For Eliza Hughes, the Futures Fund opened the door for her to complete life changing work in India.
The MPharm student spent nearly four summer weeks in Palampur, a small village within close proximity to the Himalayas. There, she spent her time teaching local children and getting a taste of a truly unique part of the world.
The trip, which was organised by the FutureSense Foundation, required Eliza to raise a considerable amount of money herself. It was only made possible thanks to the contribution from the Futures Fund along with her and her colleagues’ tireless fundraising work, which began months before the trip started.
Simply being able to get on the plane to India was an achievement in itself. Eliza emphasised the importance of the Futures Fund in making the trip happen.
“The Futures Fund came when I was starting to worry about all the fundraising I needed to do, it gave me the lift I needed to reach my target,” she explained. “The money went a huge way to getting us to India.”
After embarking on her Indian adventure and, following a trek across the heart of India, Eliza finally arrived in Palampur. Once there, she was immediately struck by the facilities pupils at the school had to use.
Due to a lack of desks, many children had to work on the concrete floor whilst also dealing with frequent power cuts.
Despite the fact that they had travelled to teach, Eliza and the team thought it was hugely important to make the school a more welcoming place. She said: “We were involved in improving the classrooms by painting murals on the walls. This included priming the walls and then covering them with things such as a diagram of flowers and plants and a multiplication table.”
Faced with the challenge of teaching pupils ranging from ages four to sixteen, she had to adapt her teaching style and found the experience one of the biggest challenges she faced on the trip. Finding a way to present and teach in a more accessible way, Eliza said, was one of the skills that she would definitely take back home with her.
“We were told that they really enjoyed games, therefore we tried to incorporate this into lessons as much as possible whilst still focussing on the main aim, which was to improve their English, specifically their spoken English,” she added.
At the weekend, Eliza was able to take time off and sample a culture vastly different to the one she was used to back home. She gained a bird’s eye view of the area by paragliding and took a tour through the centre of Old Delhi in a rickshaw.
Eliza had to find creative ways to communicate with students effectively, and she feels that her improved skills in that area will certainly benefit her in her future career in pharmacy.
She continued: “I feel that this is one of many skills that transfers across very well to benefit me on my course. As communication is a very important skill required in any form of pharmacy, this trip has really been useful in terms of my vocation.”
For Eliza, the trip was hugely rewarding. Not only did it open her eyes to a new world and culture she had never experienced before, it also introduced her to new friends and help develop skills that could give her an extra edge as she looks to begin her pharmaceutical industry in the near future.
She is extremely grateful to the Futures Fund for giving her the necessary funds to embark on the trip and praised the scholarship and its donors.
She concluded: “I want to send out a special thank you to the committee and donors of the Futures Fund as they have enabled me to have this amazing experience.
“This trip not only developed me as a person, but I believe that it will help me in my future career as a pharmacist – with all the new skills and experiences that I have gained.”
Article written by Matthew Shevlin, University of Sunderland Journalism graduate.