Pete volunteers in Liberia

Pete, 32, from Hartlepool, will be working in partnership with Y Care International and YMCA for three months, to train young people to develop and promote messages about staying healthy.

This includes delivering key awareness sessions on poverty related illnesses like HIV, cholera and malaria, to help improve the knowledge, attitudes and behavior around health for individuals, their family and the community they belong to.

Pete will be taking on a team leader placement and will be supported by a team of four British volunteers and 15 local volunteers.

He said: “I’m keen to share what I’ve learned working in England, and pass on some community skills that might just enhance the skills of one to enrich the lives of many.

“Volunteering and volunteers motivate me, they are the reason I strive forward to improve involvement opportunities and get up in a morning.”

Pete will be taking a three-month sabbatical from GNAAS and will return to the charity in April.

He added: “To be supported by GNAAS in allowing me the time off to go and do this is fantastic. I sincerely thank all those that have helped make this possible.

“I hope to push my own abilities as a volunteer coordinator even further and come back with new learning to continue developing our own volunteering program and additional development challenges with a fresh perspective.”

Grahame Pickering, GNAAS chief executive, said: “Pete is a valued member of our team and we are pleased to support him in this adventure.

“Volunteers are essential to our operation. We are a charity and simply couldn’t exist without them.

“We look forward to hearing about Pete’s trip and seeing how his experiences can benefit our volunteers here in the North-East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria.”

For more information about volunteering at GNAAS, please visit www.gnaas.com/volunteer or call 01325-487263.