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downsmail.co.uk Ellana’s year helping others


FOR Maidstone Girls‘ Grammar School student Ellana Hall, left, her next step afterA-levels is a year out helping others. She sets off this month on the UK Govern-


ment-funded International Citizen Service (ICS) programme and will spend 12 weeks working with young volunteers in Nigeria tackling poverty in some of the world's poor- est communities. ICS is open to those aged 18 to 25 and offers


a chance to gain skills viewed favourably by employees and universities, including team- work, leadership and projectmanagement. Ellana said: “It’s a great opportunity to


travel, learn about new cultures and make a difference in theworld.After sittingmyAlev- els, it seemed the ideal time to broadenmy ex- periences and I’ve deferred my university place until next year.” Young people need no experience, qualifi-


cations or cash to volunteer for the ICS, just the ambition tomake a difference,with three- quarters of volunteers describing the experi- ence as incredibly useful for their professional development. Ellana said: “I knewIwanted to travel dur-


ing my gap year but when I began research- ing I realised I could use my time in a much more purposeful and meaningful way through volunteering. I chose ICS and VSO because it is professional, reliable andwell or-


ganised. The programme is also government funded so I did not have to worry about the cost, just demonstrate my commitment through fundraising.” She will be learning about the culture in


Nigeria,while livingwith a host family. Ellana said: “I hope to build long-lasting


friendships with my Nigerian and English counterparts. I know that the memory of this placementwill staywithme for the rest ofmy life and I amexcited about building long last- ing friendships.” Ellana Hall is one of 17,000 young people


fromacross theUKparticipating on ICS over- seas since 2012. Felicity Morgan, director of ICS at VSO,


said: “Leaving school or college is amilestone and young people are often under pressure to decidewhat to do next.Volunteering overseas provides a unique opportunity to experience another culture and develop new skills sup- porting people living on the margins of soci- ety.” ICS placements are available for departure


from January 2019, and 18-25-year-olds from Maidstone and the surrounding areas are en- couraged to apply. Find out more at www.volunteerics.org.


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