Our Chairman, Air Vice-Marshal Nick Kurth, attended the Royal Geographical Society’s (RGS) EXPLORE 2022 event on Saturday 5th November 2022. The event included a presentation by Cadet Sergeants Nicole Mosquera and Gauri Shaji from 282 (East Ham) ATC Squadron (pictured left) regarding their expedition to Costa Rica which was supported by The Ulysses Trust. Our Chairman introduced their talk which was extremely well received by the audience.
The lecture was entitled, ’Never too early to start: Cadets to Costa Rica’ and highlighted the amazing opportunities available to young people through cadet organisations such as the Air Cadets.
Nick said, “Without question, the 200+ audience was spellbound by what the Cadets achieved on the trip. Indeed, I had a number of people approach me afterwards highlighting how impressive the presentation was and what an excellent organisation the Air Cadets is. It was also heartwarming to have the work of The Ulysses Trust recognised by fellow explorers. The Trust received a ‘pat on the back’ for supporting young people from across the UK to be able to take part in life-changing experiences such as this expedition to Costa Rica.”
Cadets from 282 (East Ham) deployed in December 2019 on an adventure of a lifetime to The Barra Honda National, Costa Rica. During the exercise, 16 cadets built an education facility, undertook conservation work and experienced living in the jungle. It was a remarkable expedition and The Ulysses Trust was delighted to support such an ambitious and challenging exercise.
Commenting on the expedition, the Commanding Officer of 282 (East Ham) ATC Squadron Sqn Ldr Chris Booty said, “The expedition experience has proved to be incredibly valuable in the development of these young people who have such hard challenges in life compared to other young people living elsewhere in the UK.”
Cadet Sergeant Gauri Shaji said, “I really enjoyed the team training days. It got us to work together more and really got us excited for the big adventure ahead.”
Cadet Sergeant Nicole Mosquera said, “I’m very proud of what I have achieved by going out there. I could never have imagined that I would be carrying out construction and conservation projects like this.”
The Ulysses Trust wish to thank the RGS for inviting us to speak and attend their EXPLORE conference. The Ulysses Trust also wish to thank the generosity of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust for supporting the Barra Honda 2019 expedition. www.rafct.com
