Cathedral High School junior Bella Leous plans to travel to Africa to help people in need.

By Sophia Foley

Imagine fundraising and working all year knowing your hard work will help people across the globe. For Cathedral High School junior Bella Leous, this dream is a reality.

While talking about her upcoming trip, Cathedral High School junior Bella Leous shows how excited she is. “I’m really looking forward to the trip this summer and the class this fall” said Leous. Photo by Sophia Foley.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Africa. I want to meet new people and change their lives if I can” said Leous.

Bella is going to be a member of a class at her school called “In Our Village.” This class raises money all year long to meet their final goal of traveling to Tanzania, Africa. This twelve day trip consists of helping orphanages, going on a safari, and becoming completely immersed in African culture. One of their biggest fundraisers is writing and publishing a book about their school and the people within it. Once this book is published, local people in the community can buy it and support their cause.

“You get to experience new cultures that are so different than the United States. It sounds stereotypical but I want to take back a lot of love.” said Leous.

In Bella’s eyes, one of the most important parts of this trip is helping others and improving their lives in any way she can. It’s important for her to use the resources she has to show others they can always lend a helping hand.

“I’ve never done anything like it and I think I need to step out of my comfort zone and help other people because I can. If I have the resources, I might as well help people. I want to teach them how to help others because no matter how much you have, if you have nothing or if you have everything, you can always help people and be friendly” said Leous.

This trip is a not only about helping others, it is also an opportunity for Bella to strengthen her bond with her friends. She will be traveling with her friends to a new country and experiencing this once in a lifetime trip with them by her side. This experience will not only make their friendship stronger, it will connect them in completely new ways as well. She hopes to come back as a better individual as well.

“I don’t usually travel with my friends and go across the world with them and I think it will make us better friends and better people together.” said Leous.