Sutton Valence School students exhibit spirit of volunteerism

Seventeen students from Sutton Valence School in Southeast England have generously volunteered their summer to do charity work in Belize. The students are between the ages of fourteen and eighteen and will be doing everything from manual labour to jungle survival and water sports. It’s a big deal for the youths, not only for the experience of visiting another country, but for the joy of doing a good deed for those in need.  They started out at Liberty Children’s Home in Ladyville, where we found them hard at work in the unforgiving heat.

Glen Millbury, Sutton Valence School Combined Cadet Force

glen millbury

“Every two years at the school we try and run a big trip overseas with the cadet force and there are three phases to that visit. The first is a community service visit; so working with a local charity, giving something back to the location that we’re visiting. The second part is with the army because the army sponsored us to come out here so we do some military training. And then the third part is adventurous training activity which this time we’re doing in Saint George’s Caye.”

jamie childs

Jamie Childs, Student, Sutton Valence School

“Since last Friday, we’ve come to liberty for a week’s charity work in whatever way possible. So whether that’s helping with the gardens, we’re trying to get the drainage system sorted out, even just hanging with the kids and trying to make everything possible better for them.”

Delahnie Bain

“How has that been for you?”

Jamie Childs

“It’s been tough. It’s been hard knocks but you’re doing it for good reasons so it’s a good feeling after you finish the day’s work.”

Marcus Newman, Student, Sutton Valence School

“It’s been really good. It’s been tough cause when the weather is like this and you’re working outside, it’s very hard work. But it’s been rewarding as well cause over the past week we’ve gotten to know the children and also we’ve sort of seen how our works have come along. So by the time we leave, we’ll have sort of finished most of our projects and we can see the difference it’s made and then we can go away knowing we’ve helped here.”

Glen Millbury

“The hard work for me is in the organizing. Once we’re out here I can sort of take a step back and let them get on with it. But it’s great to actually see them develop. They’re sort of nervous when they get off the plane but as they get into it they bond as a group and start to really put the work in, as you can see.”