By Brendan Rees
Former Lyndhurst Secondary College captain Matt Cooper is preparing to embark on a life-changing journey.
The 18-year-old has signed up to a humanitarian project where he will travel to remote villages in the Amazon rainforest next January to help communities that lack basic school facilities and hygiene.
Matt shared his ‘Road Less Travelled’ story with Lyndhurst Secondary College students on 28 July.
Matt’s passion to help people inspired him to sign up with Volunteer Eco Students Abroad in what he says will not only be an adventure but also hands-on.
“I was sitting in biology (class) one day, and they came around with pamphlets, and I thought I could see myself doing that,” he said.
“I always wanted to help people. I’m doing charity work, and I thought volunteer work would be good. I didn’t think about doing it so soon, but it popped up and I thought why not.”
Matt, currently studying a Bachelor of Science at Victoria University, said the project was a great opportunity to not only experience South America and Ecuador but also help address the social and environmental issues impacting the communities.
“I wanted to go on a holiday at the end of the year, and I thought why not go on a holiday and help people,” he said.
He said he and other volunteers would teach English to children and rebuild homes damaged by stormwater.
“We’ll be fixing some of the huts and laying pipelines. A lot of it is about sanitation and building water catchments because they do get quite stormy weather in the village huts,” he said.
“A lot of people get sick because they don’t have good medical procedures like Australia does. If you can prevent them from getting sick with something as simple as washing your hands with clean water and not drinking dirty water, it’ll go a long way,” he said.
Matt will travel for 23 days living under a mosquito net and explore the famous rugged Andes mountain, hike two volcanoes, and visit the Pacific Coast where he will experience some of the most unique wildlife endemic to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.
He will also have the chance to go whale watching and hike the pristine coast line.
Matt said he was fortunate to book his trip, thanks to sponsorship from Lyndhurst Secondary College and his employer Plasta Masta’s.
Matt said he had already begun talking to other volunteers on Facebook where they have agreed to put small packs of coloured pencils and books together to hand out to children in the villages.
“We do it a lot easier in Australia, so we’ll be going over there helping the village people. I’m very excited,” he said.
