BY SUSIE JONES
An incredible sixth form A level student is to take a break from her studies to help Syrian refugees who have lost thheir parents. Although her mates are busy revising for their A-level exams, 17-year-old Charlee Pitts will be 3,000 miles away helping Syrian refugees.
The big hearted Sixth Form student begged her teachers at d’Overbroecks College, North Oxford, and her father, to let her volunteer for a week in a refugee camp at Amman, in Jordan.
Next week she will jet to Syria to run a yoga bereavement programme for children who have lost their parents or witnessed the horrors of war. The good samaritan will work at a community centre in the camp where thousands of people live – cleaning the area, running tennis and football sessions and helping out those most in need. The quality student said:
“We worked in a school with 2,500 children and built them clean toilets and taught them English and maths.
“It was the hardest experience of my life, but ever since I have wanted to help somewhere else.”
“We are so lucky here and yet people complain about so much.
“We could have been them. They haven’t done anything wrong and don’t have a choice.”
The young teenager heads to the Jordanian capital with her dad Andrew on Thursday to a temporary home to a large number of Iraqi and Syrian refugees.
When she arrives there, she will meet a business partner of her father, Ms Susan Bainter Baghdadi, who has been running a programme to help trauma-sensitive refugees through yoga and set up a community centre to rebuild lives. The teenager said
“Some of the children have seen their parents die or seen other traumatic events in fleeing their country.
“The yoga attempts to relax them and help them.
“I have never taught yoga before I’m looking forward to learning and can’t wait to help.”
The schoolgirl, who has an exam the day before she leaves and then another one four days after she returns home, urged others to think about doing something similar in the summer holidays.
“We tend to take things for granted and it’s important to help those in need.”
Director of studies at her school, Andrew Gillespie said: “It is quite inspiring to see a student such as Charlee take the initiative to go and help others in this way and to show such care for those less fortunate than themselves.
“She is an example to us all.”