Fund-raiser a tall order
To help raise funds for an educational trip to the developing world over the summer months, a group of West Island students will abseil off their school building on Saturday.
The abseiling event is part of a 'Money Management Programme' which will help the 25 students raise between HK$24,000 and HK$34,000 - the amount required for a World Challenge expedition in June.
They will be descending from the 10th floor of the school building between 10am and 4pm this Saturday.
The Year 12 students, aged 16 and 17, will take part in a three-week educational expedition organised by World Challenge, which offers a wide range of programmes geared for young people. Ten students will be going to Peru, while the rest will travel to Kyrgyzstan, on China's western border.
Peru-bound Ross Robinson said the students would abseil onto the school's basketball courts.
'We will start abseiling from 10 in the morning. There will be game stalls and food available for the spectators at the landing spot. There will be doughnuts and a barbeque,' he said.
'The game stalls are only HK$20 a go. It's going to be a great day because you can buy food and also play [games].
'Most of us haven't really abseiled before. Some of us are afraid of heights, so they are a bit scared. The 10th floor is 120 feet [about 37 metres] away from the ground.'
Those who want to try out abseiling from a tall building will have the chance to do so. All you have to do is pay HK$100, which will help fund the students' forthcoming expeditions.
'We chose abseiling because it is linked to mountains. We will be going to high altitudes during our trip. I think we are going to abseil in Peru,' Ross said.
World Challenge is currently working with 700 schools and 40,000 students per year in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Europe, Australia, the United States, Canada and Hong Kong. It provides challenging but safe education expeditions to locations ranging from South America to the jungles of Borneo.
