Eden Tilby has been selected as the recipient of one of this year's World Vision and Sanitarium Senior Scholarships and plans to use the knowledge gained to help those in Vanuatu.
The Bethlehem College Year-12 student will travel to Auckland in October for a week of leadership development, empowerment and global education with 30 other senior students from across New Zealand.
The college was selected as one of the top performing schools in New Zealand for the World Vision 40 Hour Famine - raising $16,000 for the organisation this year alone.
Eden said she was keen to hear more about the poverty others faced in countries overseas.
Eden accompanied her family to Vanuatu earlier this year where she saw first-hand the poverty and destruction unleashed onto the island nation after Cyclone Pam. This year's scholarship programme was designed to develop scholars understanding of social justice issues and to equip them with the skills to take action.
Eden said she was honoured to be offered the scholarship after being nominated for the event. She sponsored children with her family growing up and has done 40 Hour Famines.
"All the stuff I learn there will be helpful when we go back to Vanuatu, it will help put the work we do in Vanuatu in context with the wider world and how it all comes together," she said.
Eden and her family will head back to Vanuatu on January 2, 2016. Currently they were in the process of setting up a charitable trust, Equip Vanuatu, where their focus would be on micro-enterprise and supporting people into employment.
"People don't want hand outs all the time, they want to be able to sustain themselves."
The family will host a clothing sale on September 5, at 26 Botanical Rd, Tauranga, to help raise the $50,000 needed for the project.
Eden said it was her first time in a third world country when she visited Vanuatu this year but the experience was "really amazing".
"I was a little bit shocked, coming from this [Tauranga]. I learnt I have too much stuff and a lot of people here take too much for granted.
"But I want to go back, I have photos where you can hardly see me because of all the kids hanging off me. There is more they can teach us too, like what's really important in life, family."
Fundraising
•A clothing sale on September 5, to be held at 26 Botanical Rd, Tauranga, will help raise the $50,000 toward the family's fundraising efforts to set up micro-enterprise businesses for people in Vanuatu.
•All clothing will be $2
•Donations can also be made online: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/vanuatuenterprise/