Students volunteer for charity work in Zambia

YOUNG Irish students have volunteered to help people in one of Africa’s poorest regions during their summer holidays.

The students of Christians Brothers College (CBC) in Cork will travel to Zambia next June where they will spend up to three weeks working with Christian Brothers’ humanitarian projects in the Mufulira region.

Among the projects they will engage with are the Edmund Rice Village, an ambitious building project near Murundu, which consists of 45 two-roomed houses for the poor elderly of the area, the Cicetokelo AIDS Hospice, the Chibolya Compound Primary School, which provides basic education to 150 township children, and the Mufulira Orphanage, where up to 60 children are being cared for following the deaths of their parents from AIDS.

The work is part of the CBC Zambia Immersion Project which began in 2002 and which takes place every second year.

“By immersing themselves in Zambian culture and way of life, the boys learn to deeply appreciate Christian values and their lifestyle here in Ireland, and prepare themselves to make a real impact on the Third World in their adult years,” a school spokesman said.

Almost 30 CBC students applied to take part this year but just 10 were selected. They will be accompanied by teachers on the trip.

They will face tough conditions and will undergo extensive “spiritual and mental” preparation before departure.

They are now engaged in a major fundraising campaign, which includes a Christmas Fair in the school hall, from 1pm to 5pm on Sunday, and all are invited.