Volunteering to help the people of Sierra Leone

A 17-year-old student has recently returned from a '˜surreal' adventure volunteering for a charity in Sierra Leone.
Hannah volunteering for Home LeoneHannah volunteering for Home Leone
Hannah volunteering for Home Leone

Hannah Kelly, of Luton, was part of a team that travelled with Home Leone to Freetown to start work on the building site.

The charity’s aim is to build a village for the local people, they aim to build homes and a school as part of the project.

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Hannah is studying at Luton Sixth Form and is hoping to go to University next year to study International Development.

She travelled with the group in October, and said: “It is something I have always wanted to do and I wanted to experience it and make a difference.

“I thought that this was a great charity to get involved with and help the people in Sierra Leone and help build the village.

“The whole experience was completely surreal, it is nothing like the UK, there was poverty everywhere.

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“The people are so happy with what little they have and they really appreciate the help we are giving them, it is amazing to see.”

There were 13 volunteers from Luton which included people from St Francis Catholic Church, Stopsley Baptist Church, Hope Church and St Hugh’s, Lewsey Farm.

Nigel Hyde, director of Home Leone, said: “The whole team worked incredibly hard and built valuable relationships with our local workers. We are truly grateful to the commitment of the team.”

Hannah would like to go back to Sierra Leone to see how the project is developing. She said: “One house with four large rooms was built and I helped them start building the next house, we also built a vegetable patch. More houses need to be built and a school and a football pitch. The charity needs money to help move the project on faster.”

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