Brother and sister bound for foreign shores on mission

Brother and sister bound for foreign shores on mission

29 January 2014

A TECONNAUGHT brother and sister are preparing for life changing trips to India and Africa. Lauren Hamilton (23), a trainee teacher at Stranmillis College, and brother Callum (15), a Down High School student, are hoping for local support for their mission trips through a fundraising breakfast.

Their ‘Breakfast for India and Uganda’ will be held in the Masonic Hall in Crossgar on Saturday, February 15.

Lauren, as well as studying business and enterprise at Stranmillis, is heavily involved in Lissara Girls Brigade.

For two weeks in March she will leave it all behind for Dehradun in northern India with the charity Saphara. This charity works in partnership with Indian charities to educate and support children in two schools in the north of the country.

Lauren will be travelling with a group of 10 student teachers from both Stranmillis and St. Mary’s University. Lauren will teaching in Dehradun as well as working closely with the teachers.

“I feel that teaching is the career for me and having been on a trip to Kenya before I can really see the difference such trips can make

to the lives of these children,” she said. “I want these children to get the best chance and education in life that they can possibly have and want to make a real difference to their lives.

“I believe it will be a life changing experience and hopefully I will be able to bring my memories and experiences home to influence my teaching in Northern Ireland.”

Callum, a sports fan and member of Lissara Boys Brigade, is going to Nakasongola in Uganda in conjunction with the Down Battalion of the Boys Brigade and the Fields of Life Charity.

His trip at the end of June will see him working specifically with Nakasongola Primary School. Whilst he is there he will be working directly with the children in leading workshops in football and cricket.

Explaining his motivation, Callum said: “I want to give something back to society and be part of this life changing experience.”

The fundraising breakfast in Crossgar on February 15 will run between 8.30am and 12.30pm.