Service Learning at Newington is an integral part of the way our boys learn and grow. Each year, the school calendar is filled with events that encourage whole Year and House groups to reach out and give back to the community. Rarely, however, do we hear stories about the boys who go out on their own to fundraise for a charity or sacrifice their holidays for a good cause.

Year 12 boys Josh (11/MO) and Tim Hare (11/MO) made a selfless decision over the school holidays to take time out of their hectic pre-exam schedules to participate in the Hands Across the Water Charity ride in Thailand. Riding alongside their father, the Hare contingency rode 500 km over five days from Bangkok to Khao Lak with 21 others to help raise money for children living in poverty in Thailand.

Along the way, the riders visited two orphanages that the charity supported.

“I found it very humbling to see the kids in Thailand living in these orphanages. I was also surprised at how happy the kids in the orphanages were and was very pleased with the way they were being taken care of,” said Josh.

“I was shocked to find out that the government didn’t supply any money to orphanages such as the one we visited and that it had been established solely from donations. Overall, it was a very moving experience and not one I will soon forget.” 

His brother Tim had a similar experience saying, “Seeing the smiling kids at the orphanages taught me a lot about how generous people can be, even when they have nothing. Seeing kids living in such hard conditions made me rethink what is valuable in my life and just how small of a relationship there is between happiness and material wealth.”

Hands across the Water is an Australian charity that began in 2004 after countless Thai children were left without homes and families due to the Boxing Day tsunami. The charity focuses on assisting at-risk Thai children and their communities by building schools and homes.