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"I had always wanted to work overseas and in 2000 I met a representative from Handicap International and decided to work for them. The organisation has a great philosophy, works in over 50 countries and is an active campaigner for a better world.
I started working as a physiotherapist for them in India, following the earthquake in Gujarat in January 2001. Handicap International established an emergency project providing rehabilitation to the 166,000 injured people. The health system had been obliterated and 20,000 people had been killed. The British Government funded the emergency project, whose aim was to support local efforts to rehabilitate people with injuries and disabilities and help them return to full lives.
The district I was based in was partially desert - there had not been rain for 3 years. My initial task was locating people with spinal cord injuries who had been discharged from hospital. Just imagine the challenges for paraplegic people, with their homes destroyed, their incomes gone, their relatives dead, the heat, the dust and the lack of water.
The work I completed over the last year was more challenging and demanding than anything I had ever done before. I learned more from the people I met than I can describe here. I stayed there for one year, and am now Project Manager for Handicap International in Russia."
Catherine Naughton | 
