Posted 30 Jan 2009

A young British man has spoken of how he turned his life around after embarking upon a volunteering abroad programme.

Anthoney Williams, a 21-year-old from Kent, was involved in crime as a teenager and had a bad reputation among local police authorities.

However, he was given the opportunity to turn his life around with a project entitled Platform2 – for which he travelled abroad to Ghana for ten weeks to participate in volunteer work.

"I know it’s the sort of thing a lot of people don’t get to experience. I learned a lot about myself," he told communitycare.co.uk.

Mr Williams continued: "I knew it was going to be different, because it would be my first time out of the country. I didn’t know what to think, I just decided to go there and take it all on the chin, whether or not it was OK

Now, he is saving for a home of his own and has been nominated for both a Prince’s Trust Award and a Young Volunteer Award.

Another teenager from the UK – Matt Gaskell from Berkshire, is embarking upon his own challenge this week, reported the Independent.

The 18-year-old and his father are attempting to become the first father-son team to reach the South Pole together.

Category: Africa