A Taieri College pupil says he expects to experience culture shock when he travels to Vanuatu later this year as part of a trip organised by a local Christian youth group.
Youth East Taieri (YET), the youth branch of the East Taieri Church, will take a group of year 11-13 school pupils to the Vanuatuan island of Tanna in July for a mission trip, which is intended to expose the pupils to a different way of life.
Blake Merrett (15) was selected for the trip and said he expected to experience culture shock - ‘‘just a total different lifestyle compared to us in New Zealand''.
Youth worker Rodger Larson Hewitt said the group would spend 10 days in Vanuatu.
The young people would spend a week in the small settlement of Lenikel, on the island of Tanna, where they would teach in classrooms, share Bible stories and take part in games with the local people, and three days in Vanuatu's capital city, Port Vila, where they would discuss what they had learned on the trip.
Mr Larson Hewitt said the trip had been suggested by the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, which had a good relationship with the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu.
He said the trip might also involve helping with small building projects to support Vanuatuans affected by Cyclone Pam, which struck the Pacific nation last year.
Jenna Fleck (16), who has also been selected for the trip, said she expected it would be a good learning experience. Mr Larson Hewitt said YET had upcoming fundraising events, including the Hub Bash this Friday and two garage sales on April 23 and April 30.
Pupils were also expected to raise their own funds towards the trip. Jenna said she worked on farms during her school holidays, while Blake said he had sold firewood to raise funds.
The YET group of 14 (11 young people and three adults) will leave for Vanuatu on July 9 and return on July 20.
-By Joshua Riddiford
