Heidi Aarsen, a Year 12 pupil at Otago Girls' High School, will leave in December for a month-long mission trip to Ilam, a town 11 hours' drive east of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.
She will be working in an orphanage, helping to renovate it and build more facilities, helping the children and teaching them English.
''I wanted to go to the orphanage, so that's why I chose the trip to Nepal,'' Heidi said.
The programme run by Teen Missions Australia offers summer mission trips to seven countries. Heidi said her brother and sister had taken trips to other countries through Teen Missions before her.
She would spend two weeks in Australia in ''boot camp'', learning what to do and taking part in team-building, before heading to Nepal for four weeks.
''I don't know if much has changed from the [April Nepal] earthquake,'' she said.
It would not be her first time overseas, having gone to Europe and Thailand when she was younger, but it would be her first time travelling solo.
''I'm just excited to go overseas, because I'll be going by myself.''
She said she was the only New Zealander in the group so far.
The rest of the group of 15 to 25 young people would be from Australia.
''So that's a bit nerve-racking,'' she said, though her brother would be with her in boot camp, as he was training to be a leader on another trip.
Heidi has been raising the $3500 she needs for the trip by selling pine cones at workplaces and her church and selling hot wedges at school.
By Greta Yeoman
