A STUDENT from Redditch is raising money to travel to an Indian school where she plans to work as a volunteer.

Sarah Lam, who is currently studying at the University of Durham, is attempting to raise £2,550 for the charity Future Sense in order to head out to the school in Palampur and teach English for five weeks this summer.

Ms Lam has already spent time in Nepal working with English students.

She said: “I taught in Nepal last summer and absolutely loved the experience. I know that it is a cliché when people come back from teaching abroad and say that it is such a worthwhile experience and so rewarding, but it really is and there is no other way to describe it.

“I spent a total of six weeks teaching in a school in Kathmandu in Nepal. Over the summer I grew so attached to the students and loved it so much that I cried buckets when I had to leave.

“The children were so sweet and they look forward to spending time with volunteers every summer. They still speak of volunteers from years ago and many of them still keep in touch. It is so rewarding to see how happy they are in lessons even though compared to children here they have nothing.”

Ms Lam was concerned by the widening gap between rich and poor in India, one of the so-called BRIC nations, and wanted to visit one of the less-wealthy areas of the country.

She added: “After Nepal I chose to go to India because unlike Nepal it is not one of the poorest countries in the world, but there are certainly some parts of the country that are incredibly impoverished. The country is becoming more westernised and the gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger.

“I wanted to volunteer with Future Sense because they are dedicated to changing the world's poorest communities and volunteers work on projects where help is really required.”

Ms Lam is planning a number of fundraising activities during term time in Durham from a 'Big Durham Foodie raffle', and Bollywood dance classes, to bake and Krispy Kreme sales, and possibly even a skydive.

However she isn’t letting her home town off the hook, and when she comes back home at Easter, she’s hoping to organise a similar raffle in Redditch and possibly offer her babysitting and laundry services for a donation.

Anyone with fundraising ideas, or who wants to help out with a donation or raffle prize, can contact Ms Lam at sarahinindia@outlook.com or visit justgiving.com/Sarah-Lam1.

For more information on Future Sense visit futuresensefoundation.org/.