From left: Tracey Ukosich, Yasmine Ukosich, Declan Baker, Amanda Hard, Nic Charles.

Rotary Club of Yea spokeswoman Glenda Woods says: “Youth today sometimes gets a bad name, but many of today’s youth do care about others less fortunate than themselves.

“Three such students are here in the Yea community and in November last year, they each took part in a rotary sponsored program titled ‘Paying it Forward’, the brainchild of the Rotary Club of Albury Hume.

“The students Yasmine Ukosich and Nic Charles (both former Rotary Exchange students), together with Declan Baker, raised their own airfares plus another $250 to travel with a small group of other students to one of the islands in the cluster that makes up Fiji.

“There the students worked for seven days in a small village, helping to paint and refurbish the village kindergarten, all the time being hosted by a local family, living their very subsistence life style. The $250 is given to the host families to assist them.

“The students are encouraged to pack half of their 30kg baggage allowance with clothing, that is then donated to the kindergarten and sold, with funds going direct to the kinder. This is how the village has requested it to be.

“Yasmine, Nic and Declan catered for one of the Rotary Club of Yea’s evening meals last year to help raise their necessary funds and each did several other jobs in the lead up time to ensure they could pay their own travel costs.

“Last Thursday, Yasmine, Nic and Declan explained the program to Rotarians and talked about their trip and the challenges they faced.

“The village they were in is a subsistence culture and it was a vastly different lifestyle to what they have in Yea.

“However, after working every morning, they explored some sensational beaches in the afternoons and did have three days at the end of their volunteering to enjoy some well-earned resort time.

“Each student has returned with a greater appreciation of what a privileged lifestyle they have and how lucky they are to live in Australia.

“All are keen to do more as volunteers in the future. The spirit of volunteering is alive and well. Congratulations Yasmine, Nic and Declan.”