By Tate Papworth
Catholic Regional College North Keilor is taking the term “giving back” to a new level.
On a trip to the Philippines next month, 10 year 10 students accompanied by two teachers and a priest will help build some much-needed infrastructure.
Teacher Melissa Desieno, who will be making the trip, said it had been a long time in the making.
“This is something we’ve wanted to do for a while,” she said. “I’d been to the Philippines and had some contacts over there from when I volunteered.
“We’re going for 10 days during the July holidays and we’ll be helping locals renovate a medical centre.”
While it will be a tough task, the students have already put in a number of hours towards the cause.
“We were encouraged to raise as much money as we could in the lead-up to the trip so we could actually buy the resources we need to do this,” Ms Desieno said. “We had Rotary come in every Friday and help us out with a barbecue. Through selling sausages to the kids we’ve managed to raise $3000.”
Ms Desieno said that while it would be a rewarding experience, it would also be confronting.
“It’s definitely going to be confronting. I think it’s about 75 per cent of people over there live below the poverty line,” she said.
“We’re doing our best to prepare them for what they’re going to see.
“I think the priest who is going with us summed it up best when he said it will be confronting, but it will also be enriching.
“We’re hoping to do this yearly going forward, especially given the amount of interest we’ve had.
“The students have all really got behind it, Rotary has been fantastic and the parents have also been super supportive.”
