By JOLENE OGLE
TWO months spent volunteering in a poverty-stricken community isn’t every school leaver’s idea of fun, but for three Coolum High students, there is no better way to spend schoolies.
Savannah Hobson, Anaru Burling, and Lara Carrington, all 17, just graduated from Coolum State High School, and have decided to skip schoolies celebrations on the Gold Coast and head to Cambodia to work in a local school.
Lara has travelled to Cambodia before, volunteering at the same school only last year. Anaru said she had never travelled to a country like Cambodia and said she was in for a culture shock for sure.
Lara, Savannah and Anaru will spend just over three weeks volunteering at a village school before getting their hands dirty when they also join a community group to help build school buildings.
“We spend three and a half weeks at the school and then we travel south to help friends at another school,” Lara said.
“We’re going to go and help them build for a couple of days.”
Lara said the girls decided to take the road less travelled in the hope of spending their time off in a productive way.
“I would rather grow as a person than just go (to schoolies) and not remember,” she said.
“Also, when you get the travel bug you can’t get rid of it.”
The three girls, who funded their own travel, jetted off on Sunday, and took with them medical supplies donated by their school and extra cash donations that will be used to purchase school equipment and stationery.
Noosa Heads Daybreak Rotary was one of the donors and committee member Jeff Williams said Savannah, Lara and Anaru should be congratulated.
“The fact they have given up schoolies to go and do this is inspirational,” he said.
“This just shows a level of maturity beyond their years. They should be congratulated and encouraged for thinking of someone other than themselves.
“What the girls plan to do coincides with our ethos of assisting youth and world health.”
