Seven students from Escola Secundaria Laura Ayres in Quarteira enthralled a packed meeting of Almancil International Rotary Club (AIRC) held at the Conrad Hotel on Wednesday with their presentations on student summer camps they attended over the school holidays.
The camps are organised by Rotary clubs all over the world, the primary aim being to introduce young students to their counterparts from different countries and cultures. This year the Portuguese students attended camps in Manchester, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden and Norway.
AIRC has been sponsoring Portuguese students to attend these camps since 2009. The scheme, which is organised for AIRC by Rotarians Dr Raymond Parfait and Patricia Doling and with the cooperation of the Director of the school Dr Conceição Benardes and teacher Sra Lurdes Seidenstricker, has grown in popularity to the extent that 12 students were sponsored by AIRC this summer and we were lucky to receive a donation for one of the students from our fellow Rotarians at the Porches E Club.
Last month 68 students attended the presentation for next year's camps. “We expect way over 20 applications“ said Raymond. "We have a difficult task ahead of us choosing who should go in 2016. It's a life-changing experience for the students. Long-term friendships are made and often students will keep in touch long after they have stayed at the camps and even visit each other afterwards. It's very rewarding for us as a club to see how much the students gain from the experiences. Not only that, they have become amazing ambassadors for their school and their country. I get many letters from the organisers of the camps praising our students which makes us very proud."
