He’s barely out of high school, but Lewis Way is already making his mark on the world.
In September the 18-year-old will travel to Uganda, with 17 other volunteers from the charity Kwaya Australia, to work in the slums with the African Children's Choir.
“We will be building a new bathroom in a slum school so the children don't have to use the hole in the playground,” he told the Blue Mountains Gazette.
“We will also be delivering supplies to the local orphanage,” he added.
He will also sing and rehearse with the choir.
Mr Way is funding his own travel costs, but every volunteer is committed to raising a separate $750 for the projects they are working on. He has already almost hit his goal through friends and family sharing his crowdfunding page.
He found out about the program when his family hosted children from the African Children’s Choir two years ago. The choir is an organisation that rescues children from the slums and gives them a better chance at life through music.
“I was so inspired and have learnt so much about life from these beautiful resilient children,” he said.
“I feel I should give something back to these people that have given so much to me. They shouldn’t be disadvantaged … a lot of the kids in the choir have lost parents through poverty.”
Kwaya is run by volunteers, so 100 per cent of the money collected will be spent on these projects in Uganda, he said.
The link is at: https://ozcrowd.com/campaign/3910
Mr Way, is a graduate of Springwood High School, where he also played the lead role as Ren in Footloose last year. He is now studying music at Western Sydney University and said his “end goal is to perform at Eurovision”.
“I’m hoping to replicate the amount of energy the choir has when they sing and dance at the same time so powerfully.”
The trip will personally cost him about $5,000. He’s worked with his dad’s business Cheap Jumping Castles Blue Mountains for 14 months to raise the money and his family will also help with the costs.
For more details go to http://www.kwaya.org/.
