Last year, five grants were awarded to alumnae from the Old Girls’ Travel Fund.
From working in Zambia with African Impact to supporting sustainable initiatives at Natsir’s Eco Farm and School in Indonesia, and volunteering with St Stephen’s Society in Hong Kong, their experiences showcase the incredible impact of this fund.

Interning in Zambia: Vicky Hamlyn, Francesca Glanville & Cosima Reed (Class of 2024) with African Impact.

Written by Francesca Glanville (Class of 2024)

To start off our gap year, Cosima, Vicky and I went to Zambia, interning with African Impact, an NGO focused on female empowerment and community development. This lifechanging experience was made possible in part thanks to the support of our school’s Old Girls’ Travel Fund, which helped us turn a dream into reality. Our internship was composed of a unique blend of office work and hands-on community engagement. In the office, we contributed to essential tasks such as processing data and attempting to navigate our way through excel spreadsheets. Learning about the day-to-day operations of an NGO was both enriching and fascinating, giving us insight into the administrative efforts that drive impactful programs in education, health, and empowerment. However, the heart of our experience lay in the time we spent out in the field. We delivered PSHE-style lessons in local schools, covering crucial topics from the menstrual cycle and personal hygiene, to the dangers of drug abuse—subjects often left out of the standard Zambian curriculum. These sessions were not only eye-opening for the students but also deeply rewarding for us, as we witnessed the power of education to inspire confidence and change, something that is possible for us at times to take for granted. Cosima was fortunate enough to have the chance to observe African Impact’s healthcare initiative, spending a morning assisting with routine health checks in a rural community, and learning how not to squeeze too hard on a blood pressure cuff. This experience offered a poignant glimpse into the challenges of delivering healthcare in under-served areas and highlighted the resilience of those working tirelessly to address these gaps. Through these projects, we gained a profound understanding of the inequalities that persist globally, as well as the simultaneous progress taking place in Zambia. We were inspired by the strength and determination of the people we met, and the staff and other volunteers at African Impact quickly became like family. Their mentorship, warmth, and passion for their work was extraordinary, and we built friendships with them that will last a lifetime. Outside of our work, our weekends were a chance to explore the breathtaking beauty of Zambia and its surroundings. Living near the world-famous Victoria Falls, we took full advantage of the region’s incredible offerings. From interacting with elephants to a safari in Chobe National Park in Botswana, every adventure deepened our appreciation for the natural wonders of Africa. For the brave among us, the zipline and bungee jump over Victoria Falls were unforgettable, as was our boat capsizing white-water rafting on the mighty Zambezi River. For us, this trip was not only about making a difference but also about learning and growing. It expanded our understanding of global inequalities, underscored the importance of education and healthcare access, and showcased the progress being made in Zambia. Above all, it taught us the value of community, resilience, and hope. To anyone considering similar opportunities, we would definitely encourage you to take the leap. The lessons you’ll learn, the people you’ll meet, and the memories you’ll create are invaluable. And to the school’s Old Girls’ community, thank you for making this journey possible—you helped change our lives, and we hope, in turn, to have made a small difference in the lives of others. Upon returning home, we have been rigorously training for a 10k in order to raise money for African Impact, whose work truly does change lives. If you can find it in your heart to donate to this truly wonderful cause - Please feel free to donate via our GoFundMe page:
www.gofundme.com/f/hxak5-african-impact

Natsir’s Eco Farm and School in Tana Toraja, Sulawesi.

Written by Bella Charlton (Class of 1997).

From September 21st to October 12th 2024, I had the great privilege to travel to Central Sulawesi, Indonesia to carry out three weeks of volunteering as an English teacher and occasional coffee farmer at Natsir’s Eco Farm and School. Located just outside of Bunkate, in the remote, mountainous, and beautiful region of Tana Toraja, Central Sulawesi, the project is the first of its kind in an area where children have very little access to English. My goal for the trip was to contribute to Natsir’s project and the local community in the best way I can and explore a lesser-known yet very special region of Indonesia. I can say with certainty that I achieved this goal and had a truly incredible time. Natsir began the project in 2008 after noticing an absence of access to any English language education in rural areas in Tana Toraja. He built a bamboo school room by hand and created a permaculture garden which continues to produce, with minimal intervention and no chemicals whatsoever, an abundance of native produce including coffee, cacao beans, pepper, turmeric, ginger and pineapple. The aim of the project is to provide free English classes to local children twice weekly, alongside educating them on the benefits of permaculture. This would not only help them develop essential English skills but also equip them with sustainable farming practices that will benefit their community for generations to come. A project like this is particularly essential in Tana Toraja, where deep-rooted tradition can be both a blessing and a curse. Mountain Torajan people carry out elaborate funeral ceremonies, often lasting for weeks, sacrificing tens of buffaloes and sometimes costing a family’s entire life savings. Although it is a remarkable and deeply spiritual practice that is undoubtedly at the heart of community here, and is also what brings the (very few, and even less since covid-19) tourists, the emphasis on this in rural villages means that too often families are left with nothing to fund their children’s education or to carry out sustainable farming. Natsir is dedicated to helping his community support their future by offering alternatives to this. My own experience at the Project was fantastic. There was hard work, very busy days, and torrential rain, but also incredible people, delicious food and hilarious children. A typical day would involve waking up early and, after some of Natsir’s own hand roasted coffee, spending the morning helping on the farm. This might involve taking a walk through the jungle garden to check for harvest, picking pepper to dry or cracking open cacao pods. After a lovely lunch of local food with the other volunteers, every afternoon I would head off on my scooter to one of the local villages for English class. As well as the school room at Natsir’s, the project is part of a small NGO that organises Indonesian volunteers to teach English in rural areas. The lessons ran from 2-5pm with two groups of younger and older children. Their level was mostly very basic and they could get very unruly so it was sometimes a challenge, but always so much fun and incredibly rewarding. In the three weeks I noticed an improvement in all of the children and got to know their unique personalities. Every child was spirited and keen to learn and play, it was a pleasure to teach them. When I finally had to leave, it was with bags full of organic ginger and turmeric, and treasured memories of laughter and community in a very special part of the world. As someone that already loves to explore, this was one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences I have ever had and I would urge anyone thinking of doing anything similar to absolutely go for it. I am hugely grateful to the Old Girls' Travel Fund for enabling me to carry out this trip. The financial support of the grant meant I could travel out there and contribute to such a worthy project.

Volunteering with St Stephen’s Society, Hong Kong.

Written by Jamina Collington (Class of 2019).

Through the generous support of the Old Girl’s Travel Fund, I was able to travel to Hong Kong and spend 6 weeks volunteering with St Stephen’s Society over the summer. It was an immense privilege to reconnect with the wonderful community of recovering addicts based at Shing Mun Springs rehabilitation centre after the pandemic. I was incredibly excited to once again be living in a house with a new cohort of teenage girls embarking on recovery journeys. Supporting the diverse curriculum provided by the inhouse school at Shing- Mun, which includes both conventional lessons to address gaps created by exclusion from mainstream education and vocational offerings such as swimming lessons and woodwork, was a rewarding experience. A particular highlight was leading an afternoon of team-building activities, which allowed the girls to strengthen their relationships with one another while also building their confidence. This fondly reminded me of my enrichment classes back in my FHS days where we had a very similar afternoon of activities, (many of which inspired this session) such as building towers with spaghetti and marshmallows and human pyramids! It was incredibly fulfilling to witness many of the girls make significant progress in their English classes during this time. Watching girls who were initially too shy to read even a single word aloud for fear of making a mistake progress to reading full paragraphs by week six was incredibly moving! This made me reflect on the ‘do it scared’ and fear of failure themes of many Francis Holland assemblies! In addition to my time in the girls’ house, I was also able to co-ordinate a 3-week long summer activity camp hosted by St Stephens Society’s church in the heart of the city. This was an open-invite initiative for children aged 11-17 in Sham Shui Po, the poorest district in Hong Kong. Each day, the wider team and I put on a series of free workshops such as leather-making, jewellery, and dance lessons. There was also a sports day, talent show, and even a boat trip! One of my favourite aspects of this was running cooking workshops. I taught 30 Chinese teenagers to make ice-cream, Cornish pasties, and pizzas from scratch, overcoming some small language barriers along the way! Each week I would also introduce new cuisines, as many of them had never been able to try much more than Chinese food, due to the expensive prices of groceries across Hong Kong. They were able to try an English roast chicken with all the trimmings, spaghetti Bolognese and falafels for the first time! Being part of this team was a wonderful opportunity to refine many of the leadership skills I had initially learnt during my time at FHS and use the enriching education I feel incredibly fortunate to have received to give back to those who have had a more challenging start to life. My gap year at St Stephens 5 years ago led me to start working towards a career as a criminal barrister and so it was very special to have the chance to return. I hope I will be able to continue coming back to a place and a community that have had a such an influential impact on my life.

If you would like to apply for the Old Girls' Travel Fund 2025 please read the travel guidelines and complete the application form which can be found here.