A WOMAN from York is appealing for donations as she embarks on a volunteering project to help tackle poverty in Nepal.

Sarah Anelay, 22, from Dringhouses, will travel to Nepal on February 26 with international development organisation Restless Development to work with young volunteers from Nepal and the UK to help lift some of the world’s poorest people out of poverty.

She will be living with a host family to fully immerse herself into the community and gain a better understanding of the challenges people there face.

Sarah said: “I’m really excited to get out there and being fully immersed in a Nepali community. I think the Restless Development project is unique in its pairing of UK international volunteers with Nepalese national volunteers and I’m excited to meet my counterpart.

"After graduating from King’s College London in 2017 I travelled to India, Sri Lanka, Borneo and Indonesia.

"Seeing, first hand, the wealth disparities, gender violence, and general neglect of human rights in such countries fired my already passionate convictions for both global and national change.

"Although challenging, and at times terrifying, travelling alone as a woman in these countries really opened my eyes to the gender imbalance that still pervades much of the developing world.

"I became adamant to pursue a volunteering opportunity in which I could work to empower women and girls and Restless Development immediately jumped out at me as an amazing organisation.”

Sarah is hoping to raise £1,500 for Restless Development before she sets off. She said: “So far I’ve raised almost £1,000 of my £1,500 target through my fundraising, I still have a little way to go however and any donation would be gratefully received.”

Go to JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sarahanelay

On return to the UK, Sarah will also take on an ‘Action at Home’ project, ensuring that her new skills also benefit the local community.