Nelson High Schools

southeast asia - september 2022

The Celestielle Charitable Trust's inaugural scholarship programme to Southeast Asia was open to Year 12 students from Nelson, New Zealand, attending Nayland College, Nelson College, and Nelson College for Girls. They applied for one of the twelve spots on offer; two teachers were also selected to lead the fully-funded trip to Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand.

Using input from the winners regarding their interests, Celestielle designed and arranged the trip which included all flights, ground transportation, accommodation, meals, excursions, volunteering experiences, and community and wildlife projects. The group also met with the New Zealand Ambassador to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, exposing them to diplomatic and political relationships as well as the skills needed to work in various aspects of international relations.

STUDENT TESTIMONIALS

Angkor Wat was incredible, I really enjoyed learning all the really rich history and culture behind it. REACH was also super eye-opening and inspiring and got a good discussion going in our group about effective altruism and how our actions as tourists affect the local communities. Meeting the ambassador was really interesting, as I went into that with no idea what to expect. The elephant sanctuary was so beautiful and also eye opening!

Kate B.

The most useful thing I took away from this trip in terms of preparation for later life was the social side. This experience has really helped me connect with new people and taught me that making new friends and widening my circle next year at university isn't as daunting as I once thought. I really enjoyed that most people I was going on the trip with I didn't know at all, as it (surprisingly) made me feel a lot more comfortable about moving away next year.

Anushka C

I found that I related a lot of my thinking on this trip to sustainability within the tourism industry and the environment. As I go on to university next year to study social and environmental sustainability, this trip has really helped me understand sustainability and how this builds an effective economy and thriving environments.

Jack F

The sunrise tour at Angkor Wat was the most impactful, I felt incredibly moved and it felt like what I imagine a spiritual experience would be. It was just beautiful and I was so lucky to be able to experience it. The trip to REACH was extremely impressive as well and by the end of it, almost all of us wanted to start a career in an NGO. I learnt a lot about how NGOs work and how they can be abused, but also made better.

The trip to the elephant park in Chiang Mai was amazing because it was truly a dream come true. The meeting with Ambassador Jonathan Kings was also very meaningful and we had a great conversation about studying law, diplomacy and politics which I am very interested in.

Josh R

The experiences most impactful to me were those in which we got to fully immerse ourselves in the different cultures. Some of the best moments I had on the trip were when we were travelling around on tuk-tuks and got to watch people go about their everyday lives. I found this really fascinating to see how people go about day-to-day life in different countries.

Lucy S

As I prepare for higher education, I now have a better understanding of travel, different cultures and lifestyles, an insight into global issues and the similarities and comparisons we as New Zealanders have to Southeast Asia. As someone who is going on to study history, this trip has given me insight into aspects of learning I will be studying in 2023 onwards.

Taea S

Probably going through a local market in Cambodia was the most impactful. That completely changed my perspective, it made me realise how extremely lucky we are. At the market, there were kids begging, and it made me reflect on what I was doing at that age and how I was in school. This again made me realise how lucky I am. After this market, we went to the REACH program which was a highlight of the trip. It was impactful because it showed me a solution for the kids that were begging. This was impactful because, in New Zealand, you hear about these problems but to see it with my own eyes it made me realise that charity work can go so far.

Jasmine W