Ladner teen Enya Duffield is hoping to go on a youth volunteer trip to Kenya next summer.
The three-week trip, organized by the social enterprise group Me to We, involves helping people of the Maasai Mara region.
Duffield, 15, said participants get to go on a water walk with the local women.
"You experience what they do. It's something I'm really looking forward to," said Duffield, who's in Grade 10 at Delta Secondary.
Volunteers also help work on a clean water project or help build a school.
The Me to We website states participants learn about Maasai culture, take Swahili lessons, go to hands-on workshops and learn about poverty-related issues in Africa.
Duffield found out about the trip when she was in Grade 8 and has a goal of saving up $6,000 to cover costs for it. She's been saving money from her job at McDonald's, saving her allowance and getting donations from family and friends. She also set up a webpage to accept donations.
me So far she's around the $4,000 mark.
"The trip is not a vacation, it's about long days of hard work, and being selfless to understand and help someone else," wrote Nadja Duffield, Enya's mom, in an e-mail to the Optimist. "We are extremely proud of her for focusing her energy on others in need."
To visit Duffield's online fundraising page go to http: //www.gofundme.com/ e5t0c.
