Student Kate Amess is gearing up for a trip of a lifetime to the Amazon this summer.
The 18-year-old, who is studying A-levels in psychology, business and physical education, will be helping provide shelter and clean water for children in need as part of the venture.
The cost of the trip is £4395, which Kate is trying to cover through fundraising.
To help boost funds, Chameli Tandoori Restaurant, in Holbeach, held a charity buffet curry night at £15 per person, which raised an incredible £1191.
Kate said: “We have an Indian from Chameli’s every Friday and they agreed we could hold a fundraiser there.”
The Amazon trip has been organised by Outlook Expeditions, which runs enterprising projects all over the world.
Kate, who lives in Saracens Head, will fly out to Lima in Peru in July for the expedition.
The 28 day experience will see her travelling through the rainforest in the Madre de Dios region by foot and boat, and camping out in the hot and humid jungle, which is inhabited by monkeys and indigenous wildlife.
In Oropesa, just outside Cusco in the Peruvian Andes, she will help at the Azul Wasi project.
This is a home that was set up by a policeman in Cusco. It was as an alternative to the correctional facilities run by the state, which many young homeless children were finding themselves in after ending up on the streets for a variety of reasons.
The boys at Azul Wasi go to the local school and are fed, clothed, taught how to rear animals and grow their own food.
Kate said: “We’ll be helping children who are formerly homeless by fitting new water filters for them or helping them to make shelters.”
The expedition will also include a trip to Machu Picchu, ‘The Lost City of the Incas’ and travelling across the border into Bolivia.
Kate will be joined on the expedition by school friends Billi Jackson (18) and Alice Patrick (17).
She said: “I heard about the expedition through school. The idea is to give students more opportunities to do things in the community.
“It’s to get life experiences and is something else to put on our CVs.
“My parents think it is a great opportunity. Obviously they are going to miss me but they have been really encouraging and supportive.”
Kate has an ‘easy fundraising page’ that people can log into to help her boost funds at www.easyfundraising.org.uk. When they buy things online companies will donate a percentage to the cause.
○ Outlook Expeditions provide overseas trips to schools across the UK.
These take in destinations across America, Africa, Asia and Europe.
Students can take part in a variety of community projects in a choice of destinations.
This could include volunteering with a community; helping to build and improve buildings or working with children assisting at a local school and running lessons and sports.
There are also projects available that see students helping with research and supporting the conservation of endangered species and special environments.
Expeditions can include physical challenges such as completing a trek; climbing a mountain, travelling through dense jungles and traditional villages or across plains filled with wildlife.
Machu Picchu, in Peru (dubbed ‘The Lost City’) was abandoned in 1571, until its discovery by Hiram Bingham in 1911.
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