A group of year nine Vincentia High School students are now planning for a three week trip to Cambodia in September next year.

The teenagers will be undertaking a yet to be decided community project and they can’t wait.

Student Jack Bond said they would be helping a community with whatever task they want to be done.

“Whatever they need, we will bring it to them,” Jack said.

The project will be infrastructure related and could be getting water tanks or building a school.

The students have to raise money which will go towards the project and they will be notified of their task closer to the date they leave.

Student Tasmyn Bendall said she was looking forward to the trip and added one of the projects could be getting the people access to running water.

“I would like to help the community and I think that will be really good,” she said.

“I can’t imagine not having access to running water and I am not sure if I could survive without it.”

Fellow student Henry Gray also thinks the trip will be a good experience.

“It will be a chance to see what other parts of the world are like,” he said.

Henry also agreed that living without basic things like running water would be difficult.

The students all volunteered to be part of the trip.

Jack said he wanted to see what life was like in a developing country.

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They are going over with the Antipodeans, a group that offers students opportunities to work closely with locals in a developing country, while contributing meaningfully to their lives.

The touring party will consist of 16 current year 9 and 10 students.

Teachers Tom Mason and Shanna  Fuz will join the students, while the Antipodeans will be providing them with an expedition leader.

Mr Mason said the students have a lot of fundraising to do as the trip is an expensive one and added the journey was about changing young people.

The students have to do a community project, an expedition aimed at pushing them physically and at the end they will get to do some sightseeing in Cambodia.

They will visit The Killing Fields.

“Visiting The Killing Fields will be emotional,” Mr Mason said.

The students know about The Killing Fields’ grim place in history.

Mr Mason said this was the first time Vincentia High had taken part in a such a project.

“The kids are going to be well looked after,” Mr Mason said.

“One of the interesting things, well the parents might find it interesting, is the students will be giving up their phones and devices for the entire trip.

“So when we are in country they will be able to experience the culture without distractions.”

When they stay in the village the accommodation will be basic.

Mr Mason said the students play an active role, as a way of fostering leadership skills, in the decision-making process.

The students will be issued with money and as a group will have to work out a budget to decide what they are going to spend their money on and they also have to book the accommodation.

Jack said making such decisions will be nerve-wracking but he is sure they will be able to work their way through it.

The students all feel lucky to get such an opportunity.