I am absolutely stunned and humbled by the generosity of those who
have donated to my VSO ICS placement. To those who would still like to donate, please do so. This money will make such a difference.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m really excited to tell you that I have been selected to volunteer in Tanzania with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) on an International Citizen Service (ICS) placement. 

I will be volunteering in Tanzania for just under 3 months from September, but also doing work here in the UK when I return. Whilst I am in Tanzania, I will be staying with a host family in Iringa in order to fully immerse myself into the local culture and will be working with small and medium sized female led businesses, aiming to enhance their productivity and income through improved access to productive resources (land, microfinance), appropriate technology, branding and market linkages, with a team of UK and Tanzanian volunteers.

The first part of my placement is a challenge to raise £800 towards the work of VSO and their ICS partners. The money raised will go towards the overall costs of ICS, ensuring they can continue sending youth volunteers, like myself, to the developing world to make a lasting difference in disadvantaged communities.

I am lucky enough to come from a country that gives me an incredible amount of opportunity and I am hoping to give back to those who aren't able to access such opportunities, any help in doing so will be hugely appreciated. 

I'll be doing fundraising activities and lots of bits and bobs and you can keep track of how I get on here on my Justgiving page, and I'll put a few updates over on my Facebook page too. Any contribution from you will make a real difference to the lives of people in developing countries so I would be very grateful for any help you can give.

Everything I raise over and above my target is reinvested back into the ICS programme in really exciting ways such as through the Alumni Grant and National Youth Engagement Partnerships. The Alumni Grant enables some “in country” (Tanzanian) volunteers to apply for funding to continue working on the projects I've worked on, long after I've left. This helps ICS to be as sustainable as possible and make the biggest and longest lasting impact.
The National Youth Engagement Partnerships is a process for in country volunteers to share learnings after their placement. For example in Bangladesh, the NYEP brought together a group of ICS
volunteers after their placements into regional committees. These committees identified local community needs and, working alongside local partners like educational institutes, they launched campaigns on child marriage, violence against women and drug abuse. NYEP members appeared on 5 local radio stations to discuss these campaigns and also appeared in national media. Similar NYEP projects have been run in other countries where ICS works including Tanzania.

Please note any money donated does not go to funding me or my travels, but in providing equipment and training to the people we are helping. 

Thank you for your support!