I leave to go to Peru in three weeks. Its a bit unreal! Ive been wanting to go on a Gap Year ever since I can remember, and since going to Peru with World Challenge two years ago that is where I have wanted to go. Ive been so lucky to get a placement there, and I am excited about living and working in an orphanage for a year.
I am looking forward to seeing the world with new eyes and living in a different community and getting to know and help kids who need support. I did a weeks training recently to prepare for my year, and we discussed the reality of the kids that I will be working with. I live with my Mum and my Brother, and I get plenty of time hanging out with them and my extended family who live close by. For the kids I will be working with, they get so little one to one time with adults that it is hard to comprehend. I realise already that just by reading to these kids, or playing a game with them will make a difference. This experience has already made me think, and I have not even got there! I can only begin to imagine who I will be when I get back.
This opportunity is a privilege, and I want to make the most of it. Im sure I will miss my family, have down days, feel lost or unsure at times but most of all I feel grateful and excited. I have had so much help and support from so many places for this trip, and I want to say thanks to everyone at Hazels Footprints , not only for the money, but for being so lovely throughout the whole process of applying. You will be part of my family back home. Watch this space!
