CAMBODIA DELIVERS LIFE LESSONS
GOLD Coast high school students have given up their phones and laptops and travelled to a disadvantaged country to renovate classrooms.
Fourteen students from Benowa High School’s International Baccalaureate team spent their Easter holidays giving back to those less fortunate.
The students travelled to Cambodia on April 5, spending the following two weeks renovating classrooms, teaching English and providing more than 200 books, posters and a swag of school supplies.
Year 12 student Qiutian Beau, 17, said the trip had been a culture shock, but had opened her eyes to how privileged her own life was.
“The young Khmer children truly had nothing (materially) but grinned from ear to ear every day,” she said.
“They taught me the value of being happy without material items.”
This year’s cohort will be the first state high group from the Gold Coast to graduate the International Baccalaureate program.
The program challenges students aged from three to 19 to excel in personal and academic pursuits.