A STUDENT who will be helping disadvantaged communities in South America has come up with a colourful way of raising funds for her trip.

Eilidh Falconer, from Houston, decided to get creative and draw pictures of well-known buildings in her village to raise money for a volunteering trip to Bolivia with her fellow students.

The 16-year-old, who attends Gryffe High School in the village, is selling the pictures in the Fox and Hounds pub, one of the venues she has drawn, for £8 each as she tries to fundraise £4,000 for the three-week trip.

Eilidh has also drawn Houston House, Houston and Killellan Kirk and St Fillan’s Church.

She said art had always been an interest of hers but it was only recently she opened her eyes to what was right at her feet.

Eilidh said: “I have always loved art since I was little, but recently I have started drawing buildings.

“My mum and brother are also keen artists and they sometimes go to

Glasgow to draw some of the buildings there. I went with them once and fell in love with drawing.

“Deciding to focus on Houston was very personal for me because I pass these buildings every day, but I have never really seen them properly. You think you take notice but you don’t really.

“For example, I’ve never really taken in how pretty the bell is at St Fillan’s, so it’s really made me look at what I’m passing.”

Eilidh will be going to Bolivia next year to work in one of the rural communities that have little access education or healthcare.

“We don’t know which community we’ll be in yet, but it will be one of the rural ones where people are quite isolated,” added Eilidh. “We will be going out there to teach and help build a school.”

Eilidh will also be trekking in the high-altitude Andes mountains and the Amazon Basin rainforest.

The trip is being run by World Challenge UK, a provider of school expeditions.

If anyone is interested in buying one of Eilidh’s paintings, they are are on sale in the Fox and Hounds in South Street.