North Shore Times (New Zealand)
University student heading to Cambodia
Two weeks of scorching heat in one of the world’s poorest countries lies ahead for Matthew McQueen.
The 23-year-old Devonport resident is one of a group of five university students heading to Cambodia to volunteer for Catalyst, a Takapuna based microfranchise organisation.
McQueen and the group, Unify, will spend two weeks in November building 20 poultry coops on Catalyst’s development farm in Kampot, a village not even tourist buses pass through. The coops will supply enough chickens for 65 families to help them work their way out of poverty.
‘‘The reality is we are going to be a little bit in the middle of nowhere which has quite a lot of risks involved. It’s an exciting and unique opportunity,’’ McQueen says.
‘‘A few from our group have done trips like this but this is my first time which is quite exciting.’’
Catalyst provides businessbased solutions to poverty for entrepreneurs in Cambodia to enable self-sufficiency, empowerment and personal growth.
McQueen is completing a conjoint degree in engineering and finance at the University of Auckland and says most of the group hope to harness their business skills through the trip.
The Unify team attend St Paul’s Church in Auckland and have been doing community work throughout the year. The students had a desire to head overseas on a mission and, through St Paul’s, they connected with Catalyst co-founder and chief executive Gerard Wakefield.
Wakefield says this is the first group to volunteer with the organisation in Cambodia. He hopes it will open the door for other groups to work with Catalyst in the future.
‘‘I think it’s going to be an amazing experience and something which will have a significant impact on the choices they make and their life experiences,’’ Wakefield says.
‘‘We’ve got a group of dedicated young adults who are going through a difficult financial time as students, yet they’re sacrificing their time and money to come over and help people.’’
The team is fundraising to help them get to Cambodia and pay for the chicken coop materials. Gto givealittle.co.nz/ cause/helpunifyteam to donate to the group.