60 specially selected teenage cadets from all over the UK will fly out to South Africa on 26th July for a three-week expedition during which they will volunteer with Prince Harry’s charity, Sentebale, supporting orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho.

This unique expedition is part of Cadet150, a year-long celebration of the 150th anniversary of the UK’s cadet movement.

On arrival in South Africa, the cadets will spend a week on an acclimatisation and environmental awareness course, before travelling into Lesotho.

There they will divide into four teams to work with different Sentebale development projects such as house building and school renovations in Semonkong, Mokhotlong and Pitseng, while sampling life with the young indigenous children of Lesotho.

The cadets will also undertake an arduous and spectacular trek through the Drakensburg Mountains, at heights of up to 3,000m, where temperatures drop dramatically at night and snow is common. They will enjoy a range of adventure training activities such as rock-climbing and extreme abseiling, including the opportunity to undertake the longest commercial abseil in the world.

For the final stage of this life-changing trip they will participate in tours of historic military sites, such as the 1879 Zulu War battlefield sites at Rorke’s Drift and Isandlwana, as well as the Boer War site of Spion Kop.

A former cadet himself, Prince Harry is patron of the expedition, and paid a surprise visit to the cadets during their final training session in the UK.

He told them: ‘You will really enjoy it; it will be a hell of an adventure.’

‘Once you have met the children of Lesotho your lives will be very, very different because you will have an understanding you never thought you would of the way people have to live out there.’ He added that they would enjoy ‘a bit of hard labour, a bit of digging, a bit of baby cradling for the girls and maybe the boys.’

Deputy expedition leader Philippa Arding said: ‘It was a fantastic boost to morale seeing the prince. He stayed for around one and a half hours to walk and talk with the cadets, who will be assisting a charity very close to his heart.

‘Harry clearly had a great time meeting all these young men and women, who have done exceptionally well to make it this far.

‘In Lesotho, they will be taking part in a variety of enthralling adventure training activities including an arduous 3,000m trek up the spectacular Drakensburg Mountains.’

Prince Harry launched the charity in 2006 with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help children and young people orphaned as a result of HIV and AIDS.

The expedition will involve 60 members of the Army Cadet Force, Sea Cadets Corps, Air Training Corps and Combined Cadet Force, aged 16-18. Each gained their place by passing a gruelling selection course last July and has had to raise 1,000 pounds as their own contribution towards the cost of the trip.

A spokesman for the Cadet150 said: ‘The aim of this ambitious expedition is to provide a challenging environment in which cadets can develop their leadership, teamwork, self-reliance and inter-personal skills in situations outside their normal experience.

‘In working with local children in a very deprived and under-developed country, it is hoped that they will gain a broader experience of life and an understanding of different societies and cultures.’

The Lesotho expedition, which takes place from July 26 – August 18, is one of over 150 events taking place at national and regional levels to mark the 150th anniversary of the UK’s cadet movement – one of the oldest and most successful voluntary youth organisations in the world.

Today it numbers 131,000 young people, led by 25,000 adult volunteers, in well over 3,000 sites the length and breadth of the country.

The year of celebrations launched No prescription cialis on February 17 when 26 cadet ambassadors had an audience at Buckingham Palace with HM The Queen, patron of Cadet150, and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

The main commemorative event for Cadet150 took place on 6 July when almost 2,000 cadets paraded down the Mall before His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, then joined friends, family and VIP guests in the grounds of Buckingham Palace for a garden party.

Cadet150 expeditions are taking place to locations as diverse as the Himalayas, Nigeria, the Italian Dolomites, Peru, the USA and Kenya. Cadets will also be planting 150,000 trees in partnership with the Woodland Trust.

The Cadet150 anniversary year will conclude with formal tributes during Remembrance weekend in November.

Author Bio: For further information please visit Cadet 150 or find out more about ACF voluntary work opportunities.

Category: Culture and Society
Keywords: army cadets, volunteering opportunities, cadet 150