On the web: http://utahutes.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/060812aaa.html
June 5, 2012
University of Utah Volleyball Player Alli Spurrier to Volunteer with Youthlinc in Cambodia
Rising sophomore will travel abroad June 15-29.
SALT LAKE CITY – Rising sophomore Alli Spurrier of the University of Utah volleyball team will volunteer with Youthlinc, a community service organization based in Salt Lake City, in Cambodia on June 15-29.
The Youthlinc group will combine with Sustainable Cambodia on a variety of projects that will help improve the quality of life in the remote village of Chungruk. The projects will aim to help the village’s livestock exchange, microfinance, and construction, while improving its educational, vocational, medical and cultural areas.
“I plan to accomplish many things [in Cambodia],” Spurrier said. “We will install around 50 water filters at the personal homes of Cambodian families and do repair work and additions onto the village school. I have prepared an English lesson about American holidays to teach the children, while each member in our group has prepared a lesson on a range of topics from sports to music. I am also one of three women who will teach sewing to the Cambodian men and women. Two hand crank sewing machines were donated to our trip and I have learned how to work and repair these machines to teach the adults how to sew, a great economic advantage. We have many other projects that will be fulfilled in the two weeks I am there, but these are my main duties.”
When not volunteering, the group will visit historical museums and sites like Angkor Wat to learn more about the history and culture of Cambodia.
Spurrier will go on this trip with some volunteer experience abroad as she went to Africa during her junior year at Olympus High School.
“In 2009, I traveled to Zambia, Africa to work in orphanages and help to build a new orphanage with a group called Mothers Without Borders,” Spurrier said. “Although I really enjoyed this organization, they do not have any groups that travel to Cambodia. My younger brother found the group Youthlinc and we decided to join in their efforts to help the people of Cambodia.”
So of all the countries in the world that need assistance, what drew Spurrier to Cambodia?
“What interested me in this trip was the opportunity to do service for people who have gone through so much in the last 40 years,” Spurrier said. “I read about the genocide in Cambodia in the 70's in a book called First They Killed My Father (by Loung Ung). After learning of the devastation that hit this country, I was inspired to do something to help.”
Obviously, Spurrier’s main objective is to help the people of Cambodia, but she also points to some personal benefits as well.
“This trip will make me a better person because I know it will open my eyes even more to the world and give me a greater understanding of how blessed I am,” Spurrier said. “Just like my Africa trip, it will give me a greater appreciation for my country and my family.”
On the volleyball court during her freshman season with the Utes in 2011, Spurrier tied her personal-best with three kills against Oregon State. She posted three kills and had three blocks against UC Riverside at the Utah Invite in her first career start. She hit her first career kill and had two blocks versus Colgate at the Yale Invite.
“The lessons I will learn there will apply to every aspect of my life, including volleyball. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to do this work and I hope I will be able to bless the lives of these people.”
For more information on the Youthlinc and the trip to Cambodia, please visit http://www.youthlinc.org/programs/cambodia.html.
