Gap Year in South America

A GAP year with a difference!

Rebekah Hinton and Charlie Fox, students from Dixons Academy in Bradford, spoke to the Club about their plans for the coming year now that their A level studies are completed.

Rebekah is off to Santa Cruz in Bolivia where she will work at an orphanage for 4 – 18 year olds. She is looking forward to organising activities for the children and ‘letting them enjoy being a child again’. Rebekah enjoys craft work and hopes to pass on some of her skills and enthusiasm.

Some of her time will also be spent working with street children and disadvantaged young women.

Charlie is off to Argentina to work at the Hogar El Alba orphanage where there are about 60 children age 5 to teenage. The complex at the orphanage has a vocational skills unit which helps prepare the children for adult life particularly around bee keeping and animal husbandry.

A keen youth worker, Charlie is looking forward to organising a wide range of activities to support the young people.

Both students have to fund their trips and have been involved in raising money for air fares and living expenses. Andrew Bateman applauded their willingness to spend a year undertaking this voluntary work and hoped that they would come back to tell the Club about their experience.