A YOUNG volunteer, who has been working to support communities in Cambodia for 15 weeks, has praised the “successful” programme she was a part of.

Antonia Miles, who used to live in York, travelled to Cambodia in September with international development organisation, Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), as part of the UK government funded International Citizen Service (ICS) programme.

Antonia explained why she chose to join the programme. She said: “The fact that you work alongside like-minded people in their own country on projects which can help develop their communities really stood out to me.

“I was also interested in the idea that you live with a local host family, meaning you fully immerse yourself in community life.

“The project is an amazing opportunity to get involved in development and cross cultural work.”

While living in central Cambodia, Antonia and another volunteer led a team of 10 volunteers from the UK and nine from Cambodia to work with local youth to enable them to gain the skills to build their confidence and empower themselves.

The team formed a youth club where they held sessions teaching them on subjects which they were interested in learning about.

They also worked to teach them on the importance of subjects such as recycling and sustainability.

During her time in Cambodia, Antonia lived with a host family. She said: “A big difference I have found from the UK in general is that here they live off what they need. Almost everything has been completely locally sourced.”

Now than Antonia has returned to the UK, she is looking to spread the message of international development and responsible volunteering.

Antonia said: “I hope to continue to work with my local community to spread the message of VSO and also how we can work towards the sustainable development goals.”