schools for underprivileged children using traditional tools and building methods.

“I am most looking forward to living with a Nepalese family for the duration of my charity work,” he said. “I want to emerse myself in the culture of Nepal and I would like to travel to Tibet and other places in south Asia if it is possible afterwards.”

Joey plans to raise the total of £2,500 he requires through proceeds from a film that he is showing at Newbold House about a small tribal community in Nepal called ‘Himalaya’, and from a comedy and music event he is organising in his home town.

He will also be “powerwalking” on his elastic-like spring-loaded stilts from Newbold House to the Findhorn Foundation on Saturday December 8. He aims to complete the walk in under two hours.

“Some people can’t balance on them but I took to it straight away,” said Joey. “They have big springs and are a bit like prosthetic limbs. I can take longer strides with them on and jump higher but it is more difficult to put one foot in front of the other so I have to concentrate hard. The strangest thing is when you take them off and you don’t feel as tall or bouncy as you were.”

Joey has a donations page at http://www.everydayhero.co.uk/joeygreenwood and you can check his progress at http://www.facebook.com/groups/443991605672343/