“They know exactly beforehand what they’re doing,” program co-ordinator Geraldine Edar-Ralph said.

Next month, 12 teenagers from the south-west will head to Indangan in the Buhangine District region to complete building works on a school orphanage boarding facility. 

“We’re very upfront when they sign up. We tell them it’s not going to be a walk in the park. You’ll be carting concrete and mixing it. The expectation is that they work,” she said.

The program, devised by Ms Edar-Ralph, has been running since 2010 and takes teens overseas to learn new skills and develop a greater understanding of the world.  

She said while it was commendable what they would achieve, the personal development the children underwent was huge.

“The investment is really with our kids here. It’s good we’re building a school overseas but these young people are going to be our greatest achievement.”

This year’s group will complete the orphanage, which they began building last year, and she hopes they will complete the two-storey building’s construction during the 14-day visit. 

“It’s ambitious,” Ms Edar-Ralph said. “We’ve only got the foundations. We have got to do all of the second storey – the walls, roof trusses, beams, flooring on the first and second floor and put up walls to create four (boarding) rooms upstairs.”

She said the teens were determined to work right through the trip to complete the project and would also help with reading recovery at the nearby school.

Participants complete physical work in trying conditions and tight time frames each year, building resilience and a can-do attitude. “If they survive this. They can survive anything.”

She said past participants reflected on their time away, how fortunate they were to live in Australia and their many opportunities.

She said Mortlake architect Noel McConnell from NPM architecture, who developed the boarding facility plan would also join the group. 

The boarding facility will house 20 teenagers who will study and live onsite. Five young people have been sponsored to attend the school. Donations to the program or sponsorships are welcomed. For more information or to donate call Geraldine on 0423 699 021.

A movie fundraiser is on at the Capitol Cinema, Warrnambool on Saturday at 7pm screening Inferno. Tickets $20, including a light supper and are available at the door.