My name is Mia Sigston, I am 16 years old and I am a Ranger and a Young Leader at my local guide unit. LaSER (London and South East Region) is an internal branch of Girlguiding UK. Each year LaSER reach out to charitable organisations all around the world and they nominate 11 guides to become involved in a charity/service project providing help and support over a period of 3 weeks.

I, along with 10 other Rangers have been selected to go on a Girlguiding expedition to China in July-August 2020. Our expedition will be 23 days long: our expedition is partly a service project and partly an adventure and cultural exchange. One service project I will be involved in includes teaching English to small infants at a kindergarten. We’ll get to know the children, play games and exchange languages and culture.

We’ll be experiencing local agriculture and traditions, when taking part in manual labour on a rice farm in Haikou (in the province of Hainan). The adventurous aspect involves visiting temples, exploring the Dragon Caves, bamboo rafting, Kung Fu, visiting ancient houses, learning some Chinese and learning about the local history.

Not only is this an incredible travel opportunity but the highlights for me will be working with the children, working on the rice farm, being immersed in their culture and having an unforgettable experience. I am enthusiastic about being able to give something back to a community where our work will be rewarding, and we can appreciate the value of our efforts. Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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