STUDENTS are expecting to draw on their school values of compassion, determination and courage in the service of others when they work with orphans and the elderly in HIV-ravaged communities in Africa.
The group of sixth formers from Trinity Academy, in Thorne, will spend a fortnight working in Miloso, in Zambia, during the summer break.
The students - Nikita Watkins and Madeline Peacock, both 16, and 17-year-olds Abbie Tomlinson, Matthew Elwood, Dale Smith and James Quean - will join students from their sister schools in the Emmanuel Schools Foundation on the trip.
The work will involve home based care for the elderly, teaching orphans at Donata special school, the only facility in the region, which looks after 50 children with a variety of disabilities, and building projects.
The students will also experience life in the bush on an expedition to Mount Mumpu, the highest freestanding peak in the country, sleeping out under the stars with only mosquito nets for cover.
Head boy Matthew, from Thorne, added: "We can't begin to imagine what it's going to be like. It's exciting but a bit scary at the same time."
The students had to apply for a place on the trip, explaining what they would bring to the communities they visit and what they would gain personally from the experience.
Madeline, of Kirk Sandall, explained: "We had to write about how we'd show the core values of the academy and how they could be applied in Zambia."
Head girl Abbie, from Thorne, added: "I wrote about compassion which I imagine we will need when we're with young children and orphans, showing how much we care about them."
For Nikita, of Thorne, it will be her first time on an aeroplane.
The group is about £600 short of the £3,300 it needs to raise for the trip having already organised a Zambia night, cake sales, supermarket bag packs and a sponsored bike ride.
Dale said: "Everyone has been really supportive. Our parents are encouraging us and students and staff at the academy have helped us raise the money."
Any extra money that is raised will be used to buy items to take for the children in Zambia. Goole Football Club has donated two full sets of kit for local children.
Food teacher Gerard Dixey, who will accompany the group along with mathematics teacher Anna Brown, said: "The important thing for the students is to be flexible, to have good mental attitude and to remember we are there to serve. The group has already gelled as a team and will support each other, so we’re just excited to get going now."
