Hi everyone!

In summer I will be volunteering for 3 months in Sierra Leone. The theme of the programme I will be volunteering on is youth participation and empowerment. This is part of International Citizen Service (ICS), which brings young people together to fight poverty. I will be volunteering for an incredible charity called VSO, alongside volunteers from Sierra Leone on a specific project which encourages community development and works towards the Millennium Development Goals. This is a competitive programme that is entirely funded by the Department for International Development (DfiD). VSO works with communities that have specifically requested their help, and where the skills of young people can make a direct impact. 

Although my participation in ICS is fully funded by DfiD, all volunteers on the programme are asked to fundraise £800 prior to departure. The money will not pay for my trip, but will pay for trained professionals to be sent over to work in poverty stricken communities! The money raised will go directly towards funding the projects volunteers work on and will contribute to the programme to enable as many people as possible from both the UK and overseas to volunteer on projects in the developing world. Fundraising this money will also allow VSO to continue to bring about positive change in the developing countries where they work and make a lasting difference in impoverished communities. 

I will be organising fundraising and sponsored events to raise as much as I can, as well as using this page for any donations. I will update you on the fundraising activities I complete through Facebook and Twitter. On the 13th April, myself and 19 others will be doing a charity abseil on Ilkley Moor to raise money for VSO and raise awareness of poverty! Thank you to all those who are sponsoring those involved!! 

Any contribution from you will make a real difference to the lives of people in developing countries and will contribute towards the phenomenal work VSO do. So please dig deep! Your support is invaluable and every donation matters, no matter how big or small. 

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it! 

Daisy