A university student from Feltham took the plunge and travelled to Nicaragua to help build 30 new eco toilets.

Katie Exell of Lincoln Road was one of 17 volunteers involved in the International Citizen Service (ICS) programme with charity Progressio, who gave up 10 weeks to work on the overseas sanitation project.

Her experience was flushed with success in the Masaya region in Nicaragua where she and the team spent gruelling long days in sweltering temperatures but completed the construction and delivered the project on time, as promised, to the elated families living in El Pochote.

The 21-year-old said: "What I saw in Nicagarua made me really appreciate the importance of sanitation projects like the one I was involved in and the urgency of ensuring everyone has access to that a clean, safe and sustainable toilet. A toilet may seem like just a basic to us - but that’s exactly why it’s so important."

She worked alongside local volunteers so every family in the village benefited from a new dual purpose toilet system which keeps the waste sealed so surrounding water is not contaminated, and store it until it biodegrades and can eventually be used for compost.

The former Richmond College student and Twickenham pupil of Waldergrave School for Girls, added: "The village we were working in - El Pochote - had severe issues caused by their traditional latrine. In one case, 19 people were sharing one long-drop toilet. They attracted insects that spread diseases, and their underground design meant that human waste could contaminate the soil and then the water supply.

"When old traditional latrines are covered over when they are no longer in use, the ground became unstable and unsafe for children. Some days we’d have to move 400 very heavy bricks from the bottom of a hill to the top –a challenge for those of us not used to much physical exercise, let work in such an intense heat."

In Nicaragua nearly half the population do not have access to adequate sanitation and 300 children die each year from unsafe water and poor sanitation.

She concluded: "It was challenging completing our construction target, while also working on other projects related to gender equality and the environment, but it was definitely worth the long hours. Hitting our target was really satisfying, as it meant we were able to deliver the service that we’d promised to El Pochote. Hopefully our work will move towards improving the environmental sustainability of the village, and will be continued by future volunteers."

Katie is now in her final year studying English Literature at Durham University.