(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Twenty four student volunteers from five different Independent Secondary schools recently returned from a week-long community service trip to Indonesia with Reach Out To Asia (ROTA).
ROTA hosted a reflection event for student volunteers at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University Student Centre in the presence of the Ambassador of Indonesia Deddy Saiful Hadi.
The five secondary girl-schools involved in this initiative were Amina Bint Wahab Independent Secondary, Al Bayan Independent Secondary School, Al Sailiya Secondary School, Al Eman Secondary School, and Qatar Secondary School.
Opening the event, Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, Director of National Programmes welcomed dignitaries, parents, volunteers as well as representatives from trip sponsor Vodafone, before he shared comments with the audience emphasising the value of the volunteers' work during such trips and encouraged them to continue working with ROTA to address community development in Qatar and abroad.
"From the feedback we received from both the volunteers and Indonesian students and teachers, we can confidently say that this was a highly successful trip.
"The ROTA volunteers made excellent role models, with the local students warmly accepting them. We know that this has been a life changing event, and we can use this experience as a model for future trips based on skill development for educational institutes in Asia," said Mohammed Al Naama.
Volunteers then were invited on stage to share their own experiences with the audience using short videos and presentations.
During their trip to Indonesia, the ROTA volunteers participated in a focused activity program featuring student-led activities in SDN1 Banyuripan Elementary School, workshops emphasizing sports for education, English language, art education and environmental awareness.
The volunteering group also collected a phenomenal $32,000 in donations to cover various project costs. They created a Computer Lab in three days, purchased learning materials for a local community centre and provided scholarships for 12 students. Besides this, volunteers were also involved in a number of cultural activities with the local community and learnt the intricate details of Batik Art.
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