Press Release

27 August 2008

Young volunteers raise awareness of global poverty with Douglas Alexander at Greenbelt Festival

Five of the first volunteers returning from a new global volunteering scheme, Platform2, kicked off their awareness-raising tour on Sunday 24 August at the Greenbelt Festival, where they talked to International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander about their experiences of global poverty.

Kamran Anwar, Katy Szum, Staci Smith and Zina Lewis described their experiences of working in Ghana and South Africa, the impact it had made on their own lives and how they were bringing back their experiences to their own communities in the UK.

Zina Lewis said: "It’s a life-changing experience and a chance to do something you’ll probably never be able to do otherwise which will broaden your horizons."

Platform2 is a free global volunteering scheme funded by DFID and run by Christian Aid, BUNAC and Islamic Relief. Open to 18-25 year olds who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to volunteer abroad, it offers the chance to spend 10 weeks living and working in a poor community in countries like Ghana, South Africa, Peru or India and raise awareness of the issues on returning to the UK.

Katy, Zina and Staci have just returned from the first 10 week project in eastern Ghana, where they lived in the village of Gbledi Chebi and worked at a nearby wildlife reserve. Kamran has returned from Cape Town in South Africa, where the team worked in an environment centre that serves a local township community.

On their return to the UK, the volunteers attended a three-day workshop where they devised interesting and exciting ways of communicating what they have learnt about global issues with friends, family and their local community. They will continue to build on their life and employment skills by organising talks, exhibitions, blogs and local press coverage. One of their first aims was to talk to Greenbelt festival-goers.

Visit the Platform2 website for more information on how to apply.

For more information, or to interview a Platform2 volunteer, please contact Pippa Ranger at DFID press office on 020 7023 1607 or Kate Wills at Christian Aid on 020 7523 2418.

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Notes to editor

• DFID and Christian Aid are two of the main partners for the Greenbelt festival which attracts 20,000 people, mostly Christian, to Cheltenham Race Course over the August Bank Holiday Weekend. DFID and Christian Aid were at Greenbelt to raise awareness of their role in fighting world poverty. The DFID tent provided fun family activities like a Fairtrade Coconut Shy and the Race Against Global Poverty game.
• Platform2 empowers 18-25 year olds in the UK to make a real difference to the lives of those in poor countries, through volunteering abroad and raising awareness of development issues back home. It benefits the individual taking part as it gives these young volunteers the opportunity to use their skills, talents and creativity in the host nation and the UK and highlight global development issues on their return.
• Volunteers will spend 10 weeks in developing countries such as Ghana, South Africa and Peru at no financial cost to them, as this scheme is funded by DFID.