Ella’s ‘big’ walk delivers the ‘smalls’ for Kokoda Track
SCHOOL holidays are a time to chill out, catch up on some sleep, and maybe take in a movie, right?
Not for St Ursula’s College student Ella Boyd. She spent the mid-semester break trekking the arduous Kokoda Track, and handing out the equivalent of one pair of underwear every 100m to villagers along the way.
Ella is a young woman with a big heart, determination, and the passion to improve the lives of those less fortunate.
“My dad has walked the Kokoda Trail 16 times, and I always knew it was something I wanted to do – but then I realised I could use the walk to also help the villagers in Papua New Guinea,” the Year 12 student said.
“I found out that women in these villages do not have underwear, and I thought how hard that would be, especially during their menstrual cycles.
“Initially I hoped to be able to take 96 pairs of underwear with me so that I could hand out the equivalent of one pair per kilometre, but it ended up being much more than that.”
Ten times more, in fact. The generous Toowoomba community rallied behind Ella, and helped her collect more than 960 pairs of underwear, weighing 30kg, and requiring the services of an additional porter along the trek.
One person who is particularly proud of Ella is St Ursula’s College principal Tanya Appleby, who says the student’s commitment and service are admirable.
“Ella really represents the best of our school, and we could not be more proud of her,” she said.
“Part of our ethos here at St Ursula’s is empowering the girls to bring about positive change in the world by using their talents and gifts. Ella has not only identified a need, but has worked hard to address that need.”