TWO Southsiders are among 19 teenagers who set off last week to represent Ireland at a
‘World Citizens Camp’ in Argentina.
Ferdia Murphy from Milltown and Maria O’Sullivan from Ballinteer joined up with a group from Northern Ireland, Limerick, Kildare, Meath and Tipperary at Dublin Airport before heading off to South America.
Ferdia has just done his Leaving Cert at Gonzaga College, Ranelagh while Maria is going into Transition Year to Muckross Park College, Donnybrook.
The World Citizens Camp involves around 500 young people from all over the world.
During the week the teenagers learned how to build unity among people, promote human rights and intercultural co-operation through workshops on listening, valuing others and communication skills across cultures.
The main social camp took place in the little town of O’Higgins, West of Buenos Aires.
This week the Irish group departs for Paraguay, where they’ll have an opportunity to put the skills learnt at the social camp into practice working with deprived children in schools and hospitals.
“The activities will take the form of working in children’s homes, a children’s hospital for those suffering from cancer and working in the indigenous settlement in Caazapa where we’ll be working on the distribution of food and clothes,
? said Catherine Burke, one of the leaders of the group.
“In Caazapa we will also provide activities for the children including preparing a wall mural with the children from this indigenous settlement.
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The project will culminate with a sports Championship for the children at a school in the city of Capiata. Among the goods the Irish group brought with them on the trip was a box of footballs and hurls for the children of Capiata.