Rotary Club of Margate hosts youngsters from Germany

The students during their UK visit

The Rotary Club of Margate has hosted five students from Germany and their accompanying adult, Rotarian Janina Gehringer.

The week-long visit to Margate was a reward for the students, who were runners up in a nationwide competition involving all 3,000 Rotaractors in Germany.

The challenge was to motivate young people aged 14-21 to organise a charity project and bring it to a successful end.

The purpose of the visit was to give the students some insights into life in the UK which they might not necessarily get as tourists.

The programme included visits to secondary and primary schools, a youth cancer support group and a care home. The group also went on sightseeing tours of Canterbury and London.

The competition organiser in Germany, Andreas Lashke, said the aim of the challenge was to demonstrate how enriching and how much fun helping others can be.

He said the visit to Margate added to this by allowing the young people to experience intercultural exchange and meet other youngsters with similar values.