Team of volunteers to teach in Albania

A trio of youngsters are off to Albania to help teach teachers.

Elizabeth Starks (18), Sarah-Louise Fox (23) and Michael Pengelly (21), all from the Melton area, are jetting out to the former Soviet bloc country with Janet King, an education expert also from Melton.

The group has had to raise its own funds for the trip where they will run activities with children at Victory School in Lushnje followed by a day of working with Albanian teachers.

Janet said: "This will be my fourth visit, but the team's first. I am thrilled to have three such talented and enthusiastic young people coming out to Albania with me on this trip.

"They each have specific gifts and skills which will be invaluable to the work we will be doing there.

"The programme we will present will be something very different and exciting for the students of Victory School. Most of them come from poor families and many come into Lushnje from the surrounding villages."

Janet has been working with charities in Eastern Europe for the last 10 years with Door of Hope and more recently European Christian Mission, which organises the Albanian link.

It is hoped the trip, which is from April 18 to 25, will benefit everyone involved, including the volunteers.

The activity for the school pupils is based on a Red Cross disaster scenario called Operation Amphibian.

The children, aged 10 to 18-years-old, will have to work together in teams and speak only English.

A seminar, hosted by the school, will be run like an English cafe serving tea and cake and aims to help spread teaching techniques around the country.

Sarah-Louise, who lives in Holwell and works in a nursery, said: "I met Janet when I was volunteering at Dove Cottage last year and really wanted to go then. Thankfully I can this year.

"I'm really looking forward to it and hope to get a lot out of it. It will be a completely new experience to me, both the age of the children involved and working abroad."

Janet added: "I am particularly excited about the forthcoming trip because I will have this exciting team of young people coming with me. (Source: Melton Times)