Seventeen-year-old Louisa Byrne, a guide with the 12th Epsom company, has gone to South Africa to care for children orphaned by Aids or by violence.
Louisa will work at God’s Golden Acre Khayelihle, a centre in the province of KwaZulu-Natal that aims to keep the children in their communities rather than sending them to remote orphanages.
The Rosebery School A-level student from Long Grove Road, Epsom, has undergone intensive preparation for the trip, gaining a better understanding of the plight of the children.
She will be joined by 15 other girl guides, aged between 14 and 18, and four guide leaders from the London and South-East Guide movement during her South African stay.
Louisa came through several selection procedures before being told she had been awarded a place on the trip and then had to raise £2,500 to fund it, which she managed with the support of family, friends, the community and the Foresters Friendly Society.
She said: “I decided I wanted to put myself forward for an international trip – so when the opportunity came up, I took it.
“Guide leaders have prepared us for what it is going to be like to make sure we are properly informed about Aids.”
Louisa hopes to go to university to read maths or physics after her A-levels, but so far has no career in mind.
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