An email mix-up has left a Dundee teenager with just one month to raise £2,000 to take part in an international volunteer programme.
Former Harris Academy pupil Hester Astell (18) is due to set off for Nigeria next month under a youth scheme run by Voluntary Service Overseas Global Xchange.
She has recently learned that a change in the rules for the programme means she is expected to raise the substantial sum.
She said: “My new email address was misplaced and all information that other volunteers got was sent to them two months prior to when I finally received them.”
To make matters even more difficult, Hester has been working in France over the summer and will only return to Dundee 12 days before she leaves for Nigeria.
“As I am currently working as a summer au pair at Chateau Ribagnac, it has been quite stressful trying to sort out events for fundraising, but with a lot of help and support from family and friends I am currently organising two events in early October,” she said.
Explaining why she was inspired to join the Youth Xchange, she said: “I looked through lots of programmes and a lot of them seemed to have the preface of volunteering but were more of a holiday.
“I feel it is a two-way system I can learn from the Nigeria team just as they can learn from the UK team, all the while volunteering and making a difference.”
The Youth Xchange programme is open to 18 to 22-year-olds and is linked to the government”s International Citizen Service scheme.
Hester”s Youth Xchange project will last for six months, during which she will be based in two disadvantaged communities one in Nigeria and one in Newham in London and she expects her work to focus on older people.If you want to help Hester with her fundraising, visit www.justgiving.com/hester-astell