Sam heads for Honduras thanks to help from Totton College Trust

On Monday 23 June Sam Cutler, who achieved her Childcare NNEB qualification at Totton College in the summer of 2001, will fly from Heathrow airport to Tegucigalpa the capital of Honduras to do 3 month's voluntary work in the country's 2nd largest hospital. Sam has opted to work in the neonatal ward with aids-victim babies where the need is most great.

Sam has been actively fund-raising for this trip since being accepted for the 'I-to-I' charitable organisation project in April this year. She has been holding down 3 jobs, working 65 hours per week, to pay for her flight, insurance, inoculations and daily board & food whilst away. She has been working full-time in the college-based nursery 'Happy Days', working at Alldays evenings and Saturdays and has also been doing occasional days with 'Cornerstones' social services agency working as a Mentor to a teenager with Anorexia. Each college holiday Sam does voluntary work for 'SNAPS' a local playscheme for special needs children.

She has received a donation from the College 'Wilf Wright Trust', a special trust-fund to assist students achieve overseas voluntary work, of £750 and other fund-raising support has come from ASDA who kindly allowed Sam to organise a raffle in the store in aid of the project as well as generous community donations of items to car boot every Sunday. Sam's former School, Testwood, presented her with a £50 donation and her bankers have kindly agreed an interest-free credit card for use for the trip and have extended the repayment period by way of support.

Sam's taste for working abroad came in the summer of 2001 when she worked in an English International School in Padua, Italy as a classroom teacher of 2-3 year olds.

Sam commences her nurse training at Southampton University this coming September on her return from Hondurous and will spend 50% of her time on placement at the Southampton General Hospital and ultimately wishes to specialise in paediatric care.

We wish her every success for the future.