TTE students head to Malaysia to offer charity help

A pair of students from Middlesbrough-based techincal training specialists TTE are preparing to travel halfway around the world to volunteer at a charity which helps some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

Michael Bowes, 17, and Tom Bolland, 18, who are both training to become instrument technicians, will join a group of 17 Middlesbrough teenagers who will assist Malaysian charity Home of Peace, which helps protect vulnerable girls in Kuala Lumpur who have been orphaned, neglected or abused.

The charity, which was founded in 1992, provides shelter and education for girls from families living in Kuala Lumpur’s impoverished squatter settlements, where homes are make-shift shelters with little access to essential services such as sanitation, clean water and electricity. The settlements are the result of rapid urbanisation of the city.

Michael and Tom have each raised £3,500 through fundraising in order to participate on the trip, which has been organised by Nunthorpe School, where the pair used to be students. Tom’s fundraising activities included an abseil from Middlesbrough’s landmark Transporter Bridge.

The group will spend three weeks during the summer at the charity, helping with practical maintenance jobs, refurbishing the charity’s accommodation and assisting the girls with their studies.

Michael said: “I’m really looking forward to this – it will be a totally new experience for me. In the UK, it’s very easy to take the things we have for granted and not appreciate just how privileged we are. I’m really looking forward to helping people who haven’t always had the services we see as basic human rights, such water that’s safe to drink and proper sanitation. I feel we will be able to make a real difference to the people that this very important charity is helping.”

Tom, who is also a member of Cleveland Army Cadets, said: “As an Army Cadet, I’ve always enjoyed travelling to new places and helping people, so when I heard about the trip, I really wanted to get involved. It always feels really good to make a difference and I’m really looking forward to getting immersed in another culture. It will be a totally new experience.”

Steve Grant, managing director of TTE, said: “It’s great to see how Michael and Tom are prepared to give up their own time to help such a worthy cause. Their decision to take part in this trip is indicative of calibre of community-minded young people we have at TTE, who go out of their way to help people less fortunate than themselves, whether here on Teesside or in a community halfway around the world.

“I wish them both the very best of luck and hope they find the experience extremely enriching and rewarding.”