TWO members of Gwent Young Farmers Club have recently returned from a once in a life time trip to Kenya helping street children and their families.
The first two weeks of the trip saw them work with street children from Embu where they helped rejuvenate a rescue centre which provides the children with food, sporting equipment and are in the process of building a shower block.
The girls said, "We also visited a local school and HIV/Aids orphanage, that the charity supports. It was great to actually see a charity at work and to see how their work benefits these deprived people and society.
"Interacting with the children was the most rewarding part, just ordinary kids with great ambitions for life. We can only hope that some of their dreams actually do come true, because they really deserve it."
During their third week, Laura and Anna lived and worked with Kenyan tea farmers, experiencing their day to day lives.
They said, "We took part in the process of making tea, seeing it go from the field and eventually into the teapot. Now every time we drink a cup of tea, we think about our Kenyan families slaving away in those fields that wouldn't even give a daily return to afford to buy one cup of tea in a cafe here at home,yet it doesn't faze them, they still keep smiling."
The girls raised £5,500 to fund the trip by holding a quiz night and barn dance as well as doing a sponsored walked between three local pubs, The Greyhound, Llantrissant; The Hall Inn, Gwehelog and The Cripple Creek, Bryngwyn.
They added, "We would like to thank all our sponsors and people that have helped us on our way, especially the Tredegar Memorial Trust, The Gareth Raw Rees Memorial Trust and the Gwent Y.F.A members.
"Our trip certainly made us appreciate our lives at home, but we won't ever forget our adventure living a Kenyan life."