Alice off to Gambia to work with the Lisa Kent Memorial Trust

A STUDENT from Crow Country is off to Africa to take part in a charity project.

Alice Phillips, 19, of High Street, Melbourn, will be flying out to the Gambia in April for a three-month stay, during which she will volunteer for the Lisa Kent Memorial Trust, which aims to help improve education in the east African nation.

She said: "The actual trip is only a week long, however I've offered to stay out for longer on my own to help as much as I can. In my time away I'll be helping build a second school - the trust managed to buy from the government and finally got planning permission for last year. I also intend on spending half of my time teaching in the current school too."

The trust was set up in memory of Lisa Kent, a nurse from Addenbrooke's Hospital who died in a car crash in 2003. She had been to work with children in the Gambia, and so the trust was born.

Alice, who is a former pupil at Long Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge, is currently trying to raise the �2,000 she needs to fund the expedition.

She said: "I have to raise the cash by mid-March, and the money is purely going into the charity as I have saved my own money for my flights, insurance, and the majority of my accommodation.

"I only started fundraising at the beginning of December and have definitely taken on a challenge but I'm determined to do it.

"This is something I've wanted to do since leaving college - it's not exactly a gap year but I intend to go back into education in September to do something like nursing so I can be involved in aid work as a future. This is like a taster for me."

To help raise funds Alice has organised a quiz night on Thursday, February 18 at the Dolphin pub in Melbourn, starting at 8pm. Tickets �5 each, including food, and an array of prizes have been donated from firms such Esse Retail Therapy and Royston Leisure Centre.

To book tickets call 01763 233047 or email aliceisnow@hotmail.com.