HOLLY Brown and Hazel Facey gave a presentation to Monmouth Rotary following their completion of the Rotary Youth Leadership training course in the Forest of Dean.

The course run by Grass Roots, encourages human development and provides the opportunity for participants to increase their confidence in a variety of different situations. The course encourages leadership, team working and communication skills by taking participants out of their comfort zone.

Holly and Hazel both gained hugely from the course with both sets of parents saying that they couldn’t believe that their daughters could stand up in front of a large group of Rotarians and deliver such a good presentation on their experiences.

The girls met the other 38 participants and on day one were divided into groups to undertake a series of ice breaker tasks. In the following days they undertook various tasks which involved problem solving, team working and overcoming fears. Their group came into Monmouth to undertake charity work. Holly and Hazel’s group decided to raise money for Marie Currie. They also had to find work in a shop to earn some money so they could buy flowers and then find someone who had a birthday to whom they could give the flowers.

Both Hazel and Holly said “they had benefited greatly from the course and had made many new friends with plans to have a catch up in the near future”. Hazel is planning to undertake National Citizenship Service which similarly to Rotary Youth Leadership Award is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that helps young people build skills for work and life while taking on new challenges.

Hazel and Holly thanked Monmouth Rotary for the opportunity to attend the course which is fully funded by Rotary and is run every year in the summer holiday. It is open to young people between the ages of 16 and 18. To apply for selection for 2016 contact Monmouth Rotary via the website or Face Book.