“We’re always saying we want to help the less fortunate… it’s a great opportunity to put words into action,” Hennessy Catholic College principal Chris Browne said.
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Today, 28 Year 11 students will embark on a journey to Cambodia as part of what’s become an annual immersion tour for the school.
And the teenagers - accompanied by four teachers - won’t be back until July 4.
While they’re overseas they’ll be building two houses in the northwestern town of Siem Reap.
They’ll also be making a significant donation to the Sisters of Mercy Orphanage.
It’s something the students have spent a good 15 weeks of this year fundraising for.
“They’ve raised in excess of $11,000 through raffles, cake stalls and a fashion frolic,” Hennessy’s project officer Brett Cowan said.
“The fashion frolic was where students brought in clothes that were as new as possible and what they didn’t want anymore, and sold to raise money.”
The students also had to earn their own dollars to cover their travel expenses.
“Students have been encouraged to work for their money in other ways,” Mr Browne added.
“Families have been doing this by getting their children to work on the farm for example, and parents have offered to go halves if their children make up the difference.”
Mr Browne and Mr Cowan said the students were feeling a mixture of anxiousness and excitement as the countdown to the trip began this week.
“Some have never been on a plane before, others have never been out of the country… it’s also the unknown,” Mr Cowan said.
“They’ve been counting down, they’ve been coming to me saying ‘I’ve got all my money now’, ‘I have all my clothes laid out’ and many are asking questions about certain things.”
Last year’s trip to Cambodia was the inaugural tour, consisting of 42 students from a combination of year groups.
This year the school decided to focus only on one year, Year 11.
“But the good thing is we’ve had students [in Year 10] telling us already they’ve started saving for their trips next year,” Mr Cowan said.
Mr Browne described the trip as life changing for both students and staff.
“It’s putting kids into contact with a level of poverty they’ve never been exposed to,” he said.
Mr Cowan added a Cambodian teacher only earnt US $20 a month.
The school hopes to grow their programs in the future, with plans for an Indigenous immersion program and linking staff up with other immersion groups.
“”We’re looking at what we can do more and more,” Mr Cowan said.
The school would like to thank the wider communities for all of their support towards the students and the tour.
