Choose life
DANIEL RADCLIFFE went by a different moniker when he was inspired to start his own company. He spent three months living with a Maasai tribe in Kenya, volunteering at a primary school which had five teachers looking after 500 children.
‘‘We lived in mud huts with a Maasai host family, with no electricity and no running water.’’
Water was collected from the nearest dam each day for cooking and bathing, he said.
‘‘Our host mother cooked for us on an open fire in the manyatta [hut].’’
Radcliffe was given a Maasai name, Sitonic, by his host family and for three months was referred to only as that.
It was the most memorable experience of his life and gave him the inspiration in 2007 to found International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) which posts thousands of volunteers each year to more than 25 countries around the world.
Radcliffe graduated with a master’s degree in finance and management from the University of Otago in 2006 but after three days employed by a large New Zealand corporate he quit his job and started volunteering abroad, a move that has seen him travel a fair bit.
He was in Vietnam when interviewed for this article. Best flight? I flew business from Dubai to London once on the new Airbus A380 with the bar in the back – it’s pretty sweet. Worst flight? A flight out of Morocco back to London where we hit a fair bit of turbulence. The turbulence was rough but a hysterical passenger distressed a number of others, too, which made for a long flight with a lot of screaming. Best night’s sleep? Sleeping in hammocks on the Lost City trek in Colombia. Staying at little villages in the Colombian highlands with the rain falling down on the iron roof; we were so shattered from the big days of trekking and they were pretty cosy. Worst night’s sleep? A hostel in Nicaragua when backpacking through central America where we all got bed bugs. How do you avoid jet-lag? Going for a run upon landing and don’t sleep during the day. Get onto the local time zone as soon as possible. Best place to land in? Nairobi – I love going back to Kenya. It’s where I first volunteered abroad, the people are awesome and it feels like going home whenever I head back. Best person you’ve met on a flight/travelling? My girlfriend (if I don’t say that I’ll be in trouble). We met during a stopover in Hong Kong. Favourite travel app? Uber – It doesn’t work everywhere but it’s pretty handy for getting around easily in the major cities around the world. One travel item you won’t leave home without? Laptop – it’s pretty critical to the work/life/travel balance.