Hey! 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In January I will volunteer for three months on a development programme in Ghana. This is part of International Citizen Service (ICS), which brings young people together to fight poverty and make a difference where it is needed most. I’ll be working alongside volunteers from Ghana, on a Football for Hope site. The Football for Hope movement builds on the historic hosting of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and harnesses this enormously popular sport to address education and health challenges in underserved communities across Africa. Working alongside Play Soccer Ghana, the project provides grassroots educational programmes that seek to promote development through sport. It provides a 48 week curriculum to girls and boys aged 4-15 to provide them with health and social skills they need to live healthy and productive lives. There is also the Street League football programme for youth aged 16-22. This is focused on young adults who are not in employment, education or training. The Street Soccer Programme acts as a catchment to bring at-risk youth into the centre’s trimester programme based on individual needs analysis, provision of support to meet needs and training and finally referral. The centre also hosts a Community Learning and Media Centre to promote awareness of and skills in the use of ICT.

ICS works with communities that have specifically requested their help. It also aims to inspire young people in the UK and overseas to become active citizens who are passionate about long term community development.

I have decided to take part in the programme as it is an opportunity to learn about International Development and use some of the skills that I already have after working delivering sports activities and as a Youth Worker in a different setting. It will also give me the opportunity to learn about another culture as I will be staying with a local family throughout the programme in Ghana.

I need to raise £800 for Lattitude ICS who are one of the respected development charities that deliver ICS. This will allow them to continue to bring about positive change in the developing communities where they work. You can check out their amazing work here; www.lattitude.org.uk.

I’m going to be losing the beard, hosting a quiz night, and other activities to raise some funds. You can keep track of how I get on here on my Just Giving page and on www.worldoftaff.com.

Any contribution from you will make a real difference to the lives of people in developing countries, so please dig deep!

Thanks for your support!