SPENDING part of her school holidays working with HIV orphans and at a home for leprosy survivors has been the one of the most influential things young Inverell woman Ellie de Gunst says she has ever done in her life.
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Ellie was one of 16 students from The Armidale School (TAS) who found a sense of gratitude from service work at the Agage home for HIV Orphans and the McKean Rehabilitation Centre for Leprosy Sufferers, both at Chiang Mai, Thailand.
"Our duties at Agape involved concreting a driveway, sanding back furniture, and cleaning a house that will soon be home to many teenage boys.
"The team also cleaned many varied areas of Agape, as well as gardened and mowed many sections of land. At McKean, we worked with elderly residents in gardening the surrounding areas of their homes, including clearing overgrown vegetation," Ellie said.
Overcoming the barrier of language by connecting with the children through gestures and a few Thai words, Ellie said relationships were "formed so simply and made all of the physical work, completely worthwhile".
"The most special thing was seeing how happy and content the children at Agape truly are, despite being some of the most underprivileged people - they are all just so kind to each other and treat one another like family."
Ellie said that each of the students came away feeling they had received so much more than they had given.
"It was very humbling and I developed a greater sense of gratitude for the things that I take for advantage in my life.
"Things like having a loving family, having a stable education and living in a safe country, are all things that many people living in Australia don't appreciate enough. It was a truly wonderful experience and a privilege to have done," she said.
Agape Home was founded almost 20 years ago by Canadian missionaries Avis and Roy Rideout in conjunction with the Thailand Department of Social Development and Welfare.
It started with just two children but now supports more than 80 who are aged nine months to 20 years. The Thailand service trip is one of two offered each year to TAS students as part of the school's Leadership, Service and Adventure program.
On Thursday, October 16 Ellie was also inducted as a school prefect and the vice captain of the girls' boarding house, at a special ceremony at TAS.
