A NORTH Yorkshire teenager has been given the opportunity of a lifetime to help a community in Nigeria.

James Callender, 19, is part of a nine-strong World Youth Millennium Awards team that will be taking part in an exchange scheme, along with nine young people from Nigeria.

The six-month exchange has been organised by Voluntary Services Overseas and the Prince's Trust for 17 to 25-year-olds, and is funded by the Millennium Commission.

James, 19, of Meadway, off Leeds Road, Selby, will travel to Barnstaple, in Devon, later this month for the first three-month leg of the programme.

He will then travel to a local community, in Nigeria, where he will be paired with a Nigerian counterpart, with whom he will live and work.

The work will involve community care and education projects.

James, a former Selby High School and Selby College student who will be studying at Cambridge University from October, said: "I'm keen to learn more about how other people live, and make a real contribution to a community in the United Kingdom and overseas."

As part of his commitment to the programme, James has to raise £500 towards the cost.

He has already raised more than £300 through a sponsored cycling event at Selby College's gym and a coffee morning at Selby Methodist Church - and is hoping that local businesses and organisations will help him to hit his target.

Anyone interested in helping James can contact him on 01757 212141.

Updated: 09:35 Wednesday, January 08, 2003