A caring teenager swapped the glitz and glamour of a luxury jewellery shop to teach disabled children in South Africa.
Rachel James, 19, an assistant at the swish Mococo store at Eagles Meadow shopping centre, Wrexham, worked at the Cape Recife High School in Port Elizabeth for six months.
The school includes learners with specific learning disabilities, physical disabilities, cerebral palsy, autism, hearing impairment, sight impairment and multiple disabilities.
The architecture student at the University of Liverpool found the experience incredibly worthwhile.
She said: “It was really rewarding. For example of the kids are struggling with something and then they start to get it – when you get that break through it’s a fantastic feeling.
“The kids were great fun and every day was different.
“The biggest misconception about children with disability is that they aren’t able to be as involved in activities as other children of their age.”
“A lot of the time they show us up because we’ll be worried about doing something and they’ll just dive in and give it a go.
“We did an obstacle course once and they’d crawl straight through and where we would be worried about getting muddy. They’re pretty fearless.
“It’s not about what they can’t do but what they can do. What we’re trying to do is foster that. I learned quite a lot from them.
“The school had quite a big mix of children from all sorts of different backgrounds. There were children with Cerebral palsy, there were children autism, ADHD, some children had been in accidents like car crashes.
“It was really inspiring to see how they would just get on with things.
Rachel, a former pupil of Bishops’ Blue Coat Church of England High School in Chester, mainly taught a mix of English, maths, and life skills.
She said: My favourite thing to teach is the life skills, because these skills allow the children to gain more independence . It’s really worthwhile for any child to know what to do in different situations.
Proud Mococo store manager Suzanne Bartley said: “I think what Rachel has been doing in South Africa is amazing because she’s so young, and she’s wanted to make a different to the children’s lives.
“She’s such a likable person. I know she’s enjoyed every minute of her trip and got a lot from it.
“I’m very proud to have her working at Mococo. She’s so bubbly, and such a giving person and that comes across in the way she interacts with the customers.
“She’s so strong on her customer service which is what Mococo is all about. We try to make customers feel so welcome and just to enjoy the shopping experience as well as the products.
“We try to ask people the right questions so that they buy the right jewellery for them.
Mococo, started as a kitchen table enterprise for Flintshire couple Lee and Maureen Hooson and has grown into a network of sumptuous shops across North Wales and Cheshire.
From a humble start around the kitchen table of their home in Northop the Hoosons have rapidly developed Mococo over the past seven years to the point where it has become one of the most important players in the business.
Since Mococo was started with just £250 of Maureen’s savings in 2006 the couple have opened five high street shops in Ruthin, Mold, Chester and Liverpool and the Eagles Meadow branch was another significant investment for them.
Maureen used her original £250 investment to buy a small range of gems which she sold to friends at jewellery parties and things grew from there.
With husband Lee masterminding the business side of things, Maureen concentrated on making her own jewellery and buying in prestige brands such as Pandora, Baccarat, and Thomas Sabo.
All of items, including rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces are attractively displayed in the new Wrexham store.
Rachel added: “I thoroughly enjoy working at Mococo. Everyone is great fun, and it’s just a gorgeous shop to have in Wrexham.”
