A graduate illustrator has been selected by the ICS to teach maths and science to children in Nigeria as part of a voluntary scheme.
Lauren Marsh, 22, of Greenford, will be travelling to Nigeria on October 10 for the International Citizenship Service programme, where she will be placed in a secondary school in Kwali, near Abuja, for three months.
The idea is to teach in a more creative way and, in order to participate in the project, Lauren must raise £800 for the VSO charity, Voluntary Service Overseas, who empower volunteers to go abroad and share their skills with others in a bid for sustainable change.
Lauren has already begun the fundraising by doing a 'live below the line' challenge where she lived off £1 a day for the last week of July, getting her amount raised so far up to £274.
Lauren said: "I came across a website that is Government-run and all about empowering young people to try new things that give back to the community.
"It's for 18 to 25-year-olds, you go on an assessment process and they pick whether you are eligible and tell you where you'll be posted.
"You then have to go on a training weekend where they teach you about living abroad. The Government pays for flights, accommodation, visas, and injections."
Lauren, who will graduate from Plymouth University in September, lived off porridge, rice, pasta, and vegetables picked from the allotments for her 'live below the line challenge'.
She said throughout the week she kept wishing she could eat what her family were having but would comfort herself by thinking she only had a few days left - whereas other people can't say that.
To fundraise further, the 22-year-old will be making paper mache dolls and will try do some bag packing at local supermarkets.
To donate to Lauren's JustGiving page visit: https://www.justgiving.com/LaurenMarshvsofundraising/.
